The Buddha advises you to protect other beings, protect their belongings, respect people's rights, tell the truth, and promote friendships and goodness in other people. This is the positive side to virtue.

"When the Buddha advises you not to kill, he also recommends that you be gentle and protective of other beings. The same with the precept against stealing: You also protect other people’s belongings as best you can. The precept against illicit sex: You respect people’s rights; you don’t let your lust overcome the bounds of propriety. The precept against lying: You try to be a person who tells the truth, you try to promote friendships, you try to promote goodness in other people as well. So there’s a positive side to virtue, too."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Spread Goodness Around" (Meditations9)

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