The Primary Virtues

After a great deal of comparative study between many lists of virtues, I decided to create something that was more than a mere list. Instead, I opted for a systems approach. And, being an artist, I was inspired by the arrangement of colors on the color wheel - which has primary, secondary, tertiary, colors and their various shades.

It is not necessary to the Mulberry Path practice that one necessarily employ the following model or arrangement of virtues. However, virtue lists can be helpful to consider, and thinking about how you would relate them to one another is a useful exercise.

The goal for this formation was that it be more than a simple unrelated list of virtues. Rather, the structure of The Primary Virtues is modeled after the color wheel.¹ Like the primary colors, the three primary virtues of Compassion, Reason, and Diligence are considered primary in that they are both distinct from the other two, and there is no larger or 'more primal' category under which they conceptually belong. At the same time, there are many other virtues which can be said to be either subsets of one of these primaries (which are called shades of a primary), or which can be said to have elements of more than one primary (which we call secondary virtues). Because virtue is synonymous with wisdom, the three primaries together form wisdom.

Aside from a structure that shows relationships between virtues, this model also refers to a system of action. By that we do not mean that this is a model of human psychology or how human beings necessarily behave. This is instead a model of how a virtuous mode of behavior or practice tends to flow. The cycle from Compassion to Reason to Diligence represents the flow from priority, to plan, to execution. Compassion, as the foundation, provides the ideal underlying motivation of virtuous action. Reason, in its proper role, serves the ends of Compassion by showing us the best means of accomplishing those ends. Diligence is that ability to apply ourselves to that plan, despite temptations to do otherwise. This categorization can also be looked at as the heart, the head, and the hand. After the diagram will be more detailed description of each of the primaries...

Compassion

In the virtuous person, compassion forms the basis and foundation of all moral action. Compassion establishes priorities, it is the ultimate motivation for the virtuous person, and creates the impetus for thought and action. Its shades include, but are not limited to:

Love for self (self respect and seeing one's self as an equal part of the whole)
Love of life (sense of wonder, adventure, and learning)
Love for life (valuing all life in the universe)
Love for fellow human beings (from those close to whole human family)
Empathy (ability to feel others' pains and joys)

Reason

Reason provides the basis for facts and the plan of action. It sets the procedures for realizing Compassion’s priorities. While the virtuous person may frolic, he or she is not a slave to his/her passions. Reason (acting to further the causes of compassion) is the master of the virtuous person’s actions. Its shades include:

Honesty (commitment to truth, sincerity)
Critical thinking (learned techniques, logic, and reasoning skills)
Knowledge (including the aim of continuous learning)
Objectivity (a conscious effort to see past bias)
Healthy skepticism (a humility in our claims and assumptions)

Diligence

Diligence is putting Reason’s plan to action and seeing it through. It forms the execution of the course that Compassion commands and Reason plots. It provides the control to keep the virtuous person on course, despite a wave of distracting influences and temptations. Its shades include:

Fortitude (self discipline and learning to endure hardship)
Commitment (loyalty to virtuous causes)
Courage (resistance against one's fears)
Temperance (moderation)
Tolerance (acceptance of unfavorable conditions, including patience)

Secondary Virtues

There are as many secondary virtues as there are hues of color. These virtues are not secondary in the sense of importance but simply because, like secondary colors, they are comprised of a mixture of one or more primary virtues.

Between Compassion and Reason, examples include insightfulness, consideration, and deliberation. Between Compassion and Diligence, examples include generosity, caring, and mercy. Between Reason and Diligence, examples include assertiveness, integrity, and justice.

Lists are one thing, and intellectual assent to the goodness of these virtues is another. But even such assent is not the same as true spiritual transformation. This comes only one our character begins to shift to take on these virtues as part of its essential nature. But before getting to spiritual transformation, we will look at one final big picture summary of the entire approach of the Mulberry Path.

Continue >> The Five Realms & 20 Precepts

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