what is virtue?

In the reading about Aristotle’s work, it elaborates about how happiness is an activity of the soul expressing complete virtue.  What exactly is virtue you might ask?  As stated in the book, virtue cannot be defined as feelings nor capacities but as what state it is in.  Virtue is the conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles.  For example: when you react or respond to a situation involving conflict.  When you react, you act upon not thinking whereas when you respond, it involves thinking before you say something.  As said from a quote by Buddha - To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. When one finds peace within themselves, the inner strength develops thus allowing one to begin to live and enjoy the life they have. The Dalai Lama XIV stated, “we can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. It is my belief that we have to learn to choose to become better as a person, for instance, my mom always says, “ I choose to have a good day”, to me that means she is going to make the best of her day inspite of any obstacles that come her way. Our morals are instilled in us at an early age by our parents, step parents, grandparents, and etc as we get older we make choices to either better ourselves or leave us in a bind. Having a piece of mind is more important than all the riches in the world, because you still be poor with all the money in the world simply because there is no peace in your life. I would like to end in one other quote that I like, “Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.”