# (2026-10-28) Vilas on [[Hiri & Ottappa]] > [!Quote] Vilas on Hiri and Ottappa > - let us put it simple > > - hiri = moral shame leading to dread or fear of wrongdoing. If we do not want to make that like this, we can just keep moral shame. > > - Thus, let us reframe it like this in order to remove confusion: > > - **Hiri** — wholesome moral shame / conscience **rooted in ==self-respect==**; shrinking from bodily, verbal and mental misconduct because it is unworthy and unbecoming. > > - **Ottappa** — **also has shame** but is **more concerned with doing unworthy activities:** “If I do this, there will be harmful consequences—for myself, others, my citta and the path—and hence I will not do it.” > - Sometimes, it looks like they can be used interchangeably since they are closely related. > - Another way to put **Ottappa** would be: wholesome moral dread / compunction—recognizing the danger of bodily, verbal and mental misconduct and caring about the harmful consequences that follow. > - So, when I said what I said today, it was about the **deeper aspect** rather than the grammatical aspect of it. > - **==Hiri is the internal aspect and ottappa would be the external aspect==.** > - Let us go through AN7.6, which precisely explains how the Buddha puts it: > - https://depth-of-dhamma.net/an7.6