The peace and joy of living a life of integrity is essential. The Buddha said that “without integrity, meditation is like getting in a rowboat and rowing while the boat is still tied to the dock.”

Sila (translated, among other ways, as “virtue,” “integrity,” or “ethics”), the second Parami or expression of an awakened heart, was taught by the Buddha as the second step on the Eightfold Path to freedom: wise speech, wise action, and wise livelihood. Sila includes the five precepts that underlie an ethical life: not killing, (refraining from taking life); not stealing (not taking anything not offered); refraining from harming with sexuality; not lying or speaking falsely or harshly; and not indulging in intoxicants that cloud the mind. At first glance, this may seem straightforward, but reflect on increasing levels of subtlety.

The practice is two fold: to resolve to do no harm and practice restraint from unskillful behavior— that which causes harm, fear, confusion and suffering. In this way, we are free from remorse.

Cultivating awareness practice, we invite ourselves into more compassionate sensitivity to life – to the poignant aliveness within us and our interrelatedness with all life around us. From this perspective, we offer the gift of fearlessness to all with whom we interact. Our actions need not be contrived to be “good” or “virtuous,” because compassionate and wise acts aligned with our deepest values will naturally flow from a clear mind that loves virtue.

What are your challenges to living ethically, acting in alignment with what you love and value?