WHAT IF FIGHTING FEEDS IT? The story of Milarepa and the demons.

 

WHAT IF FIGHTING FEEDS IT? The story of Milarepa and the demons.

September 11, 2026

Sweeping demons in Milarepa's cave

  

  When we encounter something unpleasant, our instinct is to change it. Anxiety? Stop it. Anger? Get rid of it. Grief? Get through it. Fear? Conquer it. Sadness? Cheer up. Troubling thoughts? Stop thinking about them. But what if those efforts sometimes make things worse?There is an old story about the sage Milarepa. After gathering firewood, he returned to find his cave full of demons. First, he tried to shoo them away. Then he fought them and attempted to teach them the Dharma, but nothing worked. It sounds as though he needed an exterminator—or at least a better demon-removal strategy.Frustrated, Milarepa tried again and again to fight, chase, and beg the demons to leave. Still, nothing worked. Finally, he simply accepted that they were there, and, as if by magic, many of them disappeared. One remained: a huge, terrifying demon with enormous teeth and a fierce presence. Milarepa placed his head inside its mouth, allowing it to do whatever it would. Then, in a flash, it disappeared too.So, is the lesson simply accepting everything? No. I have often assumed that if something was painful, frightening, embarrassing, disturbing, or otherwise a problem, my task was to make it go away. Sometimes, however, that effort feeds the very thing I am trying to escape. As the old saying goes, “What we resist persists.”Another familiar idea is that “the obstacle is the path.” We may think, “This demon is keeping me from practicing. Once I get rid of it, I can finally practice deeply.” Yet dealing with the demon may be the practice itself. Eventually, we may realize that the struggle to eliminate it is part of what keeps it alive.I have often thought that practice was something I could begin after dealing with whatever was “interfering” with my progress. I applied this thinking to noisy neighbors, difficult people, anxiety, anger, grief, pain, and restlessness. I assumed that once I got past these distractions, I could finally practice. The important distinction I discovered was that meeting those distractions was the practice.For example, I recently had surgery, and my sleep schedule became badly disrupted during recovery. I would wake up at 1:30 a.m. and remain awake for a long time. I fought it, telling myself, “I have to sleep because that is when healing happens.” Yet there I would lie, completely awake. When I noticed myself thinking, I would command, “Stop thinking! Stop thinking!” That was my demon.Once I relaxed and stopped fighting so hard, I realized that I could simply rest instead of forcing myself to sleep. Soon, I would drift back to sleep on my own.There is an important distinction here: acceptance does not mean helplessness. It does not mean tolerating harm, ignoring danger, or refusing to act. Instead, it may require changing our idea of the problem, especially when the experience is already happening and we are in the middle of fighting it.I often look to Buddhism for better ways to get rid of my demons. Sometimes its answer is simply, “Sit. Here is a cushion.”The questions to ask are: What am I fighting right now? Does it need to be fought? Am I making it stronger by resisting it? What might happen if, even for a moment, I gave up the struggle? Perhaps then I could glimpse a path toward release and acceptance.AT IF FIGHTING FEEDS IT? The story of Milarepa and the demons. 

When we encounter something unpleasant, our instinct is to change it. Anxiety? Stop it. Anger? Get rid of it. Grief? Get through it. Fear? Conquer it. Sadness? Cheer up. Troubling thoughts? Stop thinking about them. But what if those efforts sometimes make things worse?

There is an old story about the sage Milarepa. After gathering firewood, he returned to find his cave full of demons. First, he tried to shoo them away. Then he fought them and attempted to teach them the Dharma, but nothing worked. It sounds as though he needed an exterminator—or at least a better demon-removal strategy.

Frustrated, Milarepa tried again and again to fight, chase, and beg the demons to leave. Still, nothing worked. Finally, he simply accepted that they were there, and, as if by magic, many of them disappeared. One remained: a huge, terrifying demon with enormous teeth and a fierce presence. Milarepa placed his head inside its mouth, allowing it to do whatever it would. Then, in a flash, it disappeared too.

So, is the lesson simply accepting everything? No. I have often assumed that if something was painful, frightening, embarrassing, disturbing, or otherwise a problem, my task was to make it go away. Sometimes, however, that effort feeds the very thing I am trying to escape. As the old saying goes, “What we resist persists.”

Another familiar idea is that “the obstacle is the path.” We may think, “This demon is keeping me from practicing. Once I get rid of it, I can finally practice deeply.” Yet dealing with the demon may be the practice itself. Eventually, we may realize that the struggle to eliminate it is part of what keeps it alive.

