The 20th Step: Restraining from Alcohol and Intoxicants
A human mind is something subtle, hard to be seen,and always immersed in cravings. Such cravings include:
1) Struggling to satisfy lust.
2) To be cunning.
3) Struggling to maintain one's self.
4) Struggling to restrain and control one's self.
Though one does not smoke, drink, or is addicted to drugs, he is still drunk on life. One can be heavily drunk with the infatuation of youth, good health, and life. Attachment with such infatuations cannot attain genuine bliss. The more one intoxicates himself with alcohol or addiction to drugs, the more likely one is to perform evil deeds. Therefore, one should refrain from using alcohol and intoxicants in order to have a better health and virtuous living.
Mind is the fore-runner of everything. Mind is chief; and everything is completed with the mind. If a person has an evil mind, then his speech and action are the same as his evil mind as well. Evil speech and actions are paid back with suffering. A metaphor exemplifying this fact is, "Ox foot prints are always followed by cart wheels." If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, then happiness follows him even as the shadow that never leaves his side (The Buddha's words in the Dhammapada 1).
It can be concluded that if we wish for happiness,then we must abstain from unwholesomeness.
