Tagged: virtuous
Being virtuous and doing what is “right.”
Little Jimmy used to ask so many questions to his Daddy. Little Jimmy “used to” ask him, until his daddy sent him to his Mommy to answer the “hard ones” instead.
Little Jimmy: Are squirrels good or bad? Grandma told me that one of them stole some nuts from her table…
Daddy: That was a bad squirrel!… but squirrels aren’t bad…
Little Jimmy: What about a snake? They probably have accumulated “bad karma” from killing and eating live animals, right? They must be “bad”!
Daddy: Snakes usually eat alive animals for a living.
Little Jimmy: But they kill animals to survive…. That must be “bad”…
Daddy: “Good and Bad” are made up concepts by human beings. Nature or animals are neither “bad nor good.”
Little Jimmy: Isn’t a human being an animal?
Daddy: It depends who you ask. My answer is: Sometimes.
Little Jimmy: Sometimes? I don’t understand that. We are animals or we are not…
Daddy: Go ask your Mom to explain to you.
When a human being has lots of questions and learns about logical thinking and starts to reason, that human being wants to “make sense” out of the world.
Through that thinking, the need to come up with activities deemed to be “right” becomes a necessity.
That is what we call “morality.” 🙂
Life is not logical, nor Nature. If those were logical then a human being could be wise and happy just by applying logic to his daily life.
That is not the case. It will never be.
Nevertheless, the “thinking animal,” thrives in thought and that is how an artificial society has been born. It is artificial because it does not play harmoniously with Nature. A Human being is continually “fixing” things when his analysis fail to balance the reality of life.
Out of that thinking to “fix” things is how “doing” what is right appeared. “Doing the right thing” is usually an activity which is supported by a thoughtful “moral code.” That activity has to be continuous, that is there has to be consistency for a human being to be considered “good,” or even better a “great soul,” or a “saint.”
See that those labels are artificial and do not represent virtue in itself but the prevalent idea of what is “right.”
Obviously, that idea will change as societies evolve.
When we are caught up in “doing” right, we cannot be “good.” We cannot be virtuous. Why? Because we are not playing harmoniously with Nature. We are merely following a “code of conduct” believed to be the “right thing.”
This is how every philosophy, every belief system, every thought pattern has a contradiction in it, that is something which cannot solve itself with more thought.
Virtue as being in harmony with everything, means to interact with the “Totality” as “Oneness.” That cannot happen as long as there is a thought behind it, for a thought separates.
The thought of “uniting” 2 individuals is simply acknowledging the separation between 2 and pretending with further thinking, in being united.
That is not how animals in the wild act. Their sense of togetherness or unity is not based on “human moral codes,” but there is a “something” which binds their activities to a harmonious balance with the “Totality,” with Nature. That is a non-cultivated wisdom, which human beings have lost.
When a human being acts as an instrument of the totality of life, there is a common binding element; that is virtue. When a human being acts as an individual, then his interest will be contradicting that Totality.
Again this is not something to think about logically to see where my words and phrases aren’t logical, but to observe in “reality,” that is in ourselves.
Virtue is not something that could be cultivated through thinking. That is a faked activity.
Virtue comes in connection, in relationship with wholesomeness, with the Totality as Oneness.
To get there is not a matter of more thinking, or accepting more beliefs, but a matter of opening our feelings to connect with everything without words, logic, solutions, or assumptions.
If our actions come from that connection to that Totality, that is the “common good” then that activity has virtue. If our activities just come out of some belief or some moral code, there is no virtue in that, but greater ego.
We cannot “practice” a virtue. We can practice a belief but never a virtue.
Want to be virtuous? :-)
“One of subtle universal virtue
Is not conscious of being virtuous,
Therefore, he is truly virtuous.
One of partial virtue attempts to live up to
An external standard of virtue,
Therefore, he is not truly virtuous.
One of whole virtue does not need to do anything
In order to be virtuous,
Because virtue is the very essence
Of one’s true nature.
But one of partial virtue believes that something
Must be done in order to prove that he is virtuous.
Thus, partial virtue becomes prevalent
When people fail to follow their own true nature.
Benevolence becomes prevalent
When people fail to be naturally kind.
Etiquette becomes prevalent
When people fail to be righteous and considerate.
When people find no response with etiquette,
They roll up their sleeves
And force others to respond to them.
When people stray from the subtle way of universal nature,
They cannot longer perceive their own true nature.
Thus they emphasize relative virtue
When natural virtue is lost,
Society depends on the doctrine of humanism
When humanity becomes corrupted,
Social and religious teachings appear
And become powerful forces.
When social and religious teachings become corrupted,
What is left behind is the empty shell
Of superficial ceremonies and artificial etiquette.
When etiquette is emphasized,
It is because people lack the simple qualities
Of fairness and kindness
This is the starting point of people of confusion
All of these man-made, partial virtues
Are merely superficial flowers, a false nature.
When people begin to move away
From their own true nature,
It is the beginning of hypocrisy.
Therefore, one who integrates
his own individual being
with the deep nature of the universe
sets his heart upon the root of reality
rather than the husk,
and upon the nourishment of the fruit
rather than the fleeting beauty of the flowers.
Truly, he cherishes what is deep within
Rather than what is shallow without.
Knowing this.
He knows what to accept and what to reject.”
Tao teh Ching Ch 38 – translation by Hua-Ching Ni from “The complete works of Lao Tzu.”
If we are capable of “understanding” the above without analyzing it, but just by looking into our own experience of life, then we could find its usefulness and appreciate that.
Virtue is not something to achieve by doing a practice. Virtue is already present when we integrate our sentiments or feelings with the whole totality of life; that is when we feel that unity with all. As long as the mind interferes with ideas, philosophies, information, analysis, logic and all of that man made business; there can only be separation. In that separation virtue cannot bloom. The seed is already within us. The water and sunshine of pure feelings is what that seed needs to grow, develop and thrive.
