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A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is divine. ~ Meher Baba All spiritual disciplines are done with a view to still the mind. The perfectly still mind is universal spirit. ~ Swami Ramdas Non-action is unceasing activity. The sage is characterized by eternal and intense activity. His stillness is like the apparent stillness of a fast rotating gyroscope. ~ Ramana Maharshi When the mind is still, it gets the power to fulfill any thought. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Consumption of meat has been correlated to higher rates of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, alzheimers and dementia, as per scientific research. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/255644#1 https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/vegetarian-diet-and-cancer-risk.h31Z1591413.html#:~:text=Eating too much meat - especially,can increase your cancer risk. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Alzheimers-and-Veganism.aspx#:~:text=It has been found that,of AD in these populations. In my family of non-vegetarians, I am the only one who is vegetarian. I noticed that my brothers and father suffered from painful kidney stones and had operations in this regard, which I never had.Kidney stones emerge from excess protein consumption. I became vegetarian due to religious and ethical reasons. Vegetarianism helped me to get rid of my comical pot belly and excess fat and become lean and trim. I have similarly seen other vegetarians who look a decade or two younger than their actual age.

Thinking is good, but excessive thinking is not. Between thoughts if there is a period of thoughtlessness, thoughts will be fresh and pathbreaking. A thinker will be able to cultivate a strain of healthy thoughts only when he pays attention to thoughtlessness also. ~ Acharya Mahapragya While doing work if the mind continues to be active let it be so, but there must be at the same time a capacity for silence. ~ Sri Aurobindo Reason does not need thinking. If you observe yourself making a plan you will notice that having fixed the object, the facts just keep coming, linking up into a chain of proposed action. Awareness is experiencing from moment to moment. Reason acts quickly in awareness, a thousand times faster than thought, and you do not even notice it is operating. ~ Barry Long When the robot mind is mastered, undisciplined thinking ceases and is replaced by awareness. Awareness can know love. You can only experience the new when you are aware, when you are without thought. ~ Barry Long I do not know if you have noticed that there is understanding when the mind is very quiet, even for a second; there is the flash of understanding when the verbalization of thought is not. Just experiment with it and you will see for yourself that you have the flash of understanding, that extraordinary rapidity of insight, when the mind is very still, when thought is absent, when the mind is not burdened with its own noise. So, the understanding of anything—of a modern picture, of a child, of your wife, of your neighbor, or the understanding of truth, which is in all things—can only come when the mind is very still. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

“Life is available only in the present moment.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh “No one has ever lived in the past or the future, only the now.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh “While you are walking, smile and be in the here and now, and you will transform that place into paradise.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

A hungry lion is not unconscious or egoic, it just wants to satisfy its hunger following its natural instincts. If you meet a hungry lion obviously your duty is to evade it successfully, and if there is no option available, to kill it in self-defense. Krishna tells Arjuna to do his duty as a soldier and does not exhort him to meditate on the field in the lotus position. A mind that is filled with strong desires in the form of cravings and aversions is bound to be in psychological time, either in the past through memory or future through imagination. Such a mind is unnatural, and consequently in a state of misery. It is bound to be inauspicious and self-destructive in the long run unless it realizes its natural state.

Awareness is the greatest agent for change. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without. ~ Eckhart Tolle Stop being tense about the external situations. Once the inside of a person is clean, then the outside automatically becomes all right. - Mata Amritanandamayi In the realm of mind, like attracts like. If the soul is peaceful, then it attracts peaceful environment and people around it. - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Set your mind right and all will be right. - Nisargadatta Maharaj

The 9 day Navratri festival is being celebrated by Hindus around the world from last week onwards, and is from 15-10-23 (Sunday) to 24-10-23 (Tuesday). The Navratri festival is conducted in reverence of the Mother Goddess Durga. As per Shakta philosophy of Hinduism, all women are manifestations of the Divine Mother and reverence towards them results in auspiciousness and strength. https://www.brahmakumaris.com/navratri/

That which is unconscious and egoic is self-destructive in the long run.

