You Are Not Book.indb - Stephen H. Wolinsky Ph. D.

“states of Consciousness” Philosophical Concepts and the Virtue Trap / 231
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Pride•Self effacement
Freedom
Vanity Timidity
Honesty
Avarice Overly-generous
Non-Attachment
Gluttony Overly-controlled
Sobriety
Lust Prudence
Innocence
Sloth Overly-industrious
Right Action
Unbridled
Cowardliness Reckless •
Courage Action
Heedlessness
states based on unexamined presuppositions and concepts.
All concepts are states. This raises the question, Is love a separate
thing from hate, or is hate contained within love in a
constant movement, as mentioned earlier with the Gunas? In
other words, contained within Sattva is Raja, and contained
within love is hate with the midpoint, which might be, let’s
say, acceptance, all in a constant motion or state. However, by
looking for an idealistic, static, permanent, and changeless state
we are deluding ourselves in several way; 1) That something
made of consciousness can be changeless. In Buddhism, the
doctrine of impermanence is paramount. 2) Is this not a trap,