Moral values are qualities (…) that ensure the proper use of everything we use in human life: the proper use of our science, the proper use of our art, the proper use of our language, the proper use of our sex, the proper use of our religious convictions, the proper use of our power, etc.
Source: Martin Blais, L’échelle des valeurs humaines, 1980, p. 85.
For ethics (moral values) to remain human, they must reflect the deepest aspirations of all living beings, human and animal alike, namely: to experience well-being and avoid suffering. (…) It’s no longer a question of defining Good and Evil in the absolute, but of becoming aware of the happiness and suffering that we generate, through our actions, words and thoughts.
Source: Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour le bonheur, 2003, Ed. Pocket Evolution, p. 321.
According to Buddhism, the aim of ethics is to free oneself from suffering (…) and to acquire the ability to help others free themselves from suffering. To achieve this, we need to regulate our conduct in such a way as to reconcile our own desire for well-being with that of others, based on the principle that our actions should simultaneously contribute to our own happiness and that of all living beings, and avoid causing them harm.
Source: Matthieu Ricard, Plaidoyer pour le bonheur, 2003, Ed. Pocket Evolution, p. 320.