The state of consciousness that a great majority of humanity is in isn't natural. It's altered. We do not need to go looking for altered states of consciousness; humanity is already in an altered state of consciousness called separation. Separation is the ultimate altered state of consciousness.' - Adyashanti 'If as a culture, as a species, we continue to dwell in a divided state of consciousness, no matter what we change on the outside, we will continue to manifest division. But each of us who comes into the natural, simple, undivided state is making a contribution to all beings - without trying, without taking any credit, without even knowing it. When you become undivided in your own consciousness, you become part of the manifestation of unity.' - Adyashanti 'Without a shift of attention from concept to immediate experience and perception, spirituality tends to degrade into magical thinking, fantasy, and/or fanaticism. It is only by redirecting attention away from the surface level of the mind’s narrative, and towards the pure immediacy of the present, that we can break the trance of ego-identification and fall into conscious connection with our true nature.' - Adyashanti

Here we see that comprehension of the genuine view or right view, leads to natural abandonment of a variety of negative actions without even having to develop their corresponding virtues to nullify these vices. Thus right view or right understanding itself is potent enough to nullify negativity and vices or preempt such behavioral traits. https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Ten_unwholesome_actions

Vedanta contains eternal truths that are meant for the entire humanity. Their knowledge is neither emotional nor intellectual, but represents the actual reality that is. It teaches us that preoccupation with the past and the future makes for an agitated present. And as our actions are the greatest expression of our thoughts, it is not surprising that the world we live in is as turbulent as it is. -- Swami Purushottamananda Emotions and even thoughts become depersonalized through awareness. Their impersonal nature is recognized. There is no longer a self in them. They are just human emotions, human thoughts. Your entire personal history, which is ultimately no more than a story, a bundle of thoughts and emotions, becomes of secondary importance and no longer occupies the forefront of your consciousness. It no longer forms the basis for your sense of identity. You are the light of Presence, the awareness that is prior to and deeper than any thoughts and emotions. -- Eckhart Tolle Walk into a situation consciously and you will be able to walk out of it harmlessly. - Vernon Howard Everything will turn out successfully when the mind is not agitated. - Yogar Swamigal If I am agitated, I am wrong. - Vernon Howard

Absolute Reality is always present, and when the personal is active (through identification with thought) only a relative reality can be experienced. Thought takes over and perceiving becomes subjective and illusory. This relative reality creates all the unrest that exists. All global and local disturbance stems from the thoughts of "I” and "me.” The common phrase living in the real world” is in fact referring to the unreal world, the world of thoughts that know no rest. ~ Jac O'Keeffe It is only when without ego, and there is no individual, that the act of absolute compassion takes place through your form. From emptiness, selfless giving takes place. It is then that there is nothing personal in such actions and it is impossible not to act without love. ~ Jac O'Keeffe If there is attachment to your personality, or to any story within what your personality believes to be true, then there will be desire and suffering. You are Pure Awareness shaped into a human being. You are not a separate human being playing with levels of awareness. ~ Jac O'Keeffe

The incompleteness disappears in perception of the true Self in samadhi or unitary perception. You will recognize it easily and clearly due to the lack of mental agitation and tension associated with egoic thinking and emoting. Identities such as nationality or gender or sexual orientation have functional utility in case of pass-ports or washrooms or dating purposes. However if they are used as a source of innate identity due to lack of Self-knowledge, they will be invested with corresponding emotion. If you don't know who you are, you will desperately cling to all known external labels you have for yourself for a sense of identity and would be willing to fight and even die for them. Any perceived assault on the adopted identity would not be tolerated, because of emotional and egoic identification with it. This is the reason why racial, religious, nationalistic, ideological and linguistic identities have a history of violence and cruelty associated with them which continues in the present day due to lack of Self-knowledge.

