Je Tsong Khapa
Lobsang Drakpa
(1357-1419)
“When people fight with others — something that yields only sins and suffering both in this and in other lives — they endure all manner of suffering for however long it takes, even at the cost of their lives. Then they show off their wounds, etc., and boast, “I received this one at that time.” This being the case, it is even more appropriate for us to endure the hardships undergone while persevering joyously in destroying the afflictions…. The one who struggles against the enemy of the afflictions and defeats them should be called a true hero, whereas the one who fights against ordinary enemies kills only a corpse, since these enemies will die naturally anyway even if they are not slain.”
From The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: The Lam Rim Chen Mo by Tsong Khapa. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Snow Lion/Shambhala Publications.