Goodness

"...with every person we harm, we really hurt only ourselves. Every being is on a quest for happiness of some form or another; others are not so different from us that we need to violate them. The wish to hurt is usually born from not acknowledging that what we see in them is ourselves. The idea of restraint is to enable us to live in harmony with the community around us. If we do not stick to those rules we create conflict. In an atmosphere of conflict it is difficult to practice yoga. Not only are harmful actions toward others based on afflictions such as ignorance, egoism, and aversion, but they also produce new subconscious imprints of violence. For example, if we abuse somebody once, it becomes easier for us to do it again. The hurdle for repetition has been lowered. If we have initiated a domestic fight with our partner, we have laid, via imprint, the foundation for its repetition. It is more likely now that it will happen again. A serial killer, having gotten away with murder once, is likely to repeat the action in decreasing time intervals. To violate others is based on wrong perception (viparyaya). We violate others in an effort to dominate them. We try to dominate because we believe that, in their subdued state, others pose no threat to our security. We feel our security is at risk because we are in conflict with ourselves. We identify with the notion of conflict because we believe we have to become somebody, to get somewhere, to develop, to follow a path, to complete a search. 

In short, conflict arises out of the desire to become, rather than accepting what is now."