又如,努力本身原無過失,但若將努力用於竊盜或傷害他人,必然導致錯誤與墮落的苦果。聰明本身是個難得的資質,若將聰明用在如何算計他人的心機上,最終害人害己,內心更是不得安寧。同樣地,要愛自己本無不妥,但若以愛我執──我是第一優先──的方式善待自己,就會轉化為狹隘自縛的小心眼,永遠不可能獲得掌控自心的主動權。當今心理學界公認亞倫.貝克(Aaron T. Beck)博士為認知療法(Cognitive Therapy)與認知行為療法(Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT)之父,他於一九六○年代創立且發展了認知療法理論與方法,並將其療法廣泛應用於憂鬱症及各種精神疾患的臨床治療,影響深遠。他曾說:「佛教與認知療法雙方共同認為,人們的最大問題是『人們過度沉迷於自己』,這還得靠某種或其他方法,令人們脫離這種自我陶醉的感受,讓人們進入大環境裡,認清自身原來只是現實世界的某一部分,進而減少對自身的關注。」(We both have the common assumption that the biggest problem with people is that people too much absorb themselves, and through one method or the other we are able to bring out this self-absorption, and get people to put themselves out in the cosmos as part of the real world, and to be less focus on themselves.)