May all beings be infinitely happy and free from suffering.
Why Virtuous Actions Matter
As a child, we are taught to always treat others how we would like to be treated ourselves. And in almost all religious and spiritual traditions, this very basic is re-inforced i.e. that being virtuous, and performing virtuous actions is important.
There are also a range of other spiritual teachings which speak of acting with a warm and kind heart and that this is one of the keys to finding happiness and joy in our own life. In the yogic tradition for example, this concept is known as Karma Yoga - a practice which focuses solely on helping others so that we too may benefit in the long run. In simple terms, the important concept which underpins all of these works on the idea that we reap what we sow. In the Buddhist tradition for example, they believe that our actions (or more specifically the intentions behind our actions) help to create our future circumstances, good or bad. This idea of "karma" is said to be one of the most fundamental teachings in Buddhism as it dictates the extent to which we will find either happiness or suffering in this life (and future lives). And so, this helps to illustrate very briefly, the importance of being virtuous and kind in our life. |
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To explain this a little more in simple terms - it is firstly important to understand that each of our thoughts or intentions, are energetic frequencies. For example, when we think about something which inspires love, gratitude, peace, compassion, empathy, humility or patience - these thoughts are said to vibrate at a higher range of energetic frequency. Alternatively, where we are thinking about things which inspire greed, hatred, anger, worry, doubt, frustration or stress within us, we are now starting to think at lower energetic frequencies.
It is always our intentions, our thoughts or more accurately, these energetic vibration (which precedes each of our actions) which will determine whether our actions are considered to be 'virtuous' or not. And it will always be this same energetic vibration which will determine what type of vibration we attract back into our lives (at some point in the future). With time, and with the many types of thoughts we have each day, these energetic frequencies come together and make up our overall consciousness, as the old saying goes: "We are what we think" |
In simple terms, performing virtuous actions with a kind and warm heart will always help to ensure that we are creating a warm, positive future for ourselves. Alternatively, if we are ill tempered, angry, stressed and constantly perform actions whilst in this mindset, it is likely that these vibrations will at some point be attracted back into our life. We may be presented with angry situations, stressful situations and ill tempered people at some point in our future which may then affect our happiness levels at that point in time.
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