What doctrine or practice may counteract "conceit"?

Question

Here's the main question:

• What doctrine or practice is there to minimize "conceit"?

I suppose that canonically "abandoning conceit" can only be attained by an Arahant and therefore a monk, so, it would be alright to answer in that context (the answer needn't be tailored to a lay-person if it cannot be).

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Background

1. I asked this question ...

   • How are 'conceit' and 'identity-view' not the same?

   ... and the main answer there seemed to be:

   • "Conceit" is a habit
   • It's a temporary phenomenon, which arises sometimes
   • It's not a "held view", which would be more fixed
   • It's related to or present in comparing people e.g. "thinking one is superior"
   • Semi-enlightened (but still conceited) people make "true" comparisons
   • Conceit is a fetter, a higher fetter, not easy to eradicate

2. I also found this article on Wikipedia:

   Māna

   Māna (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan: nga rgyal) is a Buddhist term that may be translated as "pride", "arrogance", or "conceit". It is defined as an inflated mind that makes whatever is suitable, such as wealth or learning, to be the foundation of pride. It creates the basis for disrespecting others and for the occurrence of suffering.

   So this article focuses on conceit as being a or the source or reason for disputes (which I think many suttas say also).

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So some related questions:

• Is there something I should understand about conceit, other than or beyond these two explanations?

• Would this be an example of conceit?

  I keep the precepts better than you do -- or, I understand the Dhamma better than you do?

• If you make that comparison, and see or justify it as being "true" or truthful, does that make it more pernicious -- because then it becomes a "view"?

• Is this an example of a comparison that one should avoid making? Why or why not, and if so how?

• There's an expression or phrase in conventional English, "holier than thou", which is meant to be understood as being "wrong":

  Self-righteousness (also called sanctimony, sententiousness, and holier-than-thou attitudes) is an attitude and belief of moral superiority derived from a person deeming their own beliefs, actions, or affiliations to be of greater virtue than those of others. Self-righteous individuals are often intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others that they deem to be less virtuous.

  It's original use in the Bible (which I don't understand, haven't studied) was in the context of creating social distance:

  Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. (Isiah 65.5)

  If this might be an example of Buddhists call "conceit" then it's a universal human "problem", not specific to a single society.

• Occasionally someone -- someone who's house I'm visiting as a guest for lunch with my mum, someone who is old enough to be my parent -- wants me to accept an alcoholic drink when I'm offered one. I suspect they maybe prefer that because it's "normal" (maybe ceremonial) -- and something to do with equality or community, and not my acting "differently".

Answer 1

As to the main question: Ven. Sāriputta answers this pretty directly in MN 3, stating that the noble eightfold path is the practice that abandons conceit - māno, as well as atimāno or arrogance- along with all the other defilements. What you're talking about would seem to fit most with atimāno - arrogance. (The verb connected to it, atimaññati, means to look down on or despise another.)

One relevant reflection is that in MN 113 the Buddha called people who think in the terms you describe "people of no integrity" or more simply, "not good people" - asappurisa. In other words, thinking "I have X attainment but these other people do not." Now he doesn't specifically list virtue in that sutta, and elsewhere (AN 4.201) he actually calls virtuous people "people of integrity" precisely because of their virtue, but what we can infer is that out of the two types of virtuous person, the person who takes the "more virtuous than thou" attitude is the inferior precisely because of his lousy attitude. The Buddha calls this habit "exalting oneself and disparaging others" and warns in MN 29 that it's an obstacle to progressing past the quality that you're getting proud over. Remembering that should be enough for us to alert ourselves to the fact something's wrong when we're thinking in these terms and to strive to fix it.

In MN 8 the Buddha recommends the reflection: "Others will be arrogant but we will not be arrogant." In other words he recommends using a subtle form of conceit to get rid of a coarser one. As Ven. Ṭhānissaro likes to say, you should deliberately view your defilements as beneath you. This notion of using conceit to overcome conceit is further supported by Ven. Ananda in Bhikkhunī Sutta where he teaches that you have to rely on the self-belief that you can succeed in order to overcome your obsession with creating a sense of self. As you say, that ultimately means arahantship, but the implication is that you use this conceit at every stage of the path: "others can do it, so why not me?" You hear that others don't go looking down on people on account of their own good qualities so you feel inspired to try and give up the habit yourself.

