can animals choose Virtue?

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by Nick_A

And you must look inward more to verify these things one way or another.

Matthew 6



We worry about the right or "correct" image at the expense of reality. But the lily is just being the lily. The lily is able to be real. As Socrates said: "May the outward and inward man be at one." The outward dog and inward dog is the same unless conditioned to be unnatural as in teaching pit bulls to be killers. The dog is able to be real while we are no longer capable of it and compensate for it by blindly accepting societal dictates.

Virtue is just vanity gone mad. It sacrifices reality for image. If person were able to create an image for a conscious purpose, they could create their personality and this would be normal. We however have become our personality and have become an image. Even the image of Solomon could not match the lily.

hmmm, I'm one of the most "inward" looking people you'll ever meet.

[Alex P]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

But Nick, by their very nature (disposition towards man), they are very virtuous, and sometimes victim. Ironic, considering one is predator and the other is prey, but when man comes between, they become best friends?...and often save each other?...

Victims? or advocates?

Not sure why but that tickled....

[Nick_A]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

hmmm, I'm one of the most "inward" looking people you'll ever meet.

To retreat inward and to look inward are different. The foundation of Karma Yoga discriminates between the two but often becomes an excuse for escapism. Many no longer try to understand the meaning of the following caution:

Karma yoga is the science of action with non-identifying. It must not be changed into "the science of action without identifying." The essence of the idea of Karma Yoga is to meet with unpleasant things equally with pleasant things. That is, in practicing Karma Yoga, one does not seek always to avoid unpleasant things as people ordinarily do. Life is to be met with non-identifying. When this is possible life becomes one's teacher; in no other sense can life become a teacher, for life taken as itself is meaningless, but taken as an exercise it becomes a teacher. It is not life that is a teacher, but ones relation through non-identifying makes it become a teacher.............................