Virtue's Veil

Observing reality through the lens of experience breeds a life tangled in the web of societal norms and personal biases. Most of us think we know the difference between right and wrong but we fail to see that the virtue we define is handed down from the groups we subscribe to. This form of social morality breeds immorality. For a moment, let’s consider that our sense of virtue may be limited, so we can consider the existence of a virtue that transcends conformity. A virtue that is attained through the clarity of perception, untouched by the distortions of our preconceived notions and our own reactive impulses.

Imagine a vast sea. In this sea, there are billions of buckets floating on the surface. And in these buckets, splashes of water that define our experience. We call this experience reality, yet we are limited by the edges of the bucket, with narrowed vision and understanding of truth confined to a splash of the whole. Once we see this, if we dare to look beyond memory, we are free to see the boundless ocean beyond the edges, awaiting our discovery. Here’s another visual—if reality were a movie, we are not characters in the movie, we are directors, operating from a scripted narrative handed down by the groups that script our truth.

We all want to be right. But to be right, we have to see what’s wrong. In our existing patterns, the virtue we seek is a dull reaction to anything that contradicts what is true within the limits of our bucket. Society leads us to believe that seeking this virtue is a respectable endeavor, one that arms us with absolute moral principles. But on this pursuit, we miss the fact that these principles are pegged to societal norms that change with time. They are fleeting standards, changing with the tides of collective thought. Tides still confined by the edges of the buckets we choose. This respectability associated with virtue is, therefore, nothing but a mirage, an illusion that keeps us chained to the transient whims of acceptance in the circles we occupy. If we do not consider this fact, the true essence of virtue is forever lost in this chase for respectability.

The irony lies in the fact that the various factions of society propagate a moral framework; these frameworks simultaneously breed contradictions through the seeds of competition sown within us. By maintaining our habitual response, we are distracted from shining the light on our secret desires and inquiring into where they come from. These desires inherently create a rift between us and the “others.” So tangled we are, caught in this cycle of affirming our group identities, revolting against perceived threats, and seeking validation through the societal acceptance and respectability of others. Some try to break the cycle through revolt—be it against religious, political, or societal authorities—yet they fail to see that revolt merely replaces one form of authority with another, masking one image with a new one. The essence of revolt remains shackled within the patterns of these same societal constructs, far from the freedom it seeks.

So what does freedom outside of this structure look like? Is there a discipline, a pathway that can untangle us for good? A discipline born not from suppression or conformity, but from a deep-seated need to see clearly. The fog of confusion that covers humanity is a product of our inability to perceive reality as it is, uncolored by the hues of history, experience, and imagination. To burn through this fog so we can see things as they are requires a discipline devoid of patterned response. For reaction is influenced by memory. And direct perception demands its absence, creating space for attention undistracted by the chatter of thought, an observation unclouded by the borders of belief.

Within this exploration lies the potential for a mind unbound by preconceived notions, a mind that faces the reality of every moment without the intricate embroidery of ideals. Such a mind, in its simplicity, can unravel the complexity of existence, from moment to moment, unmasking the facade of false virtue that hides the emptiness within that we all share. When we detach our identities from a group and refrain from filling ourselves with false value through outward achievements, lofty positions, and material possessions, there is room for pure joy that stems from the perception of reality in its unembellished form.

This is true virtue—the transcendence of memory and reaction. It is not an outcome of any action, but an inherent quality of reality revealed through the clarity of perception. When we look, see, and listen with an unoccupied mind, we discover a simplicity that is the essence of virtue. This simplicity, unbound by conflict and contradiction, paves the way for joy that needs no reason to exist, a joy that is a song in the heart of a mind free from the shackles of false identity and virtue.

Seeing things for what they are is the ultimate revolution. One within ourselves, not a revolution of ideals replacing ideals, but the end of the cycle of self-generated conflict, revealing the boundless sea of life beyond the edges of the buckets we were never aware of.

This journey towards true virtue is not a path of discipline in the conventional sense, but a voyage of endless discovery that begins with the acknowledgment of our confusion and the need to see clearly. In this clarity, we see reality as it is, an ever-evolving narrative directed by a mind attuned to the structure of the whole.