The burden of "the good"

[Dt4321]

I came to the realization that evil is a product of ignorance, a wise person should be compassionate. And the saying goes "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 

If good people are less ignorant by this logic, then the burden of "evil action" falls squarely on them. This is because evil individuals can't help being ignorant.

So, for those individuals who stand by when evil prevails, don't fool yourself thinking you are "good". It is your duty to fight evil as it will always exist, but whether it will prevail is upto you.

Let's discuss...

[vladorion]

If evil is caused by ignorance, which I agree with, then fighting evil doesn't help because you're not removing the ignorance that is causing it.

And removing ignorance is up to each individual. You can't do it for others.

You're basically fighting with symptoms.

Which isn't to say that criminals shouldn't be put in jail etc. which is a practical thing. But if you see them as evil that needs to be fought, it's just a reflection of your state of consciousness. 

[BadHippie]

I agree on certain points. The problem is we don't have set values as a society, so it's kinda hard for a collective to decide what's "evil". And what should be punished. 

Here in Germany for example you get like up to 5 years in jail for not paying your taxes, while not even having to go to jail for sharing child-pornography. 

The problem is our society has toxic values, so untoxic values will get labeled as "evil". Like people fighting for "freedom" and more "self-responsibility" are evil in times of COVID-19. 

So who do give the authority to decide what's "evil"? Like murder isn't always murder... There are certain situations that murder can be justified and is justified in some countries. 

I think there are some truly "evil" people out there (of course that's my perspective), who should be punished for what they did. But is jail the right way? I don't see jail working, at least not here in Germany. The jail here is actually the best way to join criminal clans in Germany. And most people won't grow in jail, at least in it's current fashion. 

[sholomar]

Where I tend to disagree with many here is this need to "fight evil" ... what is evil? It's an ego perception of something in a dream that is perceived to be negative. What if instead I simply forgive everything, accept that there are circumstances outside of my control that I can't change, and live by example? I can still help people without all the spiritual ego emotions that come up as a result of holding onto that baggage that comes with being so upset about the state of the world... I get the sense a lot of the stage greens here have a lot of this baggage from always being upset that the world doesn't fit their idealized image that they hold in mind.... so they have all these opinions that this must change, that must change...  this is also known as having a large spiritual ego. The goal is to undo all karmic entanglements, but sometimes getting too impassioned over some cause  does the opposite.

They say that merely being in the presence of a master can provoke peace because of the vibrations they put out... those vibes are caused by total consciousness, mindfulness, present moment awareness, undoing of karmic entanglements. They are not ruminating over how evil the world is or in some struggle trying to fight what is.. that would destroy those high frequency vibes they eminate and end up doing more harm than good... for everyone.   They merely "are" ... "God Is..."

Edited May 29, 2021 by sholomar

[BadHippie]

So you say the answer is just sit by, watching the world turn into a technocracy? 

What if that's the opposite of my vision for humanity? And I am fighting for my own values? Is that wrong? Everyone is "fighting" for their own ideals in some way. 

 

[sholomar]

5 hours ago, BadHippie said:

So you say the answer is just sit by, watching the world turn into a technocracy? 

What if that's the opposite of my vision for humanity? And I am fighting for my own values? Is that wrong? Everyone is "fighting" for their own ideals in some way. 

 

Not at all... enlightenment is really more a mental game. You can still choose to help save the world, you just approach it from a psychological standpoint, from a perspective of liberation rather than one of a ball and chain. David Hawkins does bring this up in a couple of his books, I just don't remember which ones off hand. The so called "evils" of the world no longer affect you to the same degree, because you are free, but that doesn't mean you necessarily have to sit in a cave, nor does it give you an excuse to play video games and be lazy all day, chuckle... promote green causes, go and spend time helping children in Africa, eat vegan just don't let the "evils" of the world get you so upset you want to kill yourself, because that is the opposite of what liberation is. Nor should one try to shame others for eating meat, or hold some moral high ground that generates negative emotions including pride, especially if you do this all the time. David Hawkins calls all this the "spiritual ego." This is not enlightenment. Use power, instead of using force.

 

When Jesus was getting beaten in the stories, he wasn't screaming in anger going "Fuck you Assholes, I'm going to come back and kill the whole lot of you!" ... he stood there peacefully and took it. Enlightenment doesn't necessarily equal passivity, but it does imply radical acceptance... by definition in order to be liberated,  you need to be at peace regardless of the externals of the world. If you're just using this place as somewhere to promote liberal causes and vent without actually working on your repressed negative emotions, in my opinion that's not really what it's here for.

Great video on the spiritual ego...  the guy in the video by the way... alpha male... even I find him attractive. Chuckle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uqpq2_13nk

Edited May 29, 2021 by sholomar

[Dt4321]

Let me try to clarify my point and stance a bit further.

I don't see evil as a rigid definition of someone bad. For instance, I see hell as egoic entanglement and heaven as enlightenment. Similarly, evil arises out of egoic thinking, whereas good arises out of non-egoic thinking. So, there is sort of a spectrum from those who are lost in extreme egoic attachment to those who have experienced egoic death. Calling them evil or highly compassionate beings is just a label of duality. 

Looking at the Buddha's 8-fold path,"It is very interesting and important to note that thoughts of selfless detachment, love and non-violence are grouped on the side of wisdom". The two components here, right understanding and right thought are at the very core of "enlightenment". So, the implication is that someone who is wise, "enlightened", etc must exhibit the qualities of love and compassion.

The problem I alluded to in my original post is that one cannot force a highly egoic/evil person to become non-ignorant, so it is futile to blame the ills of the world on those who are evil. Consequently, it becomes the duty of less ignorant/less egoic persons to counteract the actions of more ignorant persons, to prevent their actions from thriving. I believe the relatively recent movement of engaged Buddhism arose out of this need. I don't think it is enough for people to just focus on their personal spiritual growth. They have to take meaningful action with the intent of reducing our collective suffering and standing up for common good. This doesn't mean we have to "fight" evil or take up arms, but we can do our best to stay engaged, spread awareness and share whatever good we have. This may also include making the right choices with our wallet. It is clear extreme consumerism, greed, over-population, etc is destroying this planet and I think standing on the fence on these issues is no longer an option. It has become an existential threat to all forms of life at this point.