Still, ultimately what these reflections motivate us towards is developing the noble eightfold path - that's the actual method for getting rid of the problem according to the Buddha. Nevertheless it's worth reemphasising - because it's a point that's often misunderstood - that these references show that you're not expected to entirely give up thinking in terms of "I" and "me" while following the path: on the contrary you need to use first-person thinking to keep you motivated. That in itself is a part of right effort.

Another thing you might want to look at is how the perception of inconstancy is highlighted in AN 9.1 as a tool for abandoning the conceit "I am". In the same vein I recall that contemplating the various stages of corpse decomposition is mentioned by Ven. Ananda as a practice that attacks conceit. Even if these are aimed at the ultimate goal, it's worth remembering that all these practices are in fact taught for practitioners of all levels - leading to stream-entry all the way to arahantship. Monks of all levels, at least, but that's no reason that laypeople can't benefit from them.

Why and how these practices attack this problem is another question, of course, one which I think is nicely answered by Ven. Ṭhānissaro in his explanation of how contemplating dependent coarising is another way of doing away with conceit:

"Notice that dependent co-arising (paṭicca samuppāda) is expressed in terms of processes–of events and actions–without reference to a framework containing those processes. In other words, it doesn’t mention the existence or non-existence of agents doing the actions, or of a framework in time and space in which these processes happen. Thus it makes possible a way of understanding the causes of suffering and stress without reference to the existence or non-existence of an “I” or an “other” responsible for those events. Instead, the events are viewed simply as events in the context of the process–a way of viewing that makes it possible to abandon clinging for any of these events, so as to bring suffering to an end. Even the idea of an “I” or an “other” is seen simply as part of the process (under the factors of fabrication and the sub-factor of attention under “name” in name-and-form). This is what makes possible the abandoning of any attachment to the conceit “I am,” as mentioned in Ud 2:1, 4:1, 6:6, and 7:1." https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud1_1.html

A similar principle, after all, applies to contemplating in terms of Right View in the eightfold path, or when taking up the perception of inconstancy. Also, when you get into calm, blissful states of concentration, starting to think about how much better you are than others is going to destroy your inner peace, which incentivises getting rid of the habit.

As for the doctrine that underlies this all, well I guess that's the teaching that

"..the subduing of the conceit “I am”– That is truly the ultimate bliss." Ud 2.1

"I am better than you" is a pretty coarse form of "I am" conceit, and creates feelings and relationships of opposition and rivalry, which as we all know are pretty unpleasant and stressful. Whatever work we can do on weakening the tendency will thus surely lead to our long-term bliss.

Regarding the other issues:

The other difference between identity view and conceit is that identity view means you think you are one or more of the aggregates, that they're in you, or that you're in them. Conceit just means you're forming a general sense of self around the aggregates. Since conceit still exists for stream-enterers we can see that it doesn't rely on believing that you actually are the aggregates.

For that reason I'd say that no, simply because you believe your conceit to be true doesn't turn it into an identity-view. If you mean that it becomes a view on another level then I guess you could say that any conceit is a view about what you are like and that you have to on some level believe it to be true in order for it to persist.

If you see it as true when it's false then obviously that's a real problem. If you see it as true when it's true there are suttas that suggest you can make good use of your accurate self-assessment - advising that you don't associate with people who have worse virtue, for example, which requires making the comparison. That might also indicate that the real problem with making comparisons is when you take a certain attitude to it: just wanting to make yourself feel superior, rather than simply wanting to assess who you should make friends with and trust as companions on the path.

I hope you're refusing those drinks and good on you if so. Too often people make the mistake of thinking the way to abandon your conceit around your strict virtue is to stop being so strict. I'm guessing that's one of Mara's favourite old tricks. Instead you've just got to work out how to be strict without lauding it over others. That, of course, is a lot harder.

Best wishes.

