Good and Evil
A concept that I am sure everyone, from time to time, has struggled with is that of good and evil. In truth there is no such thing as an inherent concept of good and evil except through our human perception of it. The burning question for many (for those who believe in a higher power) is how can a kind, compassionate God permit all the suffering that goes on in this world. My question is, is a there deeper meaning or purpose behind this human experience?
A kind and compassionate, all powerful God and enormous suffering seems to be two truths that cannot exist at the same time. You would think that one or the other must be false.
This existence of good and evil existing at the same time is paradoxical in nature. How can something like good and evil exist at the same time?
A paradox is described as something that is “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.”
One very commonly known paradox is the condition of the electron which apparently can exist both as a wave and a particle at the same time. This continues to confound scientists to this day. Zen Buddhists frequently pose such situations to their novice trainees and force them to contemplate a seemingly impossible situation. For example: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
If these seemingly impossible conditions do happen to co-exist this usually means that there is a much deeper level of understanding then exists at the surface of our understanding. We need to seek a deeper understanding.
To some extent this is true of the concept of Good and Evil. How can these two things exist at the same time? The truth is that good and evil is a human concept and it does not exist outside of our perception. We cannot have good if we do not have evil. Similarly, we cannot have sweet if we do not have sour.
Although I have serious doubts about the literal facts of the garden of Eden story in the bible, I do think there is a certain degree of profoundness associated with the concept of good and evil that is playing out on this earth. It is proposed in this biblical story that it was the eating of the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that begot death and suffering. Is there a deeper level of understanding that we need to investigate in regard to all the suffering that is prevalent in this world?
We humans are so hung up on survival and our need to stretch our existence for as long as we can, we may be overlooking a significant reason for our being alive. We struggle to make it to 70 years of age and then maybe 80 and if science prevails maybe we can make it to 1000 years of age. But the truth is that even if we live to 10,000 years this is still a blink in the cosmic age of this universe, and we would still think that it was too incredibly short. Perhaps there is some truth to the concept that in this life we are here to learn about good and evil and to make a choice as to which path we wish to take.
I define good and evil as the difference between the path of seeking the collective well being of all life as opposed to seeking only one’s personal benefit.
No matter how we struggle it is destined that we will die and perhaps this is not a bad thing. Much more importantly is how did we best use the time allotted to us. Better to have lived a short life and to have contributed positively, then to live 1000 years and have brought only suffering.
your comments on good and evil have some points that are stated so profoundly.
Thanks, It is nice to know that some one reads it.