Satan, is red, has a pitch fork, pointed tail and horns. Ask a child to represent evil and this is likely one answer received. Discussions of good and evil often revolve around highly honed perceptions of good versus evil. “Good and evil are not figments of the mind or the subjective creations of men; they are inherent in creation.” (Kinneging 256) Concepts of good and evil conform to absolute perception in western cultural philosophy. Buddhist philosophy has a different perception concerning good and evil.
Buddhist philosophy illustrates the path to an enlightened soul using the Bhavacakra, or “Wheel of Life”, a representation of saṃsāra, or the cyclic existence. The center of this wheel contains the “Roots of Evil” - represented by a cock, a snake and a pig. The “Three Poisons” corrupt man from within. The cock represents desire, the snake hatred and the pig delusion or ignorance. While these three poisons are the root of human bondage and misery, it is delusion that drives the wheel.
No meaningful discussion of good or evil in Buddhism can be undertaken without a summary understanding of karma. Buddhist philosophy teaches karma as a “creation” based on intentional acts of body, speech and mind, and that man is affected by the karma he creates. “When we plant a seed – an act, a statement, or a thought – it will eventually produce a fruit, which will ripen and fall to the ground and perpetuate more of the same.” (Makransky 334) This is to say that the “fruit” (creation of karma) results from care of the tree or as commonly mentioned in Buddhism; what a man does is what happens to him.
Western philosophy might argue that desire, hatred and delusion are not the roots of evil. It could be argued: “For the love of money is the r...
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...ally principled core. Through exacting application of the three trainings, corporate managers will recognize and understand undesirable mental states that produce suffering for their customers, employees and shareholders.
Works Cited
Kinneging, Andreas. The Geography of Good and Evil. Translated: Ineke Hardy. Wilmington:
ISI Books, 2011. 256. Print.
Makransky, John. "Buddhist perspectives on truth in other religions: past and
present." Theological Studies 64.2 (2003): 334+. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
Kaza, Stephanie. The Vision of Dhamma. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2005. 24. Print.
Palmo, Tenzin. Reflections on a mountain lake: A Western Nun Talks on Practical Buddhism.
1st ed. Crows Nest: Snow Lion Publications, 2002. 43. eBook.
Thera, Nyanaponika. The Vision of Dhamma. 2. Onalaska: BPS Pariyatti Editions, 1994. 122.
Print.
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being.
It seems that money is the root of all evil and can make a man do things that he would
“Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other” (Eric Burdon). People do not think they are doing good or evil, they just think that they are doing the right thing. Evil comes from within each one of us. You just need to something to bring it out.
It is often said that money is the root of all evil. The Robber Barons of the late 19th century proved this theory without fail. They showed that greed can overtake morals if the conditions are right. It
The article I picked to show the evil in the world today was about a man named Abner Louima. This man was arrested in 1997 and is suing the state of New York for being beaten in a restroom in the station while being questioned. The sole witness Conelle Lugg, 19, he heard loud screaming and banging noises against the wall of the bathroom while he was in his cell, he then saw a police officer push Louima into a cell pants down and blood rushing out of his open wounds. The officer then proceeded to tell Louima to get on his knees. After all this Lugg said, that Louima fell to the floor and screamed in pain and begged to be taken to a hospital.
What is good and evil and where did it come from? Everything in the world was created from the one God. The God theory infused all things in the world and that live beyond it. From this viewpoint good and evil both derived from the God law. They have both lived since the construction of the world. Yet, evil was in a dormant form at that juncture. Evil is in our mind, not inside our aspiring heart (http://www.srichinmoy.org/spirituality/spirituality/good_and_evil).
that it is "the love of money is the root of all evil", a powerful
When people realize that good and evil are just points of view that are placed on other people and actions, it is possible to transcend these superficial roles. Since it is people who create the meaning of evil, it cannot be said that people are evil, or are born evil, because not only is that a perspective that is assumed onto others, which will change with different cultures, societies, and eras, but the very same acts may appear to be both good and evil, depending on the perspective in which the acts are seen. Ultimately, it is the individual’s responsibility to decide for himself the effects of his actions on himself and others.
“There are relatively few ways to do good, but countless ways to do evil, which can hence have a greater impact on our lives, and the lives of others beings capable of suffering,” written by Plato. His words could be used the same way on how we characterize the differences between good and evil, affecting how we view them. Fairy tales and other media have their own ways of telling a story, but illustrating evil and good characters are roughly the same concept, for evil has a wide range of ideas and good has a general pile of characteristics.
It was not until last year that I realized the answer to the little girl's question about the existence of evil. In English class last year I read Arthur Miller's play The Crucible as required reading. According to my English teacher, one theme of The Crucible was that having evil in the world is necessary to balance out the goodness. If either entity overpowered the other, they would throw off the entire balance.
The following analysis deals with the nature and source of evil and whether, given our innate motives and moral obligation, we willingly choose to succumb to our desires or are slaves of our passion. From this argument, I intend to show that our human nature requires that we play into our desires in order to affirm our free will. This is not to say that our desires are necessarily evil, but quite the opposite. In some sense, whatever people actually want has some relative value to them, and that all wanted things contain some good. But given that there are so many such goods and a whole spectrum of varying arrangements among them, that there is no way we can conceive anything as embodying an overall good just because it is to some degree wanted by one or a group of persons. In this light, there arises conflict which can only be resolved by a priority system defined by a code, maybe of moral foundations, which allows us to analyze the complexities of human motivation. I do not intend to set down the boundaries of such a notion, nor do I want to answer whether it benefits one to lead a morally good life, but rather want to find out how the constructs of good and evil affect our freedom to choose.
An analysis of the nature of evil reveals challenges. The challenges are posed in form of questions or statements such as; if God were good, He would destroy evil; an all-powerful God would destroy evil; Evil can never be destroyed; and thus, the possible existence of such a good and powerful Being is questionable. The lifestyle of a typical Christian revolves around doing what is right and avoiding evil. Believers are expected to give assistance to others without considering their background, race, or denomination. One is expected to be a role model and act as a good example to others in the society. Christians have a big task of ensuring that they win converts for Jesus Christ. This is significant in the war against evil, and ensuring that many nonbelievers are converted through moral teachings and evangelism.
want to end all of the suffering that occurs in the world, just as an
of evil, and Hell’s Satan as a creature seemingly capable of good. At every moment, good
Money exists no place else but in our minds. Money is not gold or silver; it is not a bill, and not a credit card. Love of money is recognized evil it always has been and it always will. People want money for various reasons, for security, status; to be powerful and etc. “This is also known as materialism, which brings in its wake tension and unhappiness.” Evil arises when people are controlled by money and compare everything in terms of money. Desire to earn money is not the root of all evil; everybody needs money to fulfill their needs. The problem appears when our wants increase. Therefore, the want of money increases, and we start to have a desire of wanting more of it and are never satisfied. Desires should not be confused to be the root cause of