1. Cultivating the Good through a Lifetime of Practice

World Scripture

Not to do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one’s mind—this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
Dhammapada 183 (Buddhism)

Gain: The superior man, seeing what is good, imitates it; Seeing what is bad, he corrects it in himself.
I Ching 42 (Confucianism)

Engage in Torah and charity even with an ulterior motive, for the habit of right doing will lead also to right motivation.
Talmud, Pesahim 50b (Judaism)

By degrees, little by little, from time to time, a wise person should remove his own impurities as a smith removes the dross from silver.
Dhammapada 239 (Buddhism)

By sustained effort, earnestness, discipline, and self-control, let the wise man make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.
Dhammapada 25 (Buddhism)

Study of Torah leads to precision, precision to zeal, zeal to cleanliness, cleanliness to restraint, restraint to purity, purity to holiness, holiness to meekness, meekness to fear of sin, fear of sin to saintliness, saintliness to the holy spirit, and the holy spirit to life eternal.
Talmud, Aboda Zara 20b (Judaism)

This Atman, resplendent and pure, whom sinless disciples behold residing within the body, is attained by unceasing practice of truthfulness, austerity, right knowledge and continence.
Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.5 (Hinduism)

Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1.5-8

“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”… And he said to [his disciples], “Do you not understand this parable? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Mark 4.3-20

The virtues we acquire by first having actually practiced them, just as we do the arts. We learn an art or craft by doing the things that we shall have to do when we have learnt it: for instance, men become builders by building houses, harpers by playing on the harp. Similarly we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 2.1.4 (Hellenism)

Carefully uphold the proper norms of conduct, and imitate them day and night so that there will not be a moment’s neglect or cessation. After a time, we become familiar with them, and then we no longer need to imitate them but can make our own standard.
Chu Hsi (Confucianism)

Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but habituate yourself to something else.
Epictetus (Hellenism)

Maintaining your self-cultivation for a long time will gradually lead to a congenial spirit; a congenial spirit will find one tender, generous, amiable, and agreeable. Anyone who hopes for this must eliminate his ill feelings and break up his anger, and be free of the adversity which invites opposition and attracts indignation. Personal and thorough investigation for a long time will gradually lead to the clarification of principle; perfect understanding will find one able to passively influence others without openly criticizing them. Anyone who heeds this will be well-informed and influential, and free of the worry of rising up in contention and being rejected. Even more must we actively observe the principles of things and deeply investigate our basic feelings; personally experience these things through your own faculties, carefully
think about them through time—do these things and you will be free of the errors of bias and deceit. It is important that in all matters you always check your power of learning. If there should be any hindrances or irregularities probe deeply until you discover the malady and then root it out.
Chu Hsi (Confucianism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

Good and evil are not decided in the future, but in the present moment, every day.
(Way of God’s Will 1.1.2)

Whether you are good or evil is not determined by your thoughts. It is determined by your life. Just knowing in your head what is good does not put you in any relationship with the real world.
(359:167, November 7, 2001)

You cannot just pick up a difficult textbook and study it unless you first know how to read. You need to practice reading and train over a long period to become a good reader. You cannot be a connoisseur of music just be listening to a few pieces. You need to train over many years to understand that music deeply and in every aspect. You cannot just stand at a podium and instantly be a great speaker; it requires training. It is the same with our thinking, attitude and behavior. We have to spend time training our minds and bodies. We can view meditation and prayer as ways of training the mind.
(67:178, June 10, 1973)

Well-known violinists know the character of their own violin, having played it countless times, cleaning and caring for it for so long. They know how to make the best sound out of their instrument, and can play in total harmony with it. Therefore they make the most beautiful and even mysterious sounds. Just as a violinist makes special efforts to care for his instrument, you should make special efforts, through prayer, to cultivate your spirit. Wherever you go, you should raise your spiritual antenna and not be negligent even for a moment.
(241:179, December 24, 1992)

How can we, who are fallen beings, return to the God of goodness? First, we have to cultivate our conscience; thus we begin to take after the goodness of our original self. Next, we have to act according to God’s Word; thus we reflect the goodness of God and the value of His Word.

After we have done these things, we will become people who realize goodness and appreciate the value of God’s goodness. God can then rejoice, finding in us His ideal of goodness, for which He created all things and humankind.
(131:170, May 1, 1984)

The spirit grows through give and take action between two types of nourishment: life elements of a yang type that come from God, and vitality elements of a yin type that come from the physical self. The spirit self… also returns an element to the physical self which we call the living spirit element… Truth illuminates the innermost desires of the spirit mind. A person must first comprehend his spirit mind’s deepest desire through the truth and then put this knowledge into action to fulfill his responsibility. Only then do the living spirit elements and vitality elements reciprocate within him, enabling him to progress toward goodness. The living spirit element and the vitality element have the relationship of internal nature and external form. Because all people have living spirit elements ever active within themselves, even an evil person’s original mind inclines toward goodness. However, unless he actually leads a life of goodness, the living spirit elements cannot engage in proper give and take with the vitality elements, nor can they be infused into his physical self to make it wholesome.
(Exposition of the Divine Principle, Creation 6.3.2)

You can attain heaven only if you have unity within yourself. Therefore, do not be arrogant. Be humble. Be a sacrifice. That is why we are taught to discipline the body through the path of religion. Although you dislike it, you should do fasting and make sacrifices for more than three years.
(245:58, February 28, 1993)