Moderation
Avoiding excess in all things, following the middle way.
Moderation in eating, drinking, pleasure, and even religious practice is valued. Excess of any kind disturbs balance. The righteous path is the moderate path.
In all things, the middle path leads to truth.
Moderation distinguishes Zoroastrianism from extreme asceticism.
Ethics
Written about in
- What Zoroastrianism says about balance
Excess is faulted in food, drink and pleasure, and in religious practice too. The middle path is named as the righteous one, not merely the safe one.
- What Zoroastrianism says about habit and discipline
Moderation is applied to religious practice itself, not only to food and drink — excess of any kind disturbs balance. This is the tradition's own brake, and it sits awkwardly beside the rule that avoiding evil is never enough.