“And this is why we practice the Virtues.
Because it is uplifting.
It uplifts the mind in peace.”
Reading:
‘When one repeatedly calls to mind blameless behavior,
the mind becomes clear and bright,
Joy wells up from within,
and the mind sheds its defilements.’
Now, this is not selfish,
this is just being realistic,
and the Buddha actually teaches us to do that.
To consider (Virtues)…
Because there are so many things you could
spend your life thinking about.
(Laughter)
But you can think about what you didn’t do also.
(Laughter)
Like the good things that you did or,
the things that, it’s good that you did not do.
There was this talk I listened to from Ajahn Kovilo and he said that they were asking Ajahn Pasanno once, because he is a very senior monk, he had started wats and monasteries and established many communities, especially in the west. He is the abbot of Abhayagiri, which is the biggest monastery in North Amercia, in the United States. And the monks asked him about what he was the most happy about, in his life, about his accomplishements and he said:
“That I didn’t hurt anybody”
(Laughter)
So I think that is so beautiful,
so profound,
and we often really overlook that…