Answer 2

MN 62 & MN 118 say by developing the perception of impermanence the conceit “I am” will be abandoned. This naturally includes abandoning the idea of “rebirth”.

Answer 3

My first foray into Buddhism (should I add "in this life"?) was a double book (two volumes in one binding) by Chogyam Trungpa called "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" and "The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation".

It's been almost 30 years ago and I don't remember what the books were about, but I remember the impression they had on me. Somehow the main point I got from the books was what the ego is and how it functions.

Here in this answer I will equate Trungpa's Ego with Conceit in your question. This may not be 100% correct but that's how I tend to think about Conceit these days. (Outside of Trungpa Rinpoche, I've read a similar take on the ego in a Thanissaro Bhikkhu lecture, confirming parts of my understanding from a Theravada perspective, too.)

To me, conceit or ego is a function of ignorance, specifically the function of overgeneralization aka attachment to concepts that don't quite perfectly describe reality. When someone is conceited, or on the contrary has a very low self-esteem, that's a sure sign that one's ideas about oneself and the world are blocking one's vision of reality.

For me, the lack of conceit I strive for is nothing other than pure, neutral, objective, one could say "scientific" commitment to being unbiased. Scrutinizing my thoughts and statements to make sure I don't confuse my ideas with reality.

Ideas are always imperfect, partial, tentative, approximate models based on the information I have so far. Ideas are prone to selectivity, perspective bias, overgeneralization, emotional coloring, side-taking due to identification and so on. Reality is reality beyond any expression - by definition larger and more complex than my ideas.

Ego is a set of ideas that identifies with itself, so to speak. It is a self-supporting cyclic tendency to keep proving oneself right in its own eyes. Ego has no other purpose than finding all sorts of confirmations of its views, stereotypes, and emotional formulas, because they are what it is.

Because survival is the ego's only purpose in life, it will do anything to protect itself. It will rationalize mistakes, it will blame other people, it will interpret the events in such a way as to remain correct, it will selectively ignore evidence. And of course it will consider itself superior to others, or a victim of others, both of these being emotional nuclei for quasi-logical rationalizations.

Identification with something - anything - it can latch on as "superior" is ego's bread and butter. E.g. "our tradition has preserved the real Buddhism and yours did not", "our party values are the real democratic values and yours are not". Here 1) the sense of superiority, 2) generalization and 3) identification work together to support and reinforce each other, "like the reeds in the sheave".

The ego is extremely difficult to overcome, may be almost impossible, because it will take anything you throw at it, turn it around and use against the attacker (or should I say, against the attacking information).

The reason conceit is placed as the last step of the Path, I think, is because overcoming it requires perfect implementation of everything Buddha taught: behavioral, emotional, intellectual, attention/perspective control, emptiness, and suchness.

You could say, all of the Noble Path is the practice for overcoming conceit, but a more precise way to put it is, the Noble Path is the practice for overcoming avidya/avija which is the quintessence of conceit. This is why conceit goes last, because avidya goes last.

Its only when you are 100% in sync with reality, with 0 emotional hangups, 0 overgeneralization, not defending your stale models, always true to What Is, that's when the ego is no longer a thing, because then there's nothing left other than reality itself!

What doctrine or practice can counter-act conceit? All of Buddhism, as we just discussed, but more specifically for the lay people, I heard there's something the modern secular society calls "anti-bias training". Apparently it's an important part of the government training in some countries today. If it is what I think it is, I would like to see it become mainstream and spread to the corporate world and to schools.

Answer 4

This is explained in the Khemaka Sutta.

Basically the continued practice of the Noble Eightfold Path results in the abandoning of the higher fetters including conceit, after the lower fetters have been abandoned.

It also explains what conceit is, relative to self-view. It's not the gross dirt of "I" (the self-belief, self-view), but rather, it's the faint lingering dirty scent of "I" (the self-habit, conceit).

"It's just like the scent of a blue, red, or white lotus: If someone were to call it the scent of a petal or the scent of the color or the scent of a filament, would he be speaking correctly?"

"No, friend."

"Then how would he describe it if he were describing it correctly?"

"As the scent of the flower: That's how he would describe it if he were describing it correctly."

