The origins of evil...

[MatthewQi]

[peter falk]

i can't read that link because the great firewall of china blocks all geocities sites.

 

however, there is a lot of truth to the part you excerpted. but i also see problems. repressed sexuality is a powerful force, especially in the absence of any work on the ego. likewise, boosting sexual power with alchemy can also lead to "evil" if nothing is done to the ego, which is constantly trying to usurp our psychic power. furthermore, going overboard with hedonism is a problem as well.

 

i dont think the "real" meaning of the tarot can ever be so neatly stated though. there is meaning on many levels to the tarot depending on teh individual and the context. they are archetypes that speak to each of us according to our level oof understanding. there is a lot of alchemy in the tarot, as well as psychic and spiritual development.

 

we need evil. we live in a dualistic world. when you achieve tao and live in the infinite oneness, fine, at that point you become beyond good and evil. and you can't really inhabit the flesh anymore at that point because you are no longer dualistic, that is to say, polarized, and your atoms need polarization to exist. you cannot bring the tao down here, you must rise to meet it. ren fa rong also said this on a trip to louguantai monastery i attended. when you cease to be dualistic, you can longer exist dualistically.

 

so there is good and evil, just as there are day and night, male and female. the danger in this line of thinking is taht everything becomes ok, from overeating to child pornography. "it's not evil, that's just an illusion of dualistic thinking."

 

some things are evil. it's better to be a demon and achnowledge it than pretend youre an angel when youre not. in fact, i'd rahter have a consciously, self proclaimed evil parctioner as a friend than some sleepy, unaware flake who thinks their super nice and super compassionate, as a friend. the flake will screw you and everyone else they can while believing he/she is some great loving person. with the evil dude, you know where you stand. child pornographers are evil. commiters of genocide are evil.

 

unfortunately i've rambled on about an excerpt i havent even really checked the context of, so all of what i just said may be totally fucked up.

[Yoda]

"Demons are simply bodhisattvas from different dimensions."

 

(That's one of my fav quotes from the Mahayana Scriptures. It's either from the Lankavatara Sutra or the Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti)

 

-Yoda

[hagar]

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Edited May 25, 2009 by hagar

[Lozen]

That is an interesting passage. I agree that denying that one has any evil thoughts or inclinations can lead to repressed evil.

 

I agree with peter falk though that some things are just plain evil no matter which way you slice it.

 

In Judaism the belief is that there is a good inclination and an evil inclination, but the evil inclination is not about wanting to cause harm. It is about selfishness, and desiring to satisfy personal needs without thinking of the moral consequences. The evil inclination is not a bad thing. Without it one would never eat, build a house, marry and have children, etc. It is bad when it is out of balance. For example, sexual desire is not wrong, but rape, incest, etc. is bad. Hunger is not bad, but killing people for food is bad. Etc. etc.

[GrandTrinity]

EVERY religion in the world has a way to control sexual energy.

 

Think about that.

 

The people at the top of the pyramid are not evil, nor are they good. Its what you do with your/this knowledge/lack thereof that makes the difference...we can be living in heaven or hell, or both!