Meditation is the Way and Its Virtue. A teaching on the natural goodness at the heart of all being.
Copyright August 1, 2000 · All Rights Reserved by Dr. Bonnici
Dear Faith Walkers and Life Journeyers,
There is a word in Japanese that I use when teaching the life of Zen and the practice of Applied Meditation Therapy®. This word is Jotoku. The meaning of Jotoku has special relevance for aligning and balancing the bright inner posture and daily behavioral practice of your engaged meditation and spiritual life Way.
Jo in Japanese means "quiet" and toku means "virtue." Thus, Jotoku literally translates as Quiet Virtue.
Jotoku as virtue should not be confused with the self-righteous virtue that promotes arrogance, ignorance, separation, and animosity between the saved and the unsaved, the believer and the disbeliever, the sinner and the saint, the moral and the immoral.
Rather, Jotoku can be understood as the "natural goodness or innate virtue" of things and beings just as they are. This means that when our original nature is like an uncarved jewel — untouched by social or cultural conditioning — its essence is neither pure nor defiled. It just is.
For example, the virtue of the sky is openness. The virtue of the ocean is depth and responsiveness. The virtue of the earth is groundedness and fertility. The virtue of fire is warmth and illumination. The virtue of water is fluidity and nourishment.
In the same way, the Jotoku — the Quiet Virtue — of a human being is the natural goodness, innocence, and wholeness that is our original nature. Before conditioning, before ego-formation, before the accumulation of karma and reactivity. This is what we are in our most essential being.
In the practice of Applied Meditation Therapy® and Zen life practice, Jotoku refers to the natural, quiet expression of our innate goodness in our daily activities and relationships — not as something we strive for or impose upon ourselves, but as the spontaneous expression of what we already are when we are not grasping, not resisting, not performing.
When we are fully present, embodied, and responsive to what is — rather than reactive to our conditioned stories and projections — our natural Quiet Virtue shines through. This is not a moral achievement. It is a recognition and an embodiment of what was always already there.
In Zen teaching, this Quiet Virtue is often expressed through the image of the moon reflected on still water. The moon doesn't strive to be reflected. The water doesn't strive to reflect. When the water is still, the reflection is perfect. When we are still — when our bodymind is calm, present, and unobstructed — our original luminosity naturally shines.
This is why the practice of zazen meditation is so central to AMT®. Seated meditation is not about making the mind blank or achieving a special state. It is about returning, again and again, to the natural stillness and clarity that is already our deepest nature — and learning to carry that stillness into the fullness of our daily life and relationships.
"The Way and Its Virtue are not two separate things. The Way is the practice of virtue, and virtue is the natural expression of the Way. In Zen, this is called Jotoku — Quiet Virtue."
— Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici, Ph.D.
Dr. Bonnici offers personal counseling, training, and mentoring in the practice of Jotoku and Applied Meditation Therapy®.