"In the same way, friends, it's not that I say 'I am form,' nor do I say 'I am other than form.' It's not that I say, 'I am feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness,' nor do I say, 'I am something other than consciousness.' With regard to these five clinging-aggregates, 'I am' has not been overcome, although I don't assume that 'I am this.'

"Friends, even though a noble disciple has abandoned the five lower fetters, he still has with regard to the five clinging-aggregates a lingering residual 'I am' conceit, an 'I am' desire, an 'I am' obsession. But at a later time he keeps focusing on the phenomena of arising & passing away with regard to the five clinging-aggregates: 'Such is form, such its origin, such its disappearance. Such is feeling... Such is perception... Such are fabrications... Such is consciousness, such its origin, such its disappearance.' As he keeps focusing on the arising & passing away of these five clinging-aggregates, the lingering residual 'I am' conceit, 'I am' desire, 'I am' obsession is fully obliterated.

"Just like a cloth, dirty & stained: Its owners give it over to a washerman, who scrubs it with salt earth or lye or cow-dung and then rinses it in clear water. Now even though the cloth is clean & spotless, it still has a lingering residual scent of salt earth or lye or cow-dung. The washerman gives it to the owners, the owners put it away in a scent-infused wicker hamper, and its lingering residual scent of salt earth, lye, or cow-dung is fully obliterated.

"In the same way, friends, even though a noble disciple has abandoned the five lower fetters, he still has with regard to the five clinging-aggregates a lingering residual 'I am' conceit, an 'I am' desire, an 'I am' obsession. But at a later time he keeps focusing on the phenomena of arising & passing away with regard to the five clinging-aggregates: 'Such is form, such its origin, such its disappearance. Such is feeling... Such is perception... Such are fabrications... Such is consciousness, such its origin, such its disappearance.' As he keeps focusing on the arising & passing away of these five clinging-aggregates, the lingering residual 'I am' conceit, 'I am' desire, 'I am' obsession is fully obliterated."
SN 22.89

Answer 5

There is an opinion or view or understanding that one of the aggregates like body , feelings , consciousness, perceptions, choices are me , mine or myself. This leads to the opinion of self. There is also a hidden aspect to it. Not only is there a notion of self but there is a notion associated with it called conceit. Conceit means pride or excessive pride. For example- I am the Universe or I am the Earth or I am the Water or I am the Fire or I am rich or I am knowledgeable etc etc … Conceit leads to arrogance.

The practice which leads to annihilation of conceit is mastering the perception of impermanence. It wont happen suddenly but if you develop the understanding of impermanence then slowly the conceit will go away. Impermanence means the phenomena with which you are associating with will not last forever. In fact all conditioned phenomena are impermanent.

There is another form of conceit which seems abstract and exists only in the mind. The conceit of I AM. This sense of I AM is unconsciously associated with some phenomena.It reveals itself when you ask who are you? When the phenomena changes or vanishes the conceit suffers too.

Conceit leads to suffering. Being logical from Buddhist perspective in one thing and holding a conceit in another. Therefore develop an eye of impermanence and conceit will vanish.

Answer 6

I think practising honesty at all time is a first step towards minimizing conceit. The stress on honesty helps cultivates an objectivity that allows followers of Buddhism to evaluate, for themselves, their progress. Honesty w.r.t suffering is needed to form a clear and unbiased evaluation as well as accurately assess the pros and cons of actions, qualities, attitudes and views. For example, w.r.t drinking, we could make the following assessment:

1. Drinking affects the skill level of a person. Be it in academic, athletic or professional arena, alcohol impairs a person’s ability to perform at their best.
2. People who drink regularly tends to be in less control of their emotions. I believed this is because they do enjoy indulging in their emotions especially in a state of inebriation. I believe this habitual indulgence in emotions dulls one’s control over one’s own emotions and can lead to uncontrollable outbursts.
3. As alcohol lowers one’s inhibition, we may blurt out certain hurtful remarks to others while inebriated. Combining this with point 2 above, I have seen how a group of initially happy and boisterous drinkers end up quarrelling and fighting after one of them carelessly said something hurtful and the listener overreacted.

