Paradoxal

What, exactly, would define "right" instincts, then?

As this came up in a thread recently, I thought perhaps it best to make a dedicated thread asking for opinions and arguments on morality. I'm of the opinion that there cannot be a 'universal' good or evil; rather, individuals have their own views based around their particular values. For example, one of the things I value most is saving lives (not only human) and preventing suffering. Thus, to me, killing will always be 'evil', but if done in the name of saving lives, it becomes 'good'. If you kill a warlord, that's one life traded for thousands (if not millions) saved. If you cause suffering for the sake of preventing harmful ideologies or practices that would cause many times more suffering, what is it but a moral obligation? I suppose it all comes back to the infamous trolley problem; I am of the opinion that not pulling the lever to save the many at the expense of the few is the worse option. I'm distinctly aware that my views on this are not universal however, so I'd love to open a thread where we (politely) discuss our views on morality; I'm looking for proper arguments here, so let's make sure we check up on fallacies! What would you say "good" entails? What is "evil"? How do they blend?

I would disagree with you here; if texts are to be believed (which is in itself debatable), an 'enlightened master' should be one above the limitations of the flesh, no? Now, it is truly the road to mastery to have the strength to call yourself out, to submit yourself to correction, and to be willing to change, but I would argue that they must still be at the journeyman phase if they fall prey to such things. It doesn't mean they can't teach people, but 'mastery' should be taken quite seriously in my opinion... Again, perhaps I am still just too young, dumb, and inexperienced! 😉 I said I wouldn't be morally troubled by it, but yes, I do think that there are points in which the morally 'right' thing to do is to cause suffering. After all, if someone has killed or tortured thousands, how can *only* killing them resolve that karma? Should the war hawks in their 70s and 80s die a peaceful death? This probably isn't the right thread for a thorough conversation on moral qualms and philosophy though, so... 😅

100%! For the record, I'd argue any spiritual teacher who got deeply tangled in politics is by definition not a spiritual master... Of course, that includes Jesus, Mohammad, the many popes, Confucius, Ghandi, and every other name dropped in this thread. Advocating is good, but creating an entire political system, leading revolution, or steering the world from a seat of political power, even for the sake of the unfortunate, is inherently an egotistical act. It generates many karmic links, does harm, and will inevitably be corrupted by time. This is wonderful for the physical world, but again, not the act of a spiritual master. ...then again, this is coming from someone who has no moral qualms in killing/torturing the rich (or any other person who chooses to kill thousands for their pleasure), so perhaps I myself am misled!

From my experience, clearing anger is best done with a combination of exercises. First, the feeling of anger itself needs to be sunk into the ground (it should go there naturally if you direct it, from my experience). Call it what you will, but this alone has helped me with some pretty intense rage. Anxiety is the opposite; it needs to be directed up and out. Second, practice simple gratitude meditation: recall the feeling of gratitude and try to bask in the glow of it. This will gradually tonify the leftover anger. If you've got longterm anger festering, I've found it best to intentionally transfer it into something else (salt, for example) and then dispose of whatever it was transferred into.

Hi there! Fellow Wing Chun guy here (William Cheung's lineage). Haven't worked with Damo Mitchell in person, nor interacted with him via email, but I have done his MCO video course and developed a very obvious flow of energy through it in a matter of less than a month. I also use his books as reference for my growth, though they are also *not* for the system I practice, so I need to be very careful with them. Nonetheless, I come back to them from time to time to refresh, and always get something immediately useful.

Be very careful going down that path mate. Always question every experience you have, especially when dealing in the esoteric. Nice strawman.

Where have I said that? LOL

And yet, American slavery was worse than most others, due to it treating slaves as livestock. I'm glad that you recognize my other points as true, though! 🤣🤣

...wait, enslavement, rape, and genocide are moral to you? Literally even now, the prison system is using folks for forced labor, y'know. And let's not forget eugenics originated in America, that we continue to suppress the native Americans whose land we stole, and that our "peacekeeping" is effectively imperialism. I suppose we each have our "free will" as to what is morally right and wrong...

I look at prayer as nothing more than an incantation in most peoples' hands. This is because most folk do not have the qualities required to establish a dialog, and thus are effectively screaming into the void. That said, I acknowledge that it is possible to hold dialogs with multiple gods (yes, I am saying that y'all's Yvwh ain't "the only true god"), and do so regularly myself. I've never tried to use it to get things I wanted, but I do ask for advice or about their individual intentions.

A wonderful example of someone choosing not to exercise their free will! Thank you for your noble sacrifice!

...but you're here right now! 😆 Anyway, my two cents is that we can CHOOSE to have free will, but many of us choose not to. It is easier to just let ourselves be swept away by the times, after all! I'd argue that well over half of Americans do not have free will for the reason that they allow others to think for them and do not pursue knowledge. For evidence of this claim, look to how Civil War politics have led to the current administration hundreds of years later. Nonetheless, even if we exercise our "free will", there are paths of least resistance and paths barred by thorns; I would posit this as the doing of karma.

If one assumes Abrahamic religion is "good" or "positive", then what it condemns is naturally "negative". From all I've seen of Abrahamic religion, it is an exceptionally negative influence on the world, thus it becomes tempting to view its enemies as positive. Nonetheless, in reality, it contains both negative and positive aspects. If you truly profess to "study" demonology, then you should do so after letting your biases go.