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Virtue Medicine

By James Barton

Why Study the Virtues?

The main instruments that you have to effect your circumstances and life experience are your thoughts, your speech and your actions. These 3 aspects are the outer fruits of your Character. Deeper even than beliefs, your character, your relationships with the archetypal aspects of your nature actually effect your reality. The root of all the problems in the world is in the character of individual people. If the world seems a dark and troubled place, do not curse it further. Instead light a candle by uplifting your own character. You will be teaching by example and what you learn as you improve your own character may be shared with others just as one candle lights another.

Can Character Be Changed?

Yes, character can certainly be changed. In fact at every moment everyone's character changes whether we like it or not. The changes may may be tiny and hardly noticeable but they occur never the less. These changes happen for many reasons. Contemplate how character changes naturally. Can these character changing events be recreated and harnessed for conscious self improvement? I say yes. Find out for yourself.

What is Virtue?

Virtue is not a particular behaviour grafted onto your personality from the outside. It is not living a certain way because of fear of punishment or hope of reward from an outside authority. All such artificial structures obscure natural virtue and will collapse along with vices and bad habits when we re-integrate our natural virtue. Natural virtue is acting with deep awareness, free from irrational attractions or repulsions to particular circumstances. It is in harmony with the situation. If the main feature of the situation is connected with danger we call Virtue Bravery and Caution. If the main feature of the situation is connected with information we call Virtue Honesty etc. We are like musical instruments capable of the full range of expression. When a note comes from outer reality we respond with a complimentary note, the whole forms a chord, a harmony. But if we believe we cannot play a certain note or if we refuse to play it then we cause a dischord in our lives, a conflict and we experience suffering. A healthy character means that we love and are aware of all the different aspects of our being so that we are always in harmony.

Believers in God and Athiests

This guide is for those who believe in God and for athiests. Both groups are welcome. If you believe in God you should ask God to help you re-integrate your virtues and become a better person. If you are an athiest you should value and rely on your own potential. Are there limits to how virtuous you may become? Some believers in God think so for various reasons and are in fact in broard agreement with some atheists who believe there are limits for various other reasons. I feel a healthy doubt and defiance for the limiting beliefs. However if you believe there are limits I encourage you to explore the upper boundaries of what you think is possible.

If it is foolish to put false limits on your potential then it is even more foolish to use those self imposed limits as an excuse to not even try and reach those limits. If you theorise a limit then strive to reach it first and then look again with fresh eyes. From your new and deserved higher viewpoint you may find that there is an even deeper harmony possible for you.

Is There a Foundation Virtue?

Many people interested in the virtues, ethics and morality etc have put forth ideas that a particular virtue is the base of all the others. Study these quotes to see what I mean:

"I think the first virtue is to restrain the tongue; he approaches nearest to gods who knows how to be silent, even though he is in the right. "
Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC)

"Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount."
Clare Booth Luce(1903 - 1987)

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."
Cicero(106 BC - 43 BC)

"Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue."
John Herschel (1792 - 1871)

"Patience is the greatest of all virtues."
Cato the Elder(234 BC - 149 BC)

"One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest."
Maya Angelou(1928 - )

"Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired."
Erik H. Erikson

"Only the brave know how to forgive; it is the most refined and generous pitch of virtue human nature can arrive at."
Sterne

"No virtue is safe that is not enthusiastic."
Sir J. R. Seeley

"There are many shining qualities on the mind of man; but none so useful as discretion. It is this which gives a value to all the rest, and sets them at work in their proper places, and turns them to the advantage of their possessor. Without it, learning is pedantry; wit, impertinence; virtue itself looks like weakness; and the best parts only qualify a man to be more sprightly in errors, and active to his own prejudice. Though a man has all other perfections and wants discretion, he will be of no great consequence in the world; but if he has this single talent in perfection, and but a common share of others, he may do what he pleases in his station of life."
Joseph Addison(1672 - 1719)

"The most eminent virtue is doing simply what we have to do."
Jose Maria Peman, Spanish writer, El Divino Impaciente

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
Clive Staples Lewis

"Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues."
John Locke

"In justice is all virtues found in sum"
An Aristotle proverb.

"Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues."
Kong Fu Zi

In contrast to this VirtueScience perceives every virtue to support (and be supported by) every other virtue.

Each of the quotes above is true to a certain extent but they miss the holistic picture. Each is an insight into a particular relationship within the matrix of virtues. Probably due to personal & cultural influences they have looked through the lens of a particular virtue and seen it as superior or more profound than the other virtues. This is a distortion.

VirtueScience attempts to view the subject of the Virtues in a universal way-free from personal bias.

For me Corinthians 13 shows that Love supports and is supported by all the other virtues. For example:

"love does not boast" shows that the perfect Love is Humble. Naturally then the perfect Humbleness is Loving.

"Love is long suffering" shows that the perfect Love is Patient. Naturally then the perfect Patience is Loving.

Also Patience to be perfect must be Humble and Humbleness to be perfect must be Patient.

Now consider Bravery. If ones Love faultered because of danger than it would not be perfect would it. Perfect Love just like any other virtue must be Brave. And Bravery must contain every other virtue to be perfect as well.

In a way it is impossible to talk about one virtue without talking about All Virtue as well. We may call this Perfect Virtue "Love" if we like.

How are the Virtues Interconnected?

Every virtue reflects and is reflected in every other virtue. To uplift one virtue is to help uplift every other virtue. To perfect one virtue is to perfect all virtues. For example, perfect bravery must also be humble, gentle, spontaneous, patient and compassionate and so on, through every other virtue, otherwise it would not be perfect.

By reintegrating bravery you are, to some extent, automatically reintegrating it into every other aspect of your being. So if your patience or compassion for example falter when danger is near, then boosting your bravery will help heal your patience and compassion. This general principle can be harnessed to a greater extent by reuniting virtues in a conscious way.

Every Virtue is Useful in Awakening the Other Virtues. Every virtue is a unique power that is ever ready to help you in awakening the other virtues and in all ways maintain balance and harmony. Thus every virtue is an individual pathway to overall wholeness and well-being.

Examples of Individual Pathways
If you attain complete spontaneity, your every thought and action can only arise from the virtuous mind. Living continually in the present moment you bypass any beliefs or habits which you will notice are always linked to past or future: never the present reality, which can only be perceived directly.

If you attain complete bravery then all the fears and aversions which acted as barriers to the various aspects of your being will collapse.

If you attain complete compassion you naturally love and accept all the previously rejected aspects of yourself thus fully reintegrating all your inner qualities.

Virtue Pairs

Virtues come in pairs which are complimentary to each other: the opposite of a virtue is always another virtue. If we internally prefer one virtue to its opposite partner, it becomes over extended and imbalanced whilst its partner becomes weak and stunted.

The Famous Pool Table Example.

Imagine a pooltable with one white ball behind the line.

The aim of the challenge is to hit the ball with the exact force needed so as to come to rest at the far end.

If insufficient force is used the ball will not reach the far cushion.(lack of force)(weakness)(ie lacking in strength)

If excess force is used the ball will reach the far cushion but then bounce back.(excess of force)(roughness)(ie lacking in gentleness)

If the right amount of force is used the ball will reach the cushion and remain there.(right force)(called gentle because the extreme of roughness is avoided)(called strength because the extreme of weakness is avoided)



This example illustrates a principle that applies to all the virtues and vices.

The opposite of a virtue is always another virtue. The opposite of a vice is always another vice.

Opposite virtues are actually a single state. The 2 virtue labels simply indicate the dual qualities of that state.


Examples of the Virtuous Opposites
BRAVERY and CAUTION are a complimentary pair. If I do not accept the CAUTION within me I will tend to be RECKLESS and take too many risks. On the other hand If I do not accept the BRAVERY within me, I will tend to be cowardly and miss out on opportunities.

