Report 86

Conscience and Forgiveness

Virtue may be innate but one needs to cultivate ethical way of life in order to keep the dust off and the mirror bright so to speak. I'm not sure if conscience includes the practice element.

On forgiveness, I find a section from Maha-Rahulovada Sutta: The Greater Exhortation to Rahula helpful (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit....062.than.html).

Any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment as: 'This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not what I am ... [he then talks about properties of earth, water, fire, wind and space]

Develop the meditation in tune with earth. For when you are developing the meditation in tune with earth, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as when people throw what is clean or unclean on the earth — feces, urine, saliva, pus, or blood — the earth is not horrified, humiliated, or disgusted by it; in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with earth, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind ... Develop the meditation in tune with water ... Just as when people wash what is clean or unclean in water ... develop the meditation in tune with fire ... Just as when fire burns what is clean or unclean ... Develop the meditation in tune with wind ...  Just as when wind blows what is clean or unclean ... develop the meditation in tune with space ... Just as space is not established anywhere, in the same way, when you are developing the meditation in tune with space, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.