NON-OPPOSITION

Buddhism condemns fighting and advocates non-opposition to one's enemies. This principle also applies to meditation. When you meditate, vexations and scattered thoughts may arise. You may be hindered by bad habits, or disturbed by noises. If these problems annoy you, no matter where you are, you will be unable to settle your mind and practice Ch'an. You have merely added another layer of scattered thoughts to your original set. The result is wasted effort. If you do this habitually, the more you meditate the more disturbed and ill-tempered you will become. This is why many so-called "old cultivators" have very irritable dispositions and become angry at the slightest provocation. This is due to their wrong approach of opposing, fighting against their vexations and scattered thoughts, thus increasing their problems and creating much internal tension.