Manifestation of a Virtuous Character (Issue 279)

　　 Morality is equivalent to the sun and the moon, to Heaven and Earth, and to our very life. Lacking morality is equivalent to being without life, without the sun and the moon, without Heaven and Earth. What is morality? Morality takes benefiting others as the core practice, and not hindering others as the principle. It is filling the innate mind with humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

Humaneness: Having a heart of humane benevolence, you will not kill.

2. Righteousness: Endowed with common sense, everything you do will be just right, exactly in accordance with the Middle Way, neither too much nor too little, neither too far to the left nor too far to the right. All matters will be carried out in accordance with the Middle Way. If you understand righteousness, you will not steal. People who stand by righteousness will not steal what belongs to others.

3. Propriety: Propriety is a form of courtesy and etiquette. Those who abide by propriety will not commit adultery. Stealing and prurience occurs when one is not in accordance with righteousness and propriety, and acting contrary to the rules of proper conduct.

4. Wisdom: People with wisdom will not recklessly indulge in alcoholic drinks or intoxicating drugs. Only stupid people will do all sorts of upside-down things.

5. Trustworthiness: Trustworthy people do not tell lies.

When the five constants — humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness — are replete and perfect, that is morality, that is virtue. Therefore, morality is produced from the mind. Its source is in our mind. When produced, it has a spectrum of colors. It is neither blue, yellow, red, white, nor black. Rather, it is a manifestation of virtuous conduct; it is the luster of virtuous conduct. In his essay ‘The Fundamental Way’, Han Yu of the ancient time stated, “Compassion that does not discriminate is called humaneness. When humaneness is applied appropriately, that is called righteousness. When it is put into practice, that is called the Way. When one finds contentment within oneself and does not seek externally, that is called virtue.” Likewise, Mencius said, “Humaneness, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are rooted in the mind. When manifested, the face exudes a pleasant countenance, the back exudes a rich fullness, spreading to the four limbs, and the four limbs resonate without words.” People who have great virtue not only express it in their face, their back is also suffused with the glow of virtue, and it may even manifest in the four limbs. Although the appearance of virtue cannot be described, all people understand what it is. The manifestation of virtuous conduct is the true sign of cultivation and learning. This kind of virtuous conduct cannot be feigned. What is false can only fool people temporarily, but not in the long run.

Cultivating the Way means to cultivate true morality by not obstructing others and not being afraid of being obstructed by others. No matter who obstructs you, you should pleasantly accept it. “When adversity comes, compliantly accept it.” Anyone who is unkind or unreasonable to you is just your Good and Wise Advisor. If you can compliantly accept adversity and calmly handle unexpected or unreasonable situations, then your skill in patience can be seen. Don’t be moved because of a single sentence someone uttered. Some people stay “unmoved” because they are without shame and remorse. That’s wrong. The skill of “being unmoved” means you have cultivated and are able to endure what others cannot endure–that’s true skill. Otherwise, you will have to start your practice all over again.

Taoists take the state “the three flowers gather at the crown, and the five energies return to the origin” as the perfect manifestation of morality. To some Buddhists, those two expressions sound like “external” teachings. Actually, what is an external teaching? What is an internal teaching? These expressions are neither external nor internal teachings. They just describe the fruition that results from cultivation. The “three flowers” refers to essence, energy, and spirit when transformed into a glorious light. The “five energies” refers to humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness. When these five constants are fully perfected, that’s known as “the five energies return to the origin.”