wholesome states

Passing through difficult times on the spiritual journey is common for those moving toward the spiritual awakening. Saint John of the Cross called these difficult times the "Dark Night of the Soul." The Buddha talked about obstacles on the path (magga). He said it was important to relinquish what he called "akusala-sádhárana," which means "unwholesome mental states," and "Upakkilesa" which means imperfections or impurities, which are the Dark Night of the Soul in a Buddhist context.

The Buddha proposed countering the unwholesome states with wholesome mental states, which he called "Brahma Vihara," which literally means the "House of God." Mahayanist Buddhists call these wholesome mental states "Bodhichitta," which literally means the "Mind of Buddha." It seems reasonable to accept that those who are going through dark times could be aided by actively cultivating wholesome mental states to counteract the unwholesome states of the Dark Night.

Before one begins to cultivate wholesome states one must have at least begun the essential self-examination process of the personal inventory, which is the purification process that Siddhartha Gotama, Patañjali and many other mystics within a Vedic context used the term 'Visuddhi.' Visuddhi is simply learning to recognize the Unwholesome States, and learning to let go of them. Once one has begun the purification process of rooting out the unwholesome aspects of the psyche, then the cultivation of the wholesome states is assured, otherwise the effort would be futile. Because how can one understand what is wholesome before one has understood what is unwholesome?

It did not seem to be enough for either Sidharta Gotama nor for Patañjali to suggest one should simply erase unwholesome qualities from one's psyche, without replacing them with wholesome ones. Thus both mystics recommend the cultivation of "wholesome" mental qualities.

The 'Four Boundless States', or 'Houses of God' were the Buddha's idea of wholesome mental states. While the list of unwholesome states in Buddhism only matches partially with the Afflictions in Yoga, nonetheless both Siddhartha Gotama and Patañjali suggested identical wholesome qualities, which are friendship (metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity (upekkha) (please see below).

maitrî-karuñâ-muditopekæâñâä sukha-duïkha-puñyâpuñya-viæayâñâä bhâvanâtaå citta-prasâdanam

1.33 A calm mind radiating friendship, compassion and sympathetic joy is equanimous during pleasant and unpleasant times and when around the virtuous and the wicked.

Every culture and religion has its ethical system that is based upon avoiding certain behaviors that are deemed harmful to self and society and cultivating behaviors that are deemed helpful. Buddhism has the 'Four Houses of God' (Brahma Viharas) or 'Mind of Buddha' (Bodhichitta), which are identical to the wholesome qualities recommended by Patañjali in his Yoga Sutras.

The Four 'Houses of God' (Brahma Viharas) or 'Mind of Buddha' (Bodhichitta) Boundless States, or Divine Abodes. DN 13.76, n.256; MN 39f., n.95, n.526, 83.6ff.

1	Loving Kindness, Brotherly Love or Philos	Metta
2	Compassion	Karuna
3	Sympathetic Joy	Mudita
4	Equanimity	Upekkha

Virtue is further expressed in the 3 Kosalasamyutta, 24 (4) (Sagathavagga) and the Archery Book 1, where we find the Five aggregates of one who is "beyond training." The Buddha called one who was beyond training 'asekha.' To be beyond training, one had virtue, meditative absorption, wisdom, liberation and knowledge and vision.

The Five aggregates of one who is "beyond training" (asekha):

3 Kosalasamyutta, 24 (4) (Sagathavagga) Archery Book 1 with verses

1	virtue	síla
2	absorption	samádhi
3	wisdom	paññá
4	liberation	vimokkha
5	knowledge and vision	ñánadassana

In several suttas, such as the Maha-satipatthana Sutta (DN 22), the Buddha also provided a description of one who is enlightened, which is the same as saying one who is "beyond training." This list is the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, there we find one who is enlightened has these virtues: Investigation of the way; Energy; Tranquility; Mindfulness; Equanimity; Bliss; and Absorption.

The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga, sambojjhanaga) DN 22.16, n.689, 33.2.3(2); MN 118:

#	English	Pali	Source
1	Investigation of the way	dhamma-vicaya	siddhi
2	Energy	viriya, v”rya	kundalini
3	Tranquility	passaddhi	2^nd jhana
4	Mindfulness	sati	7^th fold of N8p
5	Equanimity	upekkha	3^rd jhana
6	Bliss	piiti	1^st jhana
7	Absorption	samadhi	jhanas 1-8

The Buddha also described ten Perfections or what he called 'Param’' (páramitá). These are ten qualities leading to Buddhahood. They are: Generosity; Ethics; Renunciation; Wisdom; Energy; Patience; Truthfulness; Resolution; Loving-kindness; and Equanimity.

The Ten Perfection (Param’/páramitá):. Ten qualities leading to Buddhahood:

1	Generosity	dána
2	Ethics, morality	síla
3	Renunciation	nekkhamma
4	Wisdom	paññá
5	Energy	viriya
6	Patience	khanti
7	Truthfulness	sacca
8	Resolution	adhitthána
9	Loving-kindness	mettá
10	Equanimity	upekkha

In the Maháyana scriptures, where the páramí occupy a much more prominent place, a partly differing list of six is given: liberality, morality, patience, energy, meditation, and wisdom.

