Hi there instructors,
Samael Aun Weor states that we need to transform our defects into virtues, and that in order to do so we need to comprehend (and eliminate) our vices- the death of the ego.
My question is: is this the only way to cultivate virtues?
I ask this because I have read in some of the Dalai Lama’s books (and perhaps I have misunderstood him on this point) that we can develop virtues, such as chastity, by contemplating their benefits. This seems a little different to Samael’s view, which has a stronger emphasis on the death of the vice.
I’m curious as to the Gnostic view on how these two perspectives meet. Can we genuinely cultivate a virtue such as chastity by contemplating its benefits? Or is the only way to achieve this by eliminating our lust?
Thank you!
Samael Aun Weor states that we need to transform our defects into virtues, and that in order to do so we need to comprehend (and eliminate) our vices- the death of the ego.
My question is: is this the only way to cultivate virtues?
I ask this because I have read in some of the Dalai Lama’s books (and perhaps I have misunderstood him on this point) that we can develop virtues, such as chastity, by contemplating their benefits. This seems a little different to Samael’s view, which has a stronger emphasis on the death of the vice.
I’m curious as to the Gnostic view on how these two perspectives meet. Can we genuinely cultivate a virtue such as chastity by contemplating its benefits? Or is the only way to achieve this by eliminating our lust?
Thank you!
Accepted Answer
Both views are correct. In truth, we possess the three free percent consciousness, but unfortunately it is unused; it is asleep. By contemplating virtues within ourselves as the Dalai Lama and other Masters recommended, we awaken that spark of beauty (Hebrew: "Tiphereth," the human soul) that we naturally carry from past existences.
What was within a potential state becomes actualized through conscious effort in the spiritual work. There are spiritual virtues that we carry deep within that are waiting to be activated through conscious will. On the same note, by annihilating the ego, we begin to liberate a greater percentage of the Essence and develop our spiritual virtues further. The following quotation by Samael Aun Weor explains this very well:
What was within a potential state becomes actualized through conscious effort in the spiritual work. There are spiritual virtues that we carry deep within that are waiting to be activated through conscious will. On the same note, by annihilating the ego, we begin to liberate a greater percentage of the Essence and develop our spiritual virtues further. The following quotation by Samael Aun Weor explains this very well:
Many things we believe we have, we do not have, and many things that we do not believe we have, we do.
We have formed false concepts about ourselves, and we must, therefore, do an inventory to find out what we have too much of and what we lack.
We assume that we have such and such qualities, which indeed we do not, and we are surely ignorant of many virtues that we do possess.
-The Great Rebellion: The Psychological I
Joyful in hope, suffering in tribulation, be thou constant in thy prayer.
Benedictis, qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
Accepted Answer
Both views are correct. In truth, we possess the three free percent consciousness, but unfortunately it is unused; it is asleep. By contemplating virtues within ourselves as the Dalai Lama and other Masters recommended, we awaken that spark of beauty (Hebrew: "Tiphereth," the human soul) that we naturally carry from past existences.
What was within a potential state becomes actualized through conscious effort in the spiritual work. There are spiritual virtues that we carry deep within that are waiting to be activated through conscious will. On the same note, by annihilating the ego, we begin to liberate a greater percentage of the Essence and develop our spiritual virtues further. The following quotation by Samael Aun Weor explains this very well:
What was within a potential state becomes actualized through conscious effort in the spiritual work. There are spiritual virtues that we carry deep within that are waiting to be activated through conscious will. On the same note, by annihilating the ego, we begin to liberate a greater percentage of the Essence and develop our spiritual virtues further. The following quotation by Samael Aun Weor explains this very well:
Many things we believe we have, we do not have, and many things that we do not believe we have, we do.
We have formed false concepts about ourselves, and we must, therefore, do an inventory to find out what we have too much of and what we lack.
We assume that we have such and such qualities, which indeed we do not, and we are surely ignorant of many virtues that we do possess.
-The Great Rebellion: The Psychological I
Joyful in hope, suffering in tribulation, be thou constant in thy prayer.
Benedictis, qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
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