[1] Wish: Be careful of what you wish for. If you want it too badly, you might behave too badly, by going too far to get it. Extreme attachment opens up a point of weakness, through which temptation to do evil can enter.
[2] Transgressions: Since all tangible transgressions arise from evil thoughts based on the three poisons of greed, hatred and delusion, what primary to guard from rising are these poisons in the mind, before they are actualised as words and deeds.
[3] Karma: Even that done legally to achieve something might not be that done morally. Even in societies with ‘fair’ but secular laws, it is possible to do that immoral yet not illegal. Even if there are legal loopholes, the ‘moral’ law of karma is foolproof.
[4] Competition: As long as you do your best from moment to moment, there is no need to compete for anything. Karmically then, if honour from victory is achieved, it will be well deserved. If it was not achieved, it was not well deserved.
[5] Complexes The only one to outdo continually is not others, but oneself. Outdoing others might give rise to superiority complex with arrogance, while failing to do so might give rise to inferiority complex with shame.
[6] Honour: Why ’win‘ if not honourably? With dishonour, it is a true loss (of morals) from the beginning and a hollow ‘victory’ in the end. And if the dishonour is not apologised for and rectified, this loss of honour perpetuates.
[7] Sacrifice: When you sacrifice your values to achieve a goal, you are sacrificing your ‘soul’, betraying your most precious Buddha-nature. It is thus never worth it. The true goal is spiritual in nature, to conquer the three poisons, not anyone else.
[8] Worthiness: If your ‘victory’ arises from the three poisons, it was empowered by evil within and/or without. With cheating achieved, it is thus not the true ‘you’ who won, rendering such a ‘victory’ pointless, worthless and meaningless.
