12th Issue (June, 2009) Evil is Easy but Good is Difficult (Dhp.163) Mark Wong Sukarāni asādhūni Dhp. 163 Easy to do are things that are evil and not beneficial to oneself, Purport:As long as one is a sentient being or ordinary worldling (puthujjana) whose mind is always directed and empowered by illusory and unreal self (attā) or ego (ahaṃkāra), one has a propensity to commit unwholesome actions (akusalakamma-s) that is not beneficial to oneself. It is also not beneficial to others. An ordinary worldling also finds it relatively difficult to commit wholesome actions (kusalakamma-s) that require personal sacrifice of self-ineterest or wealth. He or she finds it relatively easy to commit evil actions or crimes because of weak moral restraint due to inflation of self-centric ego. Gotama Buddha promulgates s that the commission of evils may be motivated by either the evil force of greed (lobha) or the evil force of hatred (dosa) rooted in delusion (moha). Delusion is the ignorance of things as they really are. When a pleasant or favourable environmental stimulus impinges on the senses of an ordinary worldling, there is a propensity for one to develop attachment. Unrestrained attainment fueled by craving or lust evokes greed. Unrestrained or unregulated greed may be transmuted into evil actions, such as killing, theft, adultery, criminal breach of trust and so forth. When an unpleasant or adverse environmental stimulus impinges on the senses of an ordinary worldling, there is a propensity to react with aversion. Unrestrained or unregulated aversion engenders the unwholesome emotion of anger or hatred. Unrestrained or unregulated hatred or anger may be transmuted into evil actions of revenge such as heated disputation, conflict , fight or murder. The inner power that directs and empowers the commission of human evil actions is the self-centric ego. Self-centric ego is illusory and unreal. It is superimposed in the mind of an ordinary worldling. An ordinary worldling is deluded by the multiplicity of the multiple forms of the empirical world. He or she perceives and discriminates the empirical world into multiplicity of discrete entities. These entities are either the pleasant objects or unpleasant objects. The pleasant objects are what one likes. The unpleasant ones are what one dislikes. Likes and dislikes are the products of judgmental or discriminative wisdom engendered by substantial view of ontology. Substantial view of ontology is not compatible with Gotama Budha’s tenet of Insubstantial view of ontology. Insubstantial ontology is the process philosophy of perennial wisdom. The objects of likes condition attachment leading to the arising of greed. The objects of dislikes condition aversion leading to the arising of aversion. Human attachment and aversion are two potential propensities of an ordinary worldling to commit human misbehaviours or criminal acts. Whoever does not intuitively discern the eternal Truth of Insubstantiality (Anattā) and Dependently co-arisen (pațiccasamuppanna) Unity of existence or Non-duality (Advaya) has the propensity to discriminate the empirical world into the divergent objects of likes and dislikes. One’s judgmental or discriminative view of the multiplicity is constructed upon the basis of one’s moral decisions. Moral decisions pertain to right and wrong, good and bad and just and unjust. Judgmental or discriminative view is constructed upon the substantial view of ontology. Whoever has intuitively penetrated into the non-judgmental or non-discriminative view of the cosmic unity of Insubstantiality or dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality develops non-judgmental or non-discriminative wisdom (paññā). Non-judgmental or non-discriminative wisdom should not be viewed erroneously as a complete absence of human judgment or discrimination. It is the cessation of ontological view of multiplicity. Instead, it is the advocate of the right view of the Unity of existence in the multiplicity. Discerning Unity of existence instead of the multiplicity is non-judgment or discriminative wisdom using the intuitive mind rather than the intellectual mind. Spiritual it is the wisdom of the Heart rather than the wisdom of the head. Non-discriminative wisdom generates the power of equanimity (upekkhā) which obliterates both attachment and aversion. Attachment and aversion are human reactions as a consequence of the advocate of discriminative view. Devoid of attachment and aversion, the grasping (upādā̄na) upon the five aggregates (pañcakkhandha) as this I; this is mine ; this belongs to me ceases to exist. Most significantly, cessation of grasping terminates the commission of all evil actions or crimes. References :
   
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