Editing Virtue (section)

====Hinduism====
{{main|Hindu ethics}}Virtue is a much debated<ref>{{cite book | last=Hindery | first=Roderick | title=Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. | date=1978 | isbn=978-81-208-0866-9|pages=268–272|quote=[T]he ''srutis'' did not pretend to deal with all situations or irregularities in the moral life, leaving these matters to human reasons ([[Mahabharata]] XII.109); Accordingly, 'that again which is virtue may, according to time and place, be sin'.... Under certain conditions, 'acts that are apparently evil' can be permitted if they 'produce consequences that are good' (Mahabharata XII.37).... [Hindu scripture] notes the interrelationship of several virtues, consequentially. 'Anger springs from covetousness.' Envy 'disappears in consequence of compassion and knowledge of self' (Mahabharata XII.163).}}</ref> and an evolving concept in ancient scriptures of Hinduism.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|last=Crawford|first=S. Cromwell|year=1982|title=The Evolution of Hindu Ethical Ideals|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|series=Asian Studies|volume=28|isbn=978-0-8248-0782-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionofhindu0000craw|url-access=registration}}
|2={{cite book|editor-last1=Becker|editor-last2=Becker|editor-first1=Lawrence C.|editor-first2=Charlotte B.|year=2001|title=Encyclopedia of Ethics|isbn=978-0415936729|edition=2nd|publisher=Routledge|volume=II|pages=845–848}}
}}</ref> The essence, need and value of virtue is explained in Hindu philosophy as something that cannot be imposed, but something that is realized and voluntarily lived up to by each individual. For example, [[Apastamba]] explained it thus: "virtue and vice do not go about saying—here we are!; neither the Gods, Gandharvas, nor ancestors can convince us—this is right, this is wrong; virtue is an elusive concept, it demands careful and sustained reflection by every man and woman before it can become part of one's life.<ref>{{cite book|first=Phillip|last=Wagoner|chapter=Foreword|title=Dharma: Hindu Approach to a Purposeful Life|date=November 2013 |publisher=Periplus Line LLC |isbn=978-1-62209-672-5}}
* See also: ''[[Apastamba Dharmasutra|Āpastamba Dharmasūtra]]'' 1.20.6</ref>

Virtues lead to {{transliteration|sa|[[Punya (Hinduism)|punya]]}} ({{lang|sa|पुण्य}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=puNya&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0|title=puNya|website=Spoken Sanskrit English Dictionary|date=2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126030805/http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?tinput=puNya&direction=SE&script=HK&link=yes&beginning=0|archive-date=2017-01-26}}</ref> holy living) in Hindu literature; while vices lead to {{transliteration|sa|pap}} ({{lang|sa|पाप}}, [[sin]]). Sometimes, the word {{transliteration|sa|punya}} is used interchangeably with virtue.<ref>{{cite book | title=What Is Hinduism? | publisher=Himalayan Academy Publications | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-934145-00-5 | page=377}}</ref>

The virtues that constitute a [[dharma|dharmic]] life – that is a moral, ethical, virtuous life – evolved in [[veda]]s and [[upanishad]]s. Over time, new virtues were conceptualized and added by ancient Hindu scholars: some replaced, others merged. For example, [[Samhita|Manusamhita]] initially listed ten virtues necessary for a human being to live a dharmic life: {{transliteration|sa|[[Dhrti|Dhriti]]}} (courage), {{transliteration|sa|[[kshama]]}} ([[patience]] and [[forgiveness]]), {{transliteration|sa|[[Temperance (virtue)#Hinduism|dama]]}} ([[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]]), {{transliteration|sa|[[Achourya|asteya]]}} (Non-covetousness/Non-stealing), {{transliteration|sa|[[Shaucha|saucha]]}} (inner purity), {{transliteration|sa|indriyani-graha}} (control of senses), {{transliteration|sa|[[Dhi (Hindu thought)|dhi]]}} (reflective prudence), {{transliteration|sa|[[Vidya (philosophy)|vidya]]}} (wisdom), {{transliteration|sa|[[satya]]m}} (truthfulness), and {{transliteration|sa|[[akrodha]]}} (freedom from anger).<ref>{{cite book | last=Tiwari | first=Kedar Nath | title=Classical Indian Ethical Thought: A Philosophical Study of Hindu, Jaina, and Buddhist Morals | year=1998 | isbn=978-81-208-1608-4 | pages=52–55|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|url=https://archive.org/details/nhAt_classical-indian-ethical-thought-kedar-nath-tiwari_202012}}</ref> In later verses, this list was reduced to five virtues by the same scholar, by merging and creating a broader concept. The shorter list of virtues became: {{transliteration|sa|Ahimsa}} ([[Ahimsa|Non-violence]]), {{transliteration|sa|dama}} (self restraint), {{transliteration|sa|asteya}} (Non-covetousness/Non-stealing), {{transliteration|sa|saucha}} (inner purity), and {{transliteration|sa|satyam}} (truthfulness).<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal|last=Gupta|first=B|year=2006|title=Bhagavad Gītā as Duty and Virtue Ethics|journal=Journal of Religious Ethics|volume=34|number=3|pages=373–395|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9795.2006.00274.x}}
|2={{cite book | last1=Mohapatra | first1=Amulya | last2=Mohapatra | first2=Bijaya | title=Hinduism | publisher=Mittal Publications | date=1 January 1993 | isbn=978-81-7099-388-9 | pages=37–40}}
}}</ref>

The [[Bhagavad Gita]] – considered one of the epitomes of historic Hindu discussion of virtues and an allegorical debate on what is right and what is wrong – argues some virtues are not necessarily always absolute, but sometimes relational. For example, it explains that a virtue such as {{transliteration|sa|[[Ahimsa]]}} must be re-examined when one is faced with war or violence from the aggressiveness, immaturity, or ignorance of others.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal|last=Subedi|first=S.P.|year=2003|title=The Concept in Hinduism of 'Just War'|journal=Journal of Conflict and Security Law|volume=8|number=2|pages=339–361|doi=10.1093/jcsl/8.2.339 }}
|2={{cite journal|last=Bakker|first=F.L.|year=2013|title=Comparing the Golden Rule in Hindu and Christian Religious Texts|journal=Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses|volume=42|number=1|pages=38–58|doi=10.1177/0008429812460141 |s2cid=170723697 }}
}}</ref><ref name=klos1996>{{cite book | author-link=Klaus K. Klostermaier|first=Klaus K.|last=Klostermaier|chapter=Himsa and Ahimsa Traditions in Hinduism|editor-first1=Harvey Leonard|editor-last1=Dyck | editor-last2=Brock | editor-first2=Peter | title=The Pacifist Impulse in Historical Perspective | publisher=University of Toronto Press | date=1 January 1996 | isbn=978-0-8020-0777-3 | pages=230–234}}</ref>