Is avyakt7 a taoist? No just that… but more than that… a human being 🙂
Being Humble
For those “working on” being a virtuous human being; one of the most talk about virtues is that of being humble.
If we go into the Google dictionary for a definition of that word, we will read: “Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.” Even “of low social, administrative, or political rank.”
For someone used to “becoming” what the dictionary says; a concise translation of humble is to “lower yourself.” 😦
Mark: “I am a very good cook.”
Mary: “That could be true, but you are not humble at all.”
Isn’t that what we believe to “humble”?
Mark: “ I know, I am a very good cook… but if I don’t express that, “others” will recognize me as being humble.”
Mary: “That is being a fake, Mark!”
Fortunately, Mark does not think out loud very often. 🙂
In Spirituality, many things are interpreted with the mentality of someone who is used to worldly ways.
In the world, we “work hard and long hours to make things happen” therefore, in Spirituality if “I” want a virtue to be “mine,” “I” will need to “work on it.”
The dictionary’s meaning of “humble” is merely a word denoting the opposite of “proud.”
Please see that when we are dealing with “opposite meanings,” we are in duality and when we are in duality, we cannot possibly know what goes beyond duality; otherwise known as “pure.”
And the big question is WHY?
Because, that duality only expresses 2 sides of ego. When you estimate yourself low that is ego, as well as when there is a high esteem. But we can make it sound “nice” and “religious” by calling it “humble.”
As a matter of fact, for most that word “humble” already comes with “good” connotations. It is a “good” word to say. It is a “good” thing to be. A “good” ideal to strive for, to work for.
The above is only shown as to make us aware about the “power or words” in our life.
At the same time, the power of “I.” 🙂
There cannot be deep understanding of spirituality, when we are trying to “save” that “I,” by lowering it or by highlighting it.
There cannot be spiritual understanding of what we call a “virtue,” when we rely on the dictionary for meaning.
What is to be humble?
Humble only appears when there is no sense of “I” separating from the “others.”
When there is separation through thinking, “I” am already comparing. In that comparison, there is “ego” underneath.
When “I” think about “I,” the body is used as a point of reference. That body as unit. If the stomach hurts, then that is the time when “I” start making magical separations.
“My stomach.” “My liver.” That separation continues on as we get “smarter,” “educated.”
My “Sternocleidomastoid” muscle hurts… 🙂
However, we don’t see that the body works as a unit. Everything is related with each organ, muscle, tissue, ligament, etc. which is connected with our emotional and psychological aspect, which in turn manifests in the subtle, the aura, and then in the physical through an organ… and that is the outcome, the pain that we point out: “my stomach” rather than “it hurts here” pointing to the location of the stomach.
Most of the time, the stomach is not the culprit of that pain but usually that pain comes from other sources, from what “I” have done… 🙂
Language is not bad, just inaccurate for full communication. That is why in Spirituality we need to live something to understand.
The same is with being “humble.” All virtuous living will come as our perception of separation through that “I,” diminishes.
At that point a humble person will be someone who is fully displaying all the gifts that life has endowed him/her for the benefit of all; the common good.
Mark: “This food turned out to be good!”
Mary: “It must be the gift of the cook…”
Want to become an angel?
One of the best explanations I have found about this “process” could be read in the “Hua Hu Ching,” Chapter 59.
“Greed for enlightenment and immortality is no different than greed for material wealth.
It is self-centered and dualistic, and thus an obstacle to true attainment. Therefore these states are never achieved by those who covet them; rather, they are the reward of the virtuous.
If you wish to become a divine immortal angel, then restore the angelic qualities of your being through virtue and service. This is the only way to gain the attention of the immortals who teach the methods of energy enhancement and integration that are necessary to reach the divine realm.
These angelic teachers cannot be sought out; it is they who seek out the student.
When you succeed in connecting your energy with the divine realm through high awareness and the practice of undiscriminating virtue, the transmission of the ultimate subtle truths will follow. This is the path that all angels take to the divine realm.”
There are many beings of light who are helping at this time. This is the “Godly team.”
This is important to know because your affiliation to a particular religion or creed does not determine that these “divine beings,” will “choose you.” There is more to that. Many lifetimes are behind that.
It is more about our own qualities and capacity to live a virtuous life of service to humanity, which is not related with belonging to an organized group or devotional practice. It is basically your innate quality to help humanity without looking for an ulterior motive. Being self-less. Humanity is you.
Sincerity, honesty. Back to the basics.
Moreover, those qualities do not appear all of a sudden in this “lifetime,” but as we are aware of the law of karma, we recognize that what we are here “today” is nothing else but the consequence of other activities in our past lives.
Thus, angels are “meant to be,” not something that happens all of a sudden out of just joining a group or performing “important” deeds. Angels are helping hands to humanity. The rest is devotional imagination.
It is important to know that in life, every experience that someone goes through will lead that person to his destination, which is none but to experience the range of his own spiritual capacity.
The inner work of a person who will become an “angel” is not easy, for there is nothing as hard as to take the “rust out of the self,” it is like peeling your own skin of cover ups, weaknesses and complexes; just to be free and light, again.
Light so you can be light for others.
Life “tests” and experiences are meant to clean up an individual. The tests are many and there is no “failure” there but just the appreciation of your own capacity for spiritual growth.
The bus of destiny will unload some individuals at different corners according to their roles in life. That is their capacity. Stop signs are located at every corner. Only few will go the whole ride to the last bus stop and this capacity, will bring help from “up above.”
All is good. Life is good… 🙂
Exploring the Depth of Living 