Reaping The Reward Of Your Ethical Behaviour Right Now

We often think of ethics as a rigid set of rules designed to earn us a future reward or avoid a distant punishment. However, the Buddha taught that the true reward of Sila (Buddhist ethics/morality) is experienced in the here and now. In this insightful talk, I explore how acting in alignment with your truest principles removes the painful, hidden undercurrents of guilt and regret that can create such inner turbulence. By keeping your intentions clean and true, your mind naturally settles into a deep state of tranquility and contentment, creating the ideal foundations from which wisdom, insight and true liberation can arise.

Transcript

I've been thinking a little bit recently about ethics, What in Buddhism is called Sheila. Ethics or morality. And the Buddha taught it. The reward for practicing an ethical life, A life that's basically in alignment with our core principles or our truest understanding of things. The reward is not come in the future. So I act ethically now and I reap the rewards in some future time. Like for example, Going to heaven, Being judged, Going to heaven or going to hell. The Buddha taught that the reward for practising ethically, Come right now. A direct here and now consequence is that we don't feel regret or guilt It's such a massive thing, You know, In our culture that we feel guilty. That we regret our actions and it can cause enormous amount of turbulence on the inside. Like something which we don't necessarily speak about or admit to anyone else but still underneath there's a kind of undercurrent or ripples of this discomfort, This not quite in alignment with who we really are. And we just sweep it under the carpet but it does fester and sometimes even grow underneath there. So if we can act in alignment with our core principles, With who we really are, If we act ethically, Then we don't feel this regret. Like our actions and our intentions can be, If you like, Clean, You know, The consequences are smooth. Although obviously we don't know what consequences there will be for the actions we take, But our intentions are true. Now, When the regret and the guilt isn't there, It allows our whole system to settle. We find a kind of tranquility or ease, Contentment about our life. And from a place of contentment then wisdom and insight comes so much easier. It comes more like grounded, You know, Has a firmer foundation underneath it, And it can establish itself much more easily. So when we practice in alignment, We practice good ethics, We practice with our life or we act or live our life in alignment, Then it allows not just us to feel no regret, No guilt. We feel content. We feel comfortable, We're able to open our eyes that much more and we're able to see the truth of things and we're able to make our way. Further towards that place of liberation, Of awakening, Living a truly awakened life. So, So important, This ethical foundation.