So, if someone offered us an alcoholic drink, the inner struggle that ensue is actually a result of this process of assessment and evaluation. It is not easy to be honest but honesty is needed to make a better decision and lifestyle choice that would lead to, hopefully, better well-being and future happiness. While this would help minimize “conceit”, it is also not a solution. To understand its complexity, I believe we need to realize that conceit is a skill/habit deeply ingrained to help us survive and do well in the world.

If there are two apples right now in front of us and we are asked to choose one, how would we select? Naturally, our mind immediately goes for the apple that is redder, shinier and crunchier. Thus, we will always go for the better option whether the better option is taking the shorter route, finding a better companion or looking for a better job. Why? Because our mind had been evolved to maximise the limited time, energy and resources that we possess in order to achieve the best outcome. And it is not because finding the better option and outcome is important. It is because we are important in our mind. If not, all options and outcomes are the same; they make no difference.

This comparison/evaluation extends to other areas like skills/virtues/qualities. I believe we learn/cultivate skills/virtues/qualities in samsara in order not to suffer and we compare our proficiency against others not just to boost our ego. It is also to open up opportunities for progress and advancement be it in academic grades, company promotion and so on. It is to ensure our own future well-being and happiness because of this innate self-importance. Therefore, conceit seems to serve a practical and pragmatic purpose so what is the problem then? The issues are:

• whatever skills/virtues/qualities we mastered; they will eventually fade without practise.
• they are not an absolute guarantee that we will not suffer.
• everything is constantly changing and evolving. The person whom we think is our equal could become better or worse the next moment.

In short, any kind of comparison or evaluation while they may serve a purpose; does not accord to the real nature of things that they are beyond our control and constantly changing. Holding on to any comparison or evaluation is to allow suffering to creep into our life.

If we don’t hold onto any comparison or evaluation, does this mean that conceit will no longer be a problem? I think it will still eventually become a problem especially with the Deathless. I believe this quality, skill or habit (however, we define or view it) is not needed in Nirvana. Having said that, others (e.g. @Sāvakohamasmi) had pointed out that conceit is useful and should be utilized in the Dharma practice until, perhaps, the final step.

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Addendum

It might be a misconception to think that conceit (from here on, we are addressing the unbiased, objective and truthful type of conceit) is like any other habit; it is easily counteract with the right view, attitude or practice such as meditating on impermanence and must be removed at the first opportunity. Similarly, in certain tradition, there is this perception that by meditating on sunnata (emptiness) or the 3 universal characteristic (anicca, anatta and dukkha), it is enough for one to attain liberation. However, in both cases if a person does not cultivate the noble eightfold path, it would be like trying to construct a building by simply pouring cement. All we will get is a puddle of hardened and dried concrete.

The noble eightfold path is needed to accomplish the development of virtue which in turn support the cultivation of concentration. Finally, concentration support the growth of wisdom and with wisdom helping to correct and further strengthening the practice. Assuming that the practice progresses properly, we experience lesser and lesser suffering in our life until it reaches a tipping point i.e. culminating in liberation.

The practice of virtue and concentration (in the path) is inherently difficult and challenging. That is why conceit is utilized to help in the path. Thinking “if the noble ones can perfect their virtue and concentration, so can I” is conceit that helps us in the path. Evaluating, comparing and knowing what is still missing in our practice is useful conceit e.g. I am still weak in this, I am still lacking that and so on. To remove conceit when it is still needed is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

In MN62, I believe Venerable Rāhula was already accomplished both in virtue and concentration. Any object of meditation that was instructed to him, he could easily understand, follow and practise them. I doubt if many had already fulfilled the pre-requisites of virtue and concentration to accomplish the same. At different stages of the path, one may need to apply different techniques and approaches to overcome the specific problems at that moment. It is not anatta, anicca or sunnata (emptiness) all the way. Otherwise, we may end up with strange scenarios. For example, a person may say, “Oh, it’s ok for me to be drunk or buzzed tonight because I will be sober again tomorrow. Being intoxicated is impermanent!” or “There is no drunkard here, just emptiness!”