Upāsaka

About one month ago, I came up with a few guidelines to help me focus on the Buddhist practice. The guidelines revolved around renunciation and limiting my use of the web to that which is necessary.

Later, I said that if I deviate from those guidelines, I must “punish” myself by not using my personal computer for one week. The idea was that losing access to my computer for one week would be unacceptable (I develop software for a living and for fun), and therefore I would not deviate from the guidelines.

However, I have deviated from the guidelines three times in the past month, so something is not working.

I found myself thinking that a week break would be good for me and using that as an excuse to binge on YouTube videos or whatever else may bring temporary pleasure.

Do you refrain from killing a person simply because it is against the law? Hopefully not. You should not kill a person because it harms you, the other person, and the community.

Applying this same thinking to my scenario, I should strive to follow the guidelines because it will be wholesome for my health, life, and Buddhist practice, not because there is some punishment for not following the guidelines.