“Yoga Begins and Ends with Virtuous Action”
Eight years ago I heard the yoga scholar Georg Feurstein say “Yoga begins and ends with virtuous action”. This simple yet profound statement has been imprinted into my brain ever since. And I’m grateful that it is. This statement is a great reminder that Yoga is about how we live our lives. It starts with our intention and efforts to live with mindfulness, compassion and wisdom and it comes full circle to us living in this way.
But what exactly is virtuous action anyway? The word virtuous itself can generate strong feelings for many of us, especially if it brings up the concepts of good and evil and all the harsh judgment or self-righteousness that often accompany them. One way of defining virtuous action is action that shows a deep reverence for life. Along these lines, Patanjali defines it in his yoga sutra as yama (moral discipline), which consists of five precepts (non-harming, truthfulness, non-stealing, sexual responsibility, and greedlessness). Buddhist practitioners also have five ethical precepts that are the same in spirit. Instead of calling them precepts, however, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh started calling them “mindfulness trainings” because they are, to use his words, “the most concrete expression of the practice of mindfulness”. He suggests not thinking of them in terms of “commandments” or “rules”, but rather as guidelines that “help us train ourselves to live in a way that protects us and those around us”. We voluntarily take them on because we know that by doing so we will create more peace and happiness for ourselves and others.
And the truth is that we can’t travel very far along the yogic path without them. The 20th century Buddhist master Ajahn Chah, put it very eloquently when he told a group of western students that trying to do a spiritual practice without living in an ethical way is like rowing a boat that is still tied to the dock.
So how does all the twisting, bending, folding and jumping help? A dedicated asana (posture) practice can help one cultivate physical and mental health. And there is a lot of value in feeling better in mind and body. For starters, it is the ground for concentration. Concentration leads to insight (“prajna”, often translated as wisdom) and insight is what enables us to dedicate ourselves to the precepts and step out of our suffering. The way I see it is that through a regular asana practice we make it easier for ourselves to live the mindfulness trainings or precepts in our daily lives. Mindfulness trainings become a natural expression or manifestation in the world of our asana or other contemplative practice. And at the same time, practicing the mindfulness trainings will support and deepen one’s asana or other contemplative practice. In fact, mindfulness trainings (precepts), formal yoga practice, and insight are inseparable. They should always go together because each helps the other two and all three bring us closer to freedom.
The fact that “Yoga begins and ends with virtuous action” is indeed good news. We have lots of opportunities to practice and live our yoga each day. Our work is to embrace these opportunities and rejoice!
