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Thus, having made the root of faith stable, the Awakening Mind [bodhicitta] should be made stable, because it is the sum of all forms of goodness. So, for example, in the noble Inquiry of Siṃha Sūtra, the Prince Siṃha asked the Blessed One:
What is the one action
That sums up all virtues,
So as to be dear to sentient beings
Wherever you are born?
The Blessed One replied:
In order to set free all sentient beings,
You should subdue the mind, with Awakening as goal.
This is the sum of all virtues.
In this way, you will be held dear.
There are seven marks of a wise man. The wise man does not speak before him who is greater than he in wisdom; and does not break in upon the speech of his fellow; he is not hasty to answer; he questions according to the subject matter; and answers to the point; he speaks upon the first thing first, and the last last; regarding that which he has not understood he says, I do not understand it, and he acknowledges the truth.
A man should be of good cheer about his soul…if he has earnestly pursued the pleasure of learning, and adorned his soul with the adornment of temperance, and justice, and courage, and freedom, and truth.
The highest good is like that of water. The goodness of water is that it benefits the ten thousand creatures; yet itself does not scramble, but is content with the places that all men disdain.
Tao Te Ching, VIII
Quote:
Human nature is disposed to goodness, just as water flows downwards. There is no water but flows down, and no men but show this tendency to good.
The supreme aim of all religions is to teach men how to live; and the learning and the living are religion itself. The purification of the human heart, the building up of a blameless life, and the perfecting of the soul, these are the great underlying and enduring factors in all religions and creeds the world over. That which is vital in every religion is the striving after, and the practice of, Goodness; all things else are accretions, superfluities, illusions. Goodness — and by Goodness I mean sinlessness — is the beautiful and imperishable form of Religion, but creeds and religions are the perishable garments, woven of the threads of opinion, in which men clothe it. One after another religions come and go, but Religion, being Life itself, endures forever. Let men cease to quarrel over the garments and strive to perceive the universality and beauty of the indwelling form; thus will they become wedded to it, will become one with the supreme Goodness. Religion is Goodness; Goodness is Religion.
What should be done by one skillful in good
So as to gain the State of Peace is this:
Let him be able, and upright and straight,
Easy to speak to, gentle, and not proud,
Contented too, supported easily,
With few tasks, and living very lightly;
His faculties serene, prudent, and modest,
Unswayed by the emotions of the relatives;
And let him never do the slightest thing
That other wise men might hold blamable.
Buddha in his Metta Sutta
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