There is also the sampadá which means the 'attainment blessing'. The 5 blessings are said to be faith, morality, learning, liberality, wisdom (A. V, 91). Further: morality, absorption, wisdom, deliverance, the eye of knowledge connected with deliverance (A. V, 92).

If we were to put all of these Buddhist virtues into a single list we would not end up with 35 virtues, because as you have probably noticed a number of these virtues are repeated in every list, such as Equanimity (upekkha).

The 19 Virtues of Buddhism:

#	English	Pali	Param’	bojjhanga	asekha	Viharas
1	Generosity	dána	1
2	Ethics, morality	síla	2		1
3	Renunciation	nekkhamma	3
4	Wisdom	paññá	4		3
5	Energy	viriya	5	2
6	Patience	khanti	6
7	Truthfulness	sacca	7
8	Resolution	adhitthána	8
9	Loving-kindness	mettá	9			1
10	Equanimity	upekkha	10	5		4
11	Investigation of the way	dhamma-vicaya		1
12	Tranquility	passaddhi		3
13	Mindfulness	sati		4
14	Bliss	piiti		6
15	Absorption	samadhi		7	2
16	liberation	vimokkha			4
17	knowledge and vision	ñánadassana			5
18	Compassion	Karuna				2
19	Sympathetic Joy	Mudita				3

Pre-Christian Greek Virtues

The cultivation of virtues among the Pre-Christian Greek and Roman is evident in their mythology, which had the three sister goddesses, the Three Graces. They were known in Greek mythology as Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, who dispensed charm and beauty through virtue.

The cultivation of virtue was a central them of a number of the Greek and Roman philosophers. The theories of virtue and justice of Socrates (470?-399 B.C.) have survived through the writings of his student, Plato. Diogenes (Died c. 320 B.C.), the founder of the Cynic school of philosophy, stressed self-control and the pursuit of virtue. He is said to have once wandered through the streets of Athens with a lantern, searching for an honest man. Zeno of Citium (335?-263? B.C.), the founder of the Stoic school, taught that virtue is a necessarily good and that objects of desire are morally ambiguous.

The Greek perspective on virtue was that there were certain virtues that were inherent or natural. They called these virtues "cardinal virtues" or "natural virtues," which were among the paramount virtues in classical philosophy: Justice, Conformity to truth, fairness, moral rightness and equity; Prudence, which is to exercise good judgment and common sense, especially in the conduct of practical matters; Fortitude, Strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage; and Temperance, Moderation and self-restraint especially in the abstinence from alcoholic liquors.

The Four Cardinal Virtues of Classical Greece:

1	Justice
2	Prudence
3	Fortitude
4	Temperance

The Seven Christian Virtues:

Christianity has its Seven Virtues. They are: Grace, which is a divine love and protection bestowed freely on people; Faith, which is a secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will; Charity, is the virtue defined as love directed first toward God but also toward oneself and one's neighbors as objects of God's love; Hope, is the theological virtue defined as the desire and search for a future good; Chastity, is the condition or quality of being pure, chaste or celibate; Patience, is the capacity to endure hardship, difficulty, or inconvenience without complaint; and Prudence, which is to exercise good judgment and common sense, especially in the conduct of practical matters.

The Seven Virtues

1	Grace
2	Faith
3	Charity
4	Hope
5	Chastity
6	Patience
7	Prudence

The Cross-Cultural Concepts of Virtue:

If we were not to put these ideas of virtues together into a single cross-cultural concept of ideal behavior we would not find a list of 31 noble qualities but 26 different ideals, because there are some common beliefs in ethics from culture to culture.

The 26 Cross-Cultural Concepts of Virtue:

#	English	Param’	bojjhanga	asekha	Viharas	Greek	Christian
1	Generosity	1
2	Ethics	2		1
3	Renunciation	3
4	Wisdom	4		3
5	Energy	5	2
6	Patience	6				Fortitude	6
7	Truthfulness	7				Justice
8	Resolution	8
9	Loving-kindness	9			1
10	Equanimity	10	5		4
11	Investigation of the way		1
12	Tranquility		3
13	Mindfulness		4
14	Bliss		6
15	Absorption		7	2
16	liberation			4
17	knowledge and vision			5
18	Compassion				2
19	Sympathetic Joy				3
20	Prudence					2	7
21	Temperance					4
22	Grace						1
23	Faith						2
24	Charity						3
25	Hope						4
26	Chastity						5

After examining Hinduism, Buddhism, Pre-Christian Greek culture and Christianity, we can now conclude that every culture has some concept of ethics. This conclusion is further supported by my studies in Anthropology and Native American Studies.

References:

Commitment as a Refuge, Dark Night of the Soul in Buddhism (January 1, 2003)

Maha-satipatthana Sutta (DN 22), "Larger Discourse on the Four Paths of Mindfulness"

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Translation by Jhanananda

Understanding the Unwholesome States, The Darkness of the Dark Night

Jhana and the Houses of God, Flooding the Dark Night of the Soul with Wholesome States

MAHå-PARINIBBåNA-SUTTA (DN 16)

"The growth of the bhikkhus is to be expected, not their decline, so long as they ...(remain) favorable to meditative absorption (samadhi)..."

Dhammaccariya Sotapanna (stream winner) Jhanananda (Jeffrey S, Brooks)

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