I have often thought that practice was something I could begin after dealing with whatever was “interfering” with my progress. I applied this thinking to noisy neighbors, difficult people, anxiety, anger, grief, pain, and restlessness. I assumed that once I got past these distractions, I could finally practice. The important distinction I discovered was that meeting those distractions was the practice.

For example, I recently had surgery, and my sleep schedule became badly disrupted during recovery. I would wake up at 1:30 a.m. and remain awake for a long time. I fought it, telling myself, “I have to sleep because that is when healing happens.” Yet there I would lie, completely awake. When I noticed myself thinking, I would command, “Stop thinking! Stop thinking!” That was my demon.

Once I relaxed and stopped fighting so hard, I realized that I could simply rest instead of forcing myself to sleep. Soon, I would drift back to sleep on my own.

There is an important distinction here: acceptance does not mean helplessness. It does not mean tolerating harm, ignoring danger, or refusing to act. Instead, it may require changing our idea of the problem, especially when the experience is already happening and we are in the middle of fighting it.

A more important distinction is this.  If your demon is addiction,  'invite the demon in' does not mean invite the addiciton back into your life.  Not surrendering to a craving, we can still see maybe the demon isn't the addiction at all.  It is what happens to us, inside us when the addiction starts calling.  The craving, fear, loneliness.  The little voice says, 'just this once'  and you can still just not partake.  That is powerful.   Remember as Milarepa tries to get rid of the demons he becomes increasingly forceful, they become more stuck and stubborn.  He does not give up and let them have run of the place just like you don't have to give up and let the craving take you.  Once you get to the point where you can really be with the idea that 'there IS craving'.  And to boot, don't think of the demons as the addiction, it is what you are trying to 'treat' (loneliness, fear, frustration etc) that is the demon.  

I often look to Buddhism for better ways to get rid of my demons. Sometimes its answer is simply, “Sit. Here is a cushion.”  I don't need to solve anything, just be with the feeling, the demon and it soon fades.

The questions to ask are: What am I fighting right now? Does it need to be fought? Am I making it stronger by resisting it? What might happen if, even for a moment, I gave up the struggle? Perhaps then I could glimpse a path toward release and acceptance.

The Buddist in War; Commentary on Zen teacher Nissim Amon's advice to combatants.

 References first.  

https://www.reddit.com/r/zenbuddhism/comments/17whqqx/israeli_zen_teacher_nissim_amon_gives_advice_for/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czr6oiBtKdi/

https://youtu.be/n60VKiVY5Is?si=un-7DO_2jsQZqx7j

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14639947.2021.2145683#:~:text=Buddhism%20endorses%20the%20concept%20of,to%20protect%20what%20is%20good.

https://www.urbandharma.org/udharma6/militarycanon.html

https://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Making_Merit_Through_Warfare_and_Torture.pdf

https://buddhistmilitarysangha.blogspot.com/2010/06/dalai-lamas-message-to-armed-forces.html

https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=29747

https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/the-buddha-taught-nonviolence-not-pacifism/

https://blogs.icrc.org/religion-humanitarianprinciples/a-humanitarian-re-reading-of-the-angulimala-sutta/#:~:text=The%20Angulimala%20Sutta%20is%20a,and%20wore%20around%20his%20neck.

https://alanpeto.com/buddhism/buddhist-soldier-military/

https://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/the-buddha-as-warrior

Nissim Amon, an Israeli Zen teacher, recently posted a video offering practical advice to Israeli soldiers on becoming “super fighters.” It has, unsurprisingly, ruffled some feathers.

Buddhism generally rejects violence, and refraining from taking life is the first of the Five Precepts many Buddhists undertake. Zen, however, has developed its own emphases and cultural expressions within the Mahayana tradition. In modern settings—especially among people drawn to “secular Buddhism”—Zen is often presented less as a religion and more as a practical philosophy, stripped of much of its ritual and devotional framework.

At its most familiar, Zen emphasizes direct attention to the present moment and full engagement with the task at hand. That helps explain its long association with disciplined practices such as flower arranging, the tea ceremony, archery, and martial arts.

Amon’s teaching fits that practical side of Zen: focus, breathe, let go. In the video I saw, he did not speak at length about who was being shot, nor did he explicitly call for killing a particular person. Of course, that distinction may feel like splitting hairs. Many viewers understandably heard the advice in the context of an actual war, where the consequences are anything but abstract.