Most people believe that the opposite of STRENGTH is WEAKNESS but this is not so. WEAKNESS is actually a LACK of STRENGTH. The opposite of too little force(WEAKNESS) is too much force(ROUGHNESS). The actual opposite of STRENGTH is GENTLENESS. They are a single state. Perfect STRENGTH must also be perfectly GENTLE otherwise it would fall into ROUGHNESS. Perfect GENTLENESS must also be perfectly STRONG otherwise it would fall into weakness.

The opposite of perfect HUMBLENESS is perfect MAJESTY. They are a single state. It is impossible to be ARROGANT without also being INSECURE. These concepts have to do with self worth. REVERENCE and AUDACITY have to do with the worth of others. Lacking REVERENCE for someone we fall into rudeness. Lacking AUDACITY we fall into idolization. So HUMBLENESS, MAJESTY, REVERENCE and AUDACITY are all connected by the concept of worth. Every virtue is a member of a specific group of four virtues connected by a simple concept.

The Virtues and Vices: A clearer look at a symmetrical pattern
This table is a level of Order above a simple list of virtues and vices. Try not to get cought up in the words but look deeper to the actual universal concepts that they represent.

Cowardice	Caution	Bravery	Recklessness
Weakness	Gentleness	Strength	Roughness
	Flexibility	Steadfastness	Stubbornness
Meanness	Prudence	Generosity	Extravagance
OverSecretiveness	Discretion	Openness	Big Mouth
		Curiosity	Nosyness
Mistrust	Doubt	Trust	Gullibility
Inferiority	Humbleness	Majesty	Arrogance
	Reverence	Audacity	Disrespect
	Patience	Spontaneity	Rashness
Frivolity	Playfulness	Seriousness
	Obedience	Defiance	Disobedience
	Giving Leeway	Authority
Disloyalty	Impartiality	Loyalty	Favouritism
	Knowing when to quit	Perseverance
Intolerance		Endurance	Putting up with too Much
	Spontaneity	Preparation
Incompleteness	Simplicity	Completeness	Over-Complexity
Worry	Concern	Contentment	Complacency

You will notice that it is not a complete table and there are still gaps, but the interested reader will get the general idea. There are levels of order above this one. The greater the order the more use the diagram will be.

Equilibrium is Healthy

Here is a favorite quote from Osho:

______________________________________

Mokusen Hiki was living in a temple in the province of Tamba. One of his adherents complained of the stinginess of his wife. Mokusen visited the adherent's wife and held his clenched fist before her face.

'What do you mean by that?' asked the surprised woman. 'Suppose my hand were always like that, what would you call it?' 'Deformed,' replied the woman.

Then he opened his hand flat in her face and asked: suppose it were always like that -- what then? 'Another kind of deformity,' said the wife.

'If you understand that much,' finished Mokusen, 'you are a good wife.' Then he left. After his visit this wife helped her husband to distribute as well as to save.
______________________________________

"The greatest art is to attain a balance, a balance between all opposites, a balance between all polarities. Imbalance is the disease and balance is health. Imbalance is neurosis, and balance is well- being." Osho

Describe your personality. Are you introverted or extroverted? Are you cautious or brave? Are you steadfast or flexible? What other labels have you used to describe your self-your character? If you identify with one opposite and deny it's partner then it is a deformity. Truely both qualities are within you so why identify with one over the other? To have an irrational tendency towards or away from a particular quality is merely a temporary lobsidedness caused by limited past experience. Why do I say the experience is limited? This is because you must have had one or more distressing or favorable experiences with one opposite relative to it's partner. When you have had many, many good and bad experiences with both opposites you begin to view them equally.

This is how it goes. You start off in ignorance of the concepts. Being ignorant you are neither attracted or repulsed by either of them. You are in a state of unconscious neutrality.

As you begin to experience good and bad situations connected with the concepts then you become semiconscious of them. Semiconsciousness is the level of attractions and repulsions, greed and hatred.

