There is a kind of armor that is stronger than steel. So strong it can stop boulders from crashing down, storms from their destruction, and stop tidal waves in their tracks. This armor turns a battalion of soldiers around, and makes them throw down their weapons. This is the incomparable armor of virtue.
The immediate effect of virtue, acting out of love and wisdom, is that it creates a positive atmosphere in the person. When there is conflict it promotes harmony. When there is fear it produces courage and faith. When there is disarray it creates clarity and opportunity. Virtue is the one and only source of true fulfillment.
When we consider the fact that what we put out there in the world we get back, virtue is our only choice, since in this way we receive what we want from the world around us. Extrapolating this to the notion of Karma, through virtue we create a life full of great things, people, experiences, gifts, and abundance, in this life as well as in our future lives. If we had acted harshly, violently, harmful to people, we would guarantee the armies, the boulders, the storms, the tidal waves. But by choosing patience, compassion, and forgiveness, by choosing virtue instead, we stop armies, stop boulders, stop storms, stop tidal waves in their tracks. We make the imprints through virtue to avoid those kinds of situations, literally! Thus, virtue is the strongest armor.
To cultivate virtue we combine love and wisdom. We cultivate love by seeing the preciousness of ourselves and others, wising ourselves and others well, and having a kind regard for others. To cultivate wisdom we practice heightening our awareness of the present moment, our ability to make distinctions between what is good and what is harmful, our ability to think clearly and reason well, and to eventually understand the true nature of reality. We naturally combine love and wisdom through service and loving relationships. Any other obstacles that arise in our life provide the opportunity to put this to the test, allowing us to cultivate virtue as well. It is through other people that we achieve our greatest strength, since we would not have the opportunity to practice virtue without others. May you come to know the power of virtue to change entire worlds in your future, that you may take the opportunity and live a life that is abundant and free of suffering.
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