Edward’s Diary Entry 15 - One Virtue a Day

First I had memorised the virtues, found pictures that corresponded in my mind to each virtue to make it easier, and used these pictures during certain exercises. These are just subjective images of mine found after some searching. I plan to give examples later on. These images helped me to keep the mind focused on one concept as opposed to just anything that might pop up by association – wanted or unwanted. I did a 1-hour written meditation on the virtues and came up with a few interesting things, but that wasn’t very heartening. The admonition to “take them out” and practise them was difficult. I didn’t know exactly what they were, so how could I put them into practise? So I wrote down: “1) study them, 2) meditate on them; 3) do an exercise; 4) keep them present in the mind and watch my actions; 5) find situations in which the virtue can be applied…” Tall order! The psychological theory behind this was that a virtue is an endowment, so it is like the funds or property given to an institution so it can be run. Virtues are not “part of the mind”, but can be seen as external sources used for a purpose. So we should say “I give way to [a virtue]” or allow it to enter the mind. Then they become contents of the mind, to be accepted, whereas vice or ignorance are to be rejected. This is the way to purify the mind, what the ancients called the Sattwic (pure) temperament, accepting only the 26 virtues and not their opposites. I made a list of the virtues and assigned each of them to one day during the month, from Monday to Saturday, with no virtue to be studied on Sundays. And so the month began… as this year finishes…