After many more experiences you become more and more aware of the concepts. This is the level of conscious neutrality. Now because you see the concepts clearly you are free. If a situation comes up then you simply act in the right way.

But must we experience all those different experiences to gain the freedom? No this is not necessary. Simply by contemplating and loving both opposites equally we remain free in the middle. Unbound by irrational tendencies and temporary identifications we are neither this nor that. How then can our nature be described?

The perfect unchanging balance in the walker is their love and use of both legs equally. It is the inner relationship that is in balance. This inner balance allows for the dynamic equilibrium of the outer activity.

Imagine someone walking barefoot. They step with their left foot painfully onto a sharp stone.

If years later they still walk with a tendency towards their right foot then that is an irrational tendency caused by limited experience.

It is just the same as a personality being introvert or extrovert. The healthy personality has an equal love of both modes. So in a way they are neither in particular. This is the unchanging balance: they love both equally. Because of this equal love they can respond appropriately to external stimuli: sometimes they *appear* extrovert and sometimes they *appear* introvert. But in reality their personality is free of identification with either. This freedom comes from much experience in both modes.

If someone had only a little experience, then particular positive or negative experiences would, relatively, seem more important and would correspondingly effect the personality to a greater extent.

So if someone with little experience had a painful experience when being extoverted they would from then on tend towards being introverted.(example needs qualifications) This lobsidedness is inner and can be corrected. This principle is true for all inner qualities.

When someone describes their character: they are giving themselves a map showing themselves the inner aspects which are not being loved and accepted and which can be re-integrated.

What Virtue shall I work on?

If you have decided that you want to take responsibility for your character and heal/uplift it then the question will arise: what Virtue shall I work on first. Here are some approaches to help you decide:

• Selecting a Virtue at random safeguards against personal bias.
• Selecting a Virtue that seems to be the remedy to your most long standing character flaw may produce the biggest positive change if successful.
• Selecting a Virtue connected to a recent personal drama helps focus the mind on it.
• Selecting a Virtue that comes into your mind after asking for Inner/Divine guidance may be the best choice for reasons you are not consciously aware of.
• Selecting a Virtue because of particular criticism from another maybe good. The criticism maybe constructive and insightful. Even if the criticism seems unjustified you will benefit. Did you feel anger at being criticised? Work well on the associated virtue and your anger may turn to the deepest Gratitude.
• Selecting a Virtue that you already identify with and adore may allow you to deepen your your Love to include all Virtues.
• If you meet or hear of someone with a particular Virtue that you admire then use that admiration as power to help you master the that Virtue yourself. If you feel jealous about someone else's fine character then explore the roots of that jealousy. If you look deep enough the jealousy will be replaced by the good qualities that you envied.
• If you are enthusiastic about a goal, use that enthusiasm thus: ask yourself what Virtue would help you achieve your goal. Use your enthusiam to help increase that Virtue.


Experiment with the different approaches above and see which works best for you. Viewing the above list try and come up with some other approaches.




Obsolete Vows and Promises

Your inner landscape is shaped forcefully by the vows you have made. Apart from formal vows that you have made consciously there maybe many thousands of vows that you have made semiconsciously at times of stress or even in jest. These may still be effecting you now. Formal vows include vows of poverty and chastity, vows of loyalty to a particular cause or person and wedding vows etc. Semiconscious vows may be made when we have been emotionally hurt such as "I will not give my heart again!" or I will not do so and so again etc. Affirmations about self or the world said with certainty at times of stress are like vows. How many labels have you put on yourself?




Metaphors in Self Improvement

The language of the inner world is in symbols. When utilising visualisation we must picture images that correspond with the effects that we wish to produce apon our character.