Clear thinking results in correct action. ~ Nataraja Guru The average man is ruled by the explosions of his emotions, and cannot think clearly. ~ Yogananda Conflict is always emotional. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Emotions arise from thoughts which arise, in turn, from foundational belief structures about the nature of Reality and your own innate identity. ~ Metta Zetty The conflict in the world is not between good and evil, as is so often projected. The conflict is always between one man’s belief and another man’s belief, whether it is within the family or between nations. The moment you believe something, you are in conflict with the opposing belief. You can postpone it with moderate talk. But conflict is inevitable. ~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Ego is complete identification with thought and emotion. ~ Eckhart Tolle Be aware that what you think, to a large extent, creates the emotions that you feel. See the link between your thinking and your emotions. Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them. ~ Eckhart Tolle

The 'individual's true self' is often referred to as Self in Advaita and Hinduism and nondual philosophy, with the 's' being in capital case letter. The higher or true 'Self' is contrasted with the false or lower self or ego. The Self is pure consciousness or awareness, and distinct from the lower self which is essentially an artificial or fictitious identity brought about by identification with the mind-body complex and its social conditioning. Because of the inherent falsehood in the lower self, this state is associated with psychological suffering due to its unnaturalness, and the spiritual quest lies in gaining self-knowledge or the knowledge of the Self. Sat-Chit-Ananda ( Truth-Being-Bliss) are the qualities asssociated with the Self.

When there is attention (awareness), goodness flowers; when there is no attention, every form of evil comes into being. So attention is the only virtue. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti You miss the real by lack of attention and create the unreal by excess of imagination. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj Evil is the shadow of inattention. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj There is nothing like ignorance, only inattention. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind-pattern. Ego implies unawareness. Awareness and ego cannot coexist. ~ Eckhart Tolle There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted. ~ B.K.S.Iyengar Every ego is a master of selective perception and distorted interpretation. ~ Eckhart Tolle If you like or dislike something, you cannot see it the way it is. Either you exaggerate it in a positive way or in a negative way. ~ Sadhguru Awareness means grasping life just the way it is, without contamination by mental projections. ~ Sadhguru

I had a nihilist phase in my life as a teenager and youth, and so there were times when I had doubts about the relevance of values and virtues and whether they were mere mental abstractions designed to create some artificial semblance of meaning in an essentially meaningless universe. My confusions and despair were set aside slowly and steadily after meeting enlightened sages and spending valuable time with them, along with study of Buddhism and eastern philosophy. Gradually I intellectually understood the state of enlightenment, and that all spiritual exercises were meant to achieve this state through expansion of consciousness, which includes virtuous conduct as well. I had posted a thread of a female enlightened master named Rajini Menon who had attained enlightenment through virtuous conduct. The Buddha had also emphasized ethical behavior and conduct in the form of right speech, livelihood and behavior as vital practices for attaining enlightenment or Buddhahood. For these reasons I am interested in the op's theme, and would be glad and grateful to get any insights if possible.

There is a Reality which is Indivisible, One, Alone, the Source and Being of all; not a thing, nor even a mind, but pure Spirit or clear Consciousness; and we are That and nothing but That, for That is our true Nature; and the only way to find It is to look steadily within, where are to be found utmost peace, unfading joy, and eternal life itself. ~ Douglas Harding We are all more or less ill till we find by Self-enquiry our Oneness with everyone else. — Douglas Harding

Yes, but Virya or virile effort is also emphasized by the Buddha as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vīrya Anyway, the theme of the op is that ethical or moral conduct has its relevance in the larger scheme of things and cannot be dismissed as mere abstractions.

