Lots of people try to follow discipline. Personally, I recommend following the vinaya. The only thing is however, you need to overcome neurosis and delusion.

You can wake up early, go to work all day, or maybe you just need to meditate and learn wisdom and compassion. I opt for the latter. The day can be long however, and by the late afternoon, most people, if not all, tire and wonder how to cope with the evening. I’m not a sloth. I practice good mindfulness, alertness and introspection, and I keep all my vows of moral discipline, but having some alcohol has proven to sooth the heart and keep my enthusiasm alive.

Why don’t you enjoy a glass of red wine or a gin and tonic or whiskey and diet coke. There is no harm there, as long as you don’t binge drink and over do it. One drink, two drinks, or even three drinks. What people need to learn is to relax and take life with a good healthy dose of renunciation, bodhicitta and correct view. How do you do that? Well you need to follow the wisdom of the wise, people like His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso and motivate yourself with bodhicitta, the wish to be a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings.