Virtue

by Lisa Zeiler and Eve Decker

What truly brings happiness?
Power? Fortune? Fame?
Striving for security
The ego’s crazy game
We’ve been misled we’ve been confused
By greed’s temptress, hatred’s fire
The fruit of happiness does not lie
In meeting our desires

 

Chorus:
Do no harm to other living beings
Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t use
Hurt no one with your sexuality
And you’re on your way to virtue

 

Why pursue an ethical life?
What’s the big allure?
Virtue itself won’t bring material wealth
Just a heart that’s pure
But purity’s more than it seems
It’s the seed of serenity
The strength to respond to suffering
The eyes to notice beauty

 

Chorus
 
Trembling for the welfare of all living beings
Consider each one kin
But I’ve got bad habits from lifetimes and lifetimes
Where do I begin?
It feels like swimming upstream everyday
Everyday it feels like a fight
But I will do what I know to be true
I will do what I know to be right

 

Chorus
 
©Lisa Zeiler/Eve Decker