It is not good for men to get all that they wish to get. Whatever our desire wishes to get, it purchases at the cost of soul."

-Heraclitus

benefit of good moral habits

Once the Blessed One lived at Saavatthi, in the Jeta Grove, in Anaathapindika's monastery. At that time, the venerable Aananda approached the Blessed One and asked:
"What, Lord, is the benefit of good moral habits, what is their reward?" — "Non-remorse, Aananda, is the benefit and reward of good moral habits."
"And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of non-remorse?" — "Gladness, Aananda."
"And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of gladness?" — "(Deep inner) joy (piiti)." "And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of (deep inner) joy?" — "Tranquillity." "And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of tranquillity?" — "Happiness." "And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of happiness?" — "Concentration of the mind." "And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of concentration?" — "Realistic knowledge and vision."
"And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of realistic knowledge and vision?" — "Revulsion and dispassion."
"And what, Lord, is the benefit and reward of revulsion and dispassion?" — "The knowledge and vision of deliverance.
"Hence, Aananda, good moral habits have non-remorse as their benefit and reward; non-remorse has gladness as its benefit and reward; gladness has (deep inner) joy as its benefit and reward; joy has tranquillity as its benefit and reward; tranquillity has happiness as its benefit and reward; happiness has concentration of the mind as its benefit and reward; concentration has realistic knowledge and vision as its benefit and reward; realistic knowledge and vision has revulsion and dispassion as its benefit and reward; revulsion and dispassion have the knowledge and vision of deliverance as their benefit and reward. In this way, Aananda, good moral habits lead step by step to the highest."

freed of five fears

"There are, monks, four powers. The power of wisdom, the power of energy, the power of an unblemished life, and the power of benevolence.
"And what, monks, is the power of wisdom? As to those things which are good and held to be good, bad and held to be so; blameless and blameworthy, and held to be so; dark and bright, and held to be so; fit or unfit to be practiced, and held to be so; which are worthy and unworthy of noble ones, and are held to be so — to see all these things clearly and to consider them well, this is called the power of wisdom.
"And what, monks, is the power of energy? As to those things that are bad, blameworthy, dark, unfit to be practiced, unworthy of noble ones, and which are held to be so — to rouse one's will, to make an effort and stir up one's energy for giving up all these things; and as to those things that are good, blameless, bright, fit to be practiced, worthy of noble ones, and which are held to be so — to rouse one's will, to make an effort and stir up one's energy for gaining all these things — this is called the power of energy.
"And what, monks, is the power of an unblemished life? Herein, monks, a noble disciple is unblemished in his deeds, unblemished in his words, unblemished in his thoughts. This is called the power of an unblemished life.
"And what, monks, is the power of benevolence? There are four ways of benevolence; by gifts, by friendly speech, by helpful acts and by bestowal of equity. This is the best of gifts: the gift of Dhamma. And this is the best of friendly speech: to teach again and again Dhamma to those who wish for it and who listen attentively. And this is the best of helpful acts: to arouse, instil and strengthen faith in the unbeliever; to arouse, instil and strengthen virtue in the immoral; to arouse, instil and strengthen generosity in the niggard; to arouse, instil and strengthen wisdom in the unwise. And this is the best bestowal of equity: if a stream-winner becomes equal to a stream-winner; a once-returner equal to a once-returner; a non-returner equal to a non-returner; and an arahant equal to an arahant. This, monks, is called the power of benevolence.
"And this (concludes) the four powers.
"Now, monks, a noble disciple endowed with these four powers has left behind five fears: the fear for his livelihood, the fear of disrepute, the fear of embarrassment in assemblies, the fear of death, and the fear of an unhappy future destiny.
"A noble disciple (thus endowed) will think: 'No fear do I have for my livelihood. Why should I have fear about it? Have I not the four powers of wisdom, energy, unblemished life and benevolence? It is one who is foolish and lazy, of blameworthy conduct in deeds, words and thoughts, and who has no benevolence — such a one might be in fear for his livelihood.
"'No fear do I have about disrepute or about embarrassment in assemblies, nor have I fear of death or of an unhappy future destiny. Why should I have these fears? Have I not the four powers of wisdom, energy, unblemished life and benevolence? It is one who is foolish and lazy, of blameworthy conduct in deeds, words and thoughts, and who has no benevolence — such a one might have all these fears.'
"Thus it should be understood, monks, that a noble disciple endowed with the four powers has left behind five fears."

mindfulness of death

Once the Blessed One was staying in the Brick Hall at Naadikaa. There he addressed the monks as follows:
"Mindfulness of death, monks, if cultivated and frequently practiced, brings great fruit, great benefit; it merges in the Deathless, ends in the Deathless. And how, monks, is it cultivated (in that way)?
"When, monks, the day fades and night sets in... or when the night is spent and the day breaks, a monk should reflect thus: 'Many might be the causes of my death: a snake or a scorpion or a centipede may sting me, and through that I may die. This would be a hindrance to me. Or I may stumble and have a fall; or the food I ate may cause illness; or bile, phlegm, or piercing (pains of body-) gases may upset my health; humans or non-humans may assault me; and through this I may die. That would be a hindrance to me.'
"Then that monk should further reflect thus: 'Do I harbor in myself any evil and unwholesome qualities, which are still undiscarded and would be a hindrance to me if I were to die tonight or during the day?'
"If, on reflection, that monk realizes that those evil, unwholesome qualities are still in him, then he should, with strong resolve, apply all his effort, vigor and exertion, (together with) mindfulness and clear comprehension, for the sake of discarding them.
"Just as a man whose turban or hair is on fire will, to extinguish the fire, with strong resolve, apply all his effort, vigor and exertion, (together with) mindfulness and clear comprehension; even so should that monk resolutely apply all his effort... for discarding his evil and unwholesome qualities.
"But if, on reflection, that monk realizes that there are in him no such evil and unwholesome qualities that might be a hindrance to him if he were to die tonight or during the day, then he may well feel gladness and joy. By day and night he should train himself in everything that is beneficial.
"If, monks, mindfulness of death is cultivated in that way, and is frequently practiced, it will bring great fruit, great benefit, and it will merge in the Deathless, will end in the Deathless."