We wish to:

Heal Our Virtues Protect Our Virtues Cleanse Our Virtues Empower Our Virtues Awaken Our Virtues Unveil Our Virtues Nourish Our Virtues Liberate Our Virtues Unite Our Virtues







Dedications

Whilst vows can end up being limiting and harmful the principle of making vows can be modified in such a way that we can harness the benefits without harm. Silently dedicate your next few breathes towards nourishing your Bravery. Just silently say "I dedicate the next few breathes to nourishing my Bravery." Now relax for a few seconds and imagine the quality of Bravery within you being fully nourished. Do this a few times in a row if you like. Do this for each virtue that you want to work on, using an appropriate self improvement metaphor from the list above each time.




Inner Silence

Our true nature is beyond concepts.

"that state which transcends speech and thought ...; it is meditation without mental activity. Subjugation of the mind is meditation; deep meditation is eternal silence."

"Silence is ever-speaking, it is the perennial flow of "language." It is interrupted by speaking, for words destroy this mute language. Silence is unceasing eloquence. It is the best language. There is a state when words cease and silence prevails."

"Lectures may entertain individuals for hours without improving them. Silence, on the other hand, is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity.... Preaching is simple communication of Knowledge: it can really be done in silence only. What do you think of a man who listens to a sermon for an hour and goes away without having been impressed by it so as to change his life? Compare him with another who sits in a holy presence and goes away after some time with his outlook on life totally changed. Which is the better, to preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending out inner force?"




Contemplation

The deep study of a subject increases awareness. If you study a subject deeply enough then your awareness about it will increase. Limiting and error filled beliefs will fall away. You will gain control over the subject.

Choose a quality that you wish to undestand and become fully aware of. Turn it over in your mind. Question your assumptions about the subject. If you do not have full knowledge of a subject then there must be particular areas of ignorance inside of you. Explore those dark areas with the Light of your awareness. The false beliefs will fall away and useful truths will be revealed.

It is not a matter of memorising a large number of facts, it is a matter of ever deepening your understanding of a few key universal principles. As your awareness of the roots of life progressively increases mini inner revolutions will take place within you. In actuality you will realize that you are at one with Virtue.




The Science of Combinations

A small number of simple things can make up in different combinations, a large number of more complicated things. Just as a small number of letters can combine to make countless words and just as all the myriad substances in the world are formed from a comparatively few chemical elements so all the concepts and situations, in their infinite variety, are made up from a limited number of simple conceptual elements.




The Science of Praise

Virtues are praiseworthy. Praise is an expression of approval. It is an act of worship, respect and admiration. We are at one with Virtue. We are Virtue. What is Virtue? It must be the common ingredient in all the seperate concepts that we call virtues such as bravery, kindness and honesty etc.

Your attention is attracted to Value. By consciously recognising and affiming the value in a particular virtue your mind will become attracted, then attached and then at one with the Virtue.

Of course it is merely the illusions of Lack and the illusions of Seperation which will dissolve away.

You do not need to make a special effort to reject, or hate vice. Simply by turning towards Virtue you are at the same time turning your back on vice, effortlessly. This is a path of Love. Simply Love both opposites, including those who embody the extremes and you will be free.

When ever you recognize a virtue in another don't be jealous. There is no need to. The actual recognition of the Virture proves that it is in you in full abundance. Silently praise the Virtue in those that you meet or hear of.

Choose a Virtue and silently praise it with all your heart. Such effort is never wasted.

The deep study of a subject increases awareness.

Thoughts, speech and actions are the outer fruits of Character.




Making a Worthwhile use of Your Time and Energy

No positive intent, no positive effort is ever wasted. Imagine a heavenly mental state of perfect Peace, Joy and Wisdom. Now imagine a hellish mental state of hatred misery and confusion. Between these 2 states there is a continuum, a spectrum of different mental states. Your every action, will help move you up towards the exalted state or move you down towards the distressing state. I have heard that you may rise to such an enlightened state that you will never again be ensnared by distressing illusions, a blessed point of no return.

Summary

Virtue is natural and universal and radiates from the heart of every being.

Every virtue reflects and is reflected in every other virtue.

Every action, inner or outer, helps us embody our Virtue Nature leading to Harmony and Bliss or obscures it leading to conflict and misery.

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