Virtue to you? Virtue to me? Virtue to both of us.

“virtue inevitably benefits both oneself and others" -Hallisey

It seems obvious the idea of virtue benefiting others. After all, “doing” is an outward act, inevitably felt by others. To be virtuous is to do virtuous things, which are, in essence, intended to benefit others. The more complex part of the statement comes when considering the self and virtue’s benefits upon it.

It always seems that way doesn’t it? It is just so easy to observe the people around you, and interpret their existence in your mind.

The difficulty is found in interpreting what makes yourself happy. And what makes yourself act the way you do. What Hallisey presents in his statement is the Buddhist concept of having no difficulty in distinguishing the difference between “benefits” to others and “benefits” to the self.

This truth is applied in the fact that Buddhist teachings do not prioritize the steps to virtue. There is no path or law that determines which to focus on first; compassion towards others or compassion towards the self. The two come hand in hand. Find one, and the other follows. Unconditional compassion is nothing more or less than unconditional compassion. If one virtuous direction is mastered, the other has already blossomed alongside. And better said, it is it's stem.

Theoretical classification of Buddhism (Keown)

"Is it egotistic or altruistic? Is it relativistic or absolutistic? is it objective or subjective? Is it deontological or teleological? is it naturalistic or non-naturalistic?" - Jayatilleke


Response by Damien Keown (from book Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction 2005) pg. 30-31

"Buddhism is both egoistic and altruistic in the sense that it sees moral conduct as leading simultaneously to the good of oneself and others. It is relativistic in the sense that it includes scope for flexibility where appropriate, but not in the sense of holding that moral norms (as distinct customs of etiquette) are merely a function of local cultural and historical circumstances. It is absolutistic in holding that certain things are always immoral (greed and hatred, for instance) and that certain things are always good (such as compassion, and non-violence). On the quetion of objectivity, we saw that in the previous chapter that as an aspect of Dharma, Buddhist ethical teachers are thought to be objectivily true and in accordance with the nature of things. If Dharma exists in this sense as an objective moral law it suggests that through the use of reason individuals can ensure that the choices they make are objectively valid - that is to say that they reach the same conclusions as would an enlightened reasoner. We can add that in maintaing that the truth about right and wrong is objective and can be known through the proper use of intellectual faculties such as insight (prajñá), Buddhist would appear to be a cognitive ethical philosphy. This means it hold taht moral truth can be discerned through reason, and that moral judgements are not merely subjective or a matter of personal taste, like a preference for red wine over white wine. Finally, we can conclude that Buddhist ethics is naturalistic (naturalist theories of ethics hold that an account can be given of moral conduct at the level of natural science). Buddhism holds there is a close connection between ethics and psychology, which is seen in the way moral conduct leads gradually to a transformation in the nature of the individual as little by little the virtuous person evolves into a Buddha."

He may be sexist, but he sure as hell was wise.

pg. 294 "Wind, Sand and Stars" by Antoine de Saint Exupery

"In a world become a desert we thirst for comradeship. It is the savor of bread broken with comrades that makes us accept the values of war. But there are other ways than war to bring us the warmth of race, shoulder to shoulder, towards an identical goal. War has tricked us. It is not true that hatred adds anything to the exaltation of the race.

Why should we hate one another? We all live in the same cause, are born through life on the same planet, form the crew of the same ship. Civilizations may, indeed, compete to bring forth new syntheses, but it is monstrous that they should devour one another.

To set man free it is enough that we help one another to realize that there does exist a goal towards which all mankind is striving. Why should we not strive towards that goal together, since it is what unites us all? The surgeon pays no heed to the moaning of his patient: beyond that pain it is man he is seeking to heal. That surgeon speaks a universal language. The physicist does the dame when he ponders those almost divine equations in which he seizes the whole physical universe from the atom to the nebula. Even the simple shepherd modestly watching his sheep under the stars would discover, once he understood the part he was playing, that he was something more than a servant, was a sentinel. And each sentinel among men is responsible for the whole of the empire."

just letting off steam... the Native American Issue

There is one societal group in which I have invested much time to study and research that serves as a devastating example to the “Price of Progress” by John Bodley. They are a nation who have paid which their lives, many of their languages and with them, the complexities of their cultures. These people, are the Native Americans. Here, listed bellow, are eight out of the top 10 poorest counties in the United States. All are either on reservations or are demographically Native American in majority.

1) Buffalo County (Crow Creek Indian Rez)
2) Shannon County (Pine Ridge Rez)
3) Ziebach County (72% NA)
4) Todd County (Rosebudd Rez)
5) Sioux County (Standing Rock Rez)
6) Corson County (Standing Rock Rez)
7) Wade Hampton, AK (92% NA)
8) Apache County, AZ (Navajo Nation)

Buffalo County, of the Crow Creek Reservations rakes in $5,213 per capita income. These tribes/nations were once thriving, healthy people who roaming (primarily) nomadically across North America. These are the results after about 300 years of European settler contacts. Despite the initial goal of ethnically cleansing the Native American people, the main intention of the white conquerors was to bring Native Americans into white society to improve their way of life. Native Americans today suffer in health greatly from alcohol related problems and diabetes caused from bad diet on a low income foods. These health issues are detrimental to the continuation of their various cultures and histories because they serve as poverty-derived distractions. A common feature among many tribal, native or conquered peoples of the world.

Thoughts on 3 Critical Ethical Qualities

Compassion; actively reaching for unconditional love for all matter, which is realized through

Observance; focus, awareness and observation strengthens one's compassion and enhances knowledge while promoting

Patience; the ability to find content in the present moment, and to release of the need to attain a certain thing in a certain way at a certain time.