Peace is complete awareness. In this state of awareness, we cultivate and combine compassion and wisdom. In this state of awareness, we are alive, awake, we take responsibility for our actions. In this state, we are not driven by emotion, we control our emotions and actions. In this state, we are patient, non-violent, we do not judge. In this state, we nurture our Inner Wealth – our innate values – and balance them with outer (material) wealth in a way that benefits all sentient beings. This is peace. ~ Thaye Dorje, His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa. The real source of happiness rests right here right now within our consciousness, within our hearts. ~ Thaye Dorje

It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh 'All conditioned things are impermanent' — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. ~ Buddha ( Dhammapada 277) We are identifying with what is passing so fear comes. We are trying to make steady and permanent what is by nature impermanent. ~ Mooji Practicing Mindfulness not only keeps us awake but also keeps us aware of the impermanence of life; therefore, we have a greater appreciation of it. We care. Life matters. The moments of our lives matter. ~ Ora Nadrich This physical world, though necessary to our evolution, is the embodiment of impermanence, of constant change. Thus, we take care not to become overly attached to it. ~ Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Once we see that everything is impermanent and ungraspable and that we create a huge amount of suffering if we are attached to things staying the same, we realize that relaxing and letting go is a wiser way to live. Letting go does not mean not caring about things. It means caring about them in a flexible and wise way. ~ Jack Kornfield By contemplating the impermanence of everything in the world, we are forced to recognize that every time we do something could be the last time we do it, and this recognition can invest the things we do with a significance and intensity that would otherwise be absent. We will no longer sleepwalk through our life. ~ William Braxton Irvine

Be present as the watcher of your mind – of your thoughts and emotions as well as your reactions in various situations. Be at least as interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that causes you to react. ~ Eckhart Tolle Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it. ~ -Swami Chidanand Saraswati It takes a little time to create a gap between the witness and the mind. Once the gap is there, you are in for a great surprise, that you are not the mind, that you are the witness, a watcher. ~ Shri Krushnamani maharaj Don’t be a storehouse of memories. Leave past, future, and even present thoughts behind. Be a witness to life unfolding by itself. Be free of all attachments, fears, and concerns by keeping your mind inside your own heart. ~ Mooji Become the witness of all phenomena that you see and be free. ~ Robert Adams

Sun Tzu in the Art of War, had stated ... 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. " If this indeed the case, the best warrior ever would be Mahavira, the founder of Jainism and who is known for his teachings of nonviolence and ahimsa... https://www.freepressjournal.in/spirituality/guiding-light-by-sri-sri-ravi-shankar-breathing-ahimsa If you ask me, this is the ultimate art of fighting without fighting. If your very presence can inspire nonviolence in the combatant opposing you and make him an ally instead, that is the ultimate self-defense as well as diplomatic ability. Napoleon, considered the greatest military general ever , has also stated similarly... "There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit." I would say it is because of this fact that eastern martial arts had a philosophical and spiritual component to them, understanding the limitations of the merely physical.

The watcher is always above the mind. The watcher is never part of the mind. The mind is just like a TV screen on which thoughts, dreams, imaginations, projections, desires, and a thousand and one things go on passing. The watcher is not on the screen, he is sitting in the movie hall. But the problem arises when the watcher becomes identified with something on the movie screen. ~ Osho Don’t be under the illusion that while watching the film you really remain a watcher. Don’t be mistaken. You become a participant too; you don’t remain outside the film. Once you are inside the theater, for a short while you enter into the film as well. You begin to like someone in the film, and you dislike someone else. You feel sorry for somebody, while you feel happy about someone else. After a little while you become identified, you become a participant in the film. It will be indeed difficult to remain a witness in life if we cannot manage to do so while watching a film. ~ Osho It is the self-aware screen of awareness, upon which the drama of experience is playing and out of which it is made, that becomes so intimately involved with the objective content of its experience that it seems to lose itself in it and, as a result, overlooks or forgets its own presence, just as a dreamer’s mind loses itself in its own dream at night. ~ Rupert Spira In reality, which means in our actual experience, all experience is one seamless substance. The duality between the inside self and the outside object, world or other is never actually experienced. It is always imagined. ~ Rupert Spira Mind is madness. Only when you go beyond the mind, will there be Meditation. ~ Sadhguru