Inspired by the 13 virtues of Benjamin Franklin, the 19th-century Lithuanian Rabbi Israel Salanter built out a system of character refinement system called Mussar. With the advent of the New Year, and the prospect of many of us formulating New Year’s resolutions, Bill Heavlin sketches the Mussar system and braids it together with Buddhist thought. He then explores more deeply two of its virtues (or middot), equanimity and curiosity, which he presents as speaking to the present moment.

Topics: Curiosity, Equanimity, Resolutions