The first part of his advice is about composure and precision: do not panic, do not hesitate, and use the breath to steady the mind before acting. The point, as he presents it, is disciplined attention under pressure.

He then turns to the importance of breathing and, after the battle, of resting and meditating rather than becoming trapped in guilt or anguish. His message is to stay functional during the crisis, then allow grief and emotion to come later, when there is room to face them.

The most troubling line is his call to be “without compassion or mercy” in battle. Yet versions of that idea appear in warrior literature, including the Hagakure and other writings associated with bushido: hesitation can endanger both the warrior and those around him. The Bhagavad Gita—not a Buddhist text—also unfolds on a battlefield, where Arjuna receives spiritual and practical counsel about duty, action, and violence. Buddhist literature, too, does not ignore conflict. Texts and stories such as the Seyya Jataka, the Mahasilava Jataka, the Kakacupama Sutta, and the Upayakausalya Sutra wrestle, in different ways, with aggression, restraint, intention, and the protection of others. These sources do not offer a simple endorsement of war, but neither do they pretend violence does not exist.

From the Buddha’s time to our own, wars, uprisings, and atrocities have touched nearly every region and culture, Buddhist or otherwise. We may long for a world without violence, war, or suffering; that longing is one reason we practice. Practice teaches us to see how violence creates more suffering. Wisdom, however, also asks us to acknowledge that violence exists—and that defense may sometimes become necessary. The hard question is not whether harm is good. It is how to respond without surrendering our humanity.

When I was staying at “my” temple, I once asked a monk, “What do we do if we are attacked?” He answered patiently, one step at a time. First, lock the doors and keep the gate closed. If someone gets in, tell them to leave. If they refuse, move away. If they chase you, run. If they strike, block the blow. If necessary, try to disarm them. And if every effort to escape or de-escalate fails, defend yourself appropriately. “We would try not to hurt them and try not to kill them,” he said. “If it happens, then we take on that karma, don’t we?” That was about it: remain as peaceful and nonviolent as possible, and if peace no longer protects anyone, do the least harm you can. He then told me a story about an archer and merchants on a boat—a story about weighing karmic action against the responsibility to protect innocent people.

In the end, a soldier has a duty and a sworn obligation to protect. That duty does not erase the karma—or the moral weight—of violence and killing. But a disciplined state of mind may reduce panic, prevent needless harm, and help a soldier avoid injuring an innocent person or animal.

For that reason, I understand what Amon is trying to offer. He captures something recognizably Zen about action: be present, do what must be done, and do not let the mind scatter. In a terrible war, that teaching may also offer soldiers a measure of steadiness and hope.

As I heard it, Amon was not calling violence into being; he was speaking to people already living inside it. In the video I saw, he did not call for the killing of a particular civilian, child, or named person. The implied setting was a soldier confronting another combatant. Even then, taking life breaks the first precept and carries karmic consequences. That tension should not be waved away. At the same time, it is unrealistic to imagine that an individual soldier can simply step outside a battle once it has begun. Having counseled war veterans and active-duty service members, I have found that offering them steadiness, hope, and a way to carry the moral burden of their experience is often more helpful than condemning them for the circumstances they faced. Compassion should not disappear when a person wears a uniform. If our aim is to foster calm, contemplation, and wisdom, then our response must be both morally serious and humane.

When we begin walking the path of Dharma, we meditate, contemplate the teachings, and slowly learn to see for ourselves why stealing, killing, and other harmful actions are unskillful. That understanding can help us grow beyond who we are—and who we have been. Angulimala, the murderer who transformed his life and became an arahant, is the most dramatic reminder that the path remains open even after terrible actions.

For me, that is the heart of the matter. The question is not whether violence becomes pure simply because it is committed in the name of duty. It does not. The better question is whether a person can act to preserve safety and justice without feeding hatred, vengeance, or delight in destruction. A soldier may be far from enlightenment and still take a first step toward wisdom by guarding intention, limiting harm, and remembering the humanity of everyone caught in the conflict. Zen cannot make war clean. Perhaps it can help a person move through an unclean reality with greater awareness—and return from it with enough humanity left to grieve, reflect, and heal.

 

ORIGINAL BEFORE EDITS ABOVE:  There is a Zen 'teacher' in Isreal named Nissim Amon.  He just posted a video on the practical tips for Israeli soldiers to become 'super fighters' and it has ruffled some feathers. 

