Akira The Don, Alan Watts - The Highest Virtue (20K Version) lyrics

Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher, said
"The highest virtue is not
Virtue, and therefore, really is virtue"
But inferior virtue cannot let
Go of being virtue therefore, is not virtue
Translated in more of a paraphrastic way

The highest virtue is not conscious
Of it'self as virtue
And therefore, really is virtue
The highest virtue is not conscious
Of it'self as virtue
And therefore, really is virtue
Lower virtue is so self-conscious
That it's not virtue that it's not virtue
Lower virtue is so self-conscious
That it's not virtue that it's not virtue

In other words, when you breathe
You don't congratulate yourself
On being virtuous
But breathing is a great virtue it's living
It's living
When you come out with beautiful eyes
Blue or brown or green, as the case may be
You don't congratulate yourself for
Having grown one
Of the most fabulous jewels on Earth
They're just eyes
And you don't account it to virtue, to see
To entertain the miracles of color and form
You say, "Well, that’s just…"
But that's real virtue real virtue
Real virtue real virtue

The highest virtue is not conscious
Of it'self as virtue
And therefore, really is virtue
The highest virtue is not conscious
Of it'self as virtue
And therefore, really is virtue
Lower virtue is so self-conscious
That it's not virtue that it's not virtue
Lower virtue is so self-conscious
That it's not virtue that it's not virtue

Virtue in the sense, the old
Sense of the word, is strength
As when we talk about the
Healing virtue of a plant that's real virtue
But the other virtues are stuck on
They're ersatz they're imitation virtues
And they usually create trouble
Because more diabolical things are done
In the name of righteousness
And be assured that everybody
Of whatever nationality
Or political frame of mind, or religion
Always goes to war with a
Sense of complete rightness
The other side is the devil our opponents
Whether in China or Russia or Vietnam
Have the same feeling of
Righteousness about what they're
Doing as we have on our side
And a plague on both houses
Because as Confucius said
"The goody-goodies are the thieves of virtue"
Of virtue
The goody-goodies are the thieves of virtue
The goody-goodies are the thieves of virtue
The goody-goodies are the thieves of virtue
Which is the form of our own proverb
The road to hell is paved with good intention