In general, Buddhism abhors violence and taking a life is one of the first precepts we take as a practice when becomming a Buddhist.   However, Zen often has its own take and does not closely follow Buddhism as it is in other Mahayana or Theravada traditions.  This is why many times Zen is almost considered its own philosophy.   Especially in these modern times when people prefer what is now called 'secular Buddhism' that does not have dogmatic, ritualistic or religious undertones.  

Zen as it is focuses much more on the present moment, the task at hand etc.  This is why Zen has taken so well to practices like flower arranging, tea ceremonies, archery and even martial arts.  

Rev. Amon's take and teaching is right in align with the current teachings of Zen as it is.  Focus, breathe, let go.  He did not discuss who was being shot necessarily, nor did he say anything about killing another person.  Ok, ok.  This is splitting hairs and reading the opposite of what many have read into his video.  

The first part of the advice it to keep your composure and your precision.  To take the time to aim and then shoot, not to panic or to hesitate.  He teaches to take a breath and shoot once.  

Then he teaches the greatness of the breath , then after the battle, to rest. to meditate not on guilt or agony. Be able to let go and cry later, not duiring the battle. 

TO be without compassion and mercy at the time of the battle.  This is a common teaching of the Hagakure as well as other Bushido teachings, and all teachings of warriors and 'how' to battle.  In the Baghavadgita (although not a Buddhist text) the whole discussion is about war and violence and gives karmic and practical advice to a warrior or king's army.  In the Seyya Jataka, Mahasilava Jataka, Anguttara Nikaya,  Kakacupama Sutta,  Arya-Bodhisattva-gocara Upayavisayavikurvana nirdesa sutra, Upayakausalya sutra, among others describe war, soldiers and the responses to and for violence.  So it is not ignored, nor completely condemned as many would think. 

If we look back in time, all the back to The Buddha's time, there have been wars, fighting and atrocities in EVERY region and country, Buddhist or not up and into this very day.  We would love to see a world with no violence, no war, no suffering and this is why we practice.  We practice to understand that war, violence and such causes more suffering.  Just like the Buddha taught.  But to be wise means to understand that violence and war exisits and defending and fighting are at times necessary.

When I was staying at 'my' temple I asked the monk.  'What do we do if we get attacked?'  He said 'we lock the doors and keep the gate closed so bad guys don't enter'.  If they do?  'We tell them to leave'.  "If they don't?  'We get away from them', 'If they chase us?' 'We run', 'they hit us?' 'We block the hit'.  'If they strike us?' 'We try and disarm them', 'if they try and kill us?'  'If all of that does not work, we can defend ourselves appropriately'.   'We would try not to hurt them, try to not kill them, if it happens, well, then we take on that karma don't we?'  And that was about it.  So basically be as non violent and peaceful as you can.  There comes a point where that will not work, so do the least amount of harm.  Then he told me of the archer and the merchants on the boat.  A great story of weighing karmic action and debt in the face of violence and protecting the innocent. 

The truth of the matter is, in the end a soldier has a duty and a sworn oath to protect.  He or she is not exempt from karmic acts of violence or killing, but the right mind set can make sure he or she makes no mistake and hurts an innocent person or animal. 

I agree with Rev. (or Roshi?) Amon.  He has nailed the idea of being present and 'Zen' of an action.  Offering solace as well as hope to soldiers in this terrible 'police action' war.  

At the end of it all, he did not call for violence as it was already a reality and occuring for those he was speaking to.  He did not (in the video I saw) call for the killing of any specific person or persons (civilian, children etc).  It is assumed that the soldier is confronting another soldier.  It is indeed kill or be killed.  And yes, that does break the first precept.  And yes, there is a karmic debt.  But that too is a present action.  One cannot simply decide to not fight during a battle or war.  Having counselled many war veterans and active duty military I find that the offering of hope and encouragment to do the duty they signed up for is far more effective than admonishing them for the position they were in at the time of the battle.  That would be not very compassionate, nor wise.  Remember we are trying to foster calm, contemlpation and wisdom in people.  

When we begin on the path of the Dharma we begin to meditate and contemplate the teachings, and over time we can come to the conclusion ourselves that it is unskillful to steal, kill, etc.  In that we can become better and bigger than we currently are (or were) just like Angulimala did, and he became an arahant!  

The best example here (see references above) is the advice of the Buddha.  “Can you do this task as an upholder of safety and justice, fo­cused on love of those you protect rather than on hate for those you must kill? If you are acting with vengeance or delight in destruction, then you are not at all a student of Dhamma. But if your hard job can be done with a base of pure mind, while you are clearly not living the life of an enlightened person, you are still able to begin walking the path towards harmony and compassion.”