Navajo Wisdom on evil and adversity

(Navajo Traditional Teachings) Navajo (Diné) Nation

• NavajoTraditionalTeachings.com

Megadeth's Dave on real witchcraft

(Sean Ryan Clips) Sinner Dave Mustaine confesses, rushes back to Abrahamic Christianity

Dave Mustaine (formerly of Metallica then his revenge creation Megadeth) has bad mojo. No one in the metal community really likes him, certainly not his bandmates. Maybe there's a reason -- a bad childhood, trauma, scars, bad choices, and a spooky vibe. He did once make one good album though and at least one truly great song, strangely appropriate in the end:

Trap-rap-metal cover of "Sicko Mode" by MaryJaneDaniel

(Our Last Night) Pop punk metal screamo cover of "This is Halloween"

(WackenTV) Will Mustaine reform and play Wacken? (Macabre) "Zodiac"

Diwali: Festival of Lights (Cali, Chi, NJ)

(Encyclopaedia Brittanica) Diwali (Dipa-wali) is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism [not Buddhism], lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Karttika.

(The corresponding dates on the Gregorian calendar usually fall on late October and November). The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” The festival generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. More

(BAPS) Chicago, Illinois temple celebrates Diwali and Annakut

Los Angeles, California Diwali and Annakut Celebration

(BAPSChannel) Experience the lights, festivities, and joy of Diwali and Annakut at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on the outskirts of Los Angeles, For more details, visit: https://www.baps.org/News/2024/Diwali... #BAPS #BAPSDiwali #diwali #diwali2024 #festivaloflights #na50 #diwalicelebration #diwalifestival #losangeles

On the East Coast, there's the Robbinsville, New Jersey BAPS Temple

Plague of insatiable craving: wendigo

The mind entity that plagues humanity: Wetiko

(Asangoham) Dec. 20, 2024: In his book Wetiko: Healing the Mind-Virus That Plagues Our World, author Paul Levy argues that all of humanity is under the grasp of a psychological illness: wetiko (better known as wendigo).

More, more, gimme more!

Wetiko is a term used in Native American spirituality to describe a “contagious psycho-spiritual disease of the soul” and a “parasite of the mind.”

In his book, Levy argues that the concept of wetiko is present not just among the Native Americans, but in several spiritual traditions, including Kabbalah, Vedanta, and even the psychology of Carl Jung.

Levy writes: “Wetiko is a cannibalizing force driven by insatiable greed, appetite without satisfaction [craving giving rise to repeated disappointment the Buddha called dukkha], consumption as an end in itself, and war for its own sake against other tribes, species, nature, and even the individual’s own humanity. It is a disease of the soul, and being a disease of the soul, we all potentially have wetiko, as it pervades and informs the underlying field of consciousness. Any one of us at any moment can fall into our unconscious and unwittingly become an instrument for the evil of wetiko to act itself out through us and incarnate in our world. If we see someone who seems to be taken over by wetiko and we think they have the disease and we don’t, in seeing them as separate we have fallen under the spell of the virus ourselves.”

• What is American MA$$ consumerism?
• Wendigo: evil thought contagion

This video is a deep dive into the concept of wetiko and how we can prevent ourselves from being infected by this “mind-virus.”

The video also talks about how wetiko was perceived by the great Indian mystic Sri Aurobindo. #wendigo #wetiko #nativeamerican #entity

What solution did the Buddha offer?

"A Cure for Wendigo/Insatiable Craving" by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

How'd you let go, Wise One?

One cannot "resist evil," as Jesus would say, because the attempt to do so only makes it stronger. If ego could overcome insatiable greed (for the pleasant), aversion (toward the unpleasant, manifesting as hatred, fear, frustration, running away), and ignorance (giving rise to wrong views, delusions, confusion). The ego will not destroy the ego. Greed for freedom-from-greed will not succeed. Hating hatred (or fearing fear) will not make it go away. And, alas, at the root of all mental defilements and suffering is ignorance (avijja, not knowing, manifesting as delusion or moha).

I want to be reborn in space, in a pleasure heaven

Okay, there's the problem. We can't overcome these three roots of all that is unwholesome and giving rise to suffering (disappointment, pain, unpleasant experience). What's a possible solution? Rather than the ego letting go, we will let wisdom (panya, vipassana, insight) uproot ignorance. Letting go vanquishes greed -- but letting go is impossible by willpower. The solution? Mindful observation of what is -- what is really there, this gross body or any conditioned (composed, fabricated, formation) thing, which is not at all what it seems to be and is utterly incapable of giving what it promises and therefore always leads to disappointment and dissatisfaction -- with heightened mind. When the mind/heart sees things for what they really are, it lets go. "Ego" (the Five Aggregates clung to as self) does not let go, "I" do not let go, "will" does not let go. Just as when a feather or a plastic bag fall into a fire, what happens? They shrink back, pull away, withdraw, in other words let go of the fire that is clung to. The heat does it, not the feather or bag.

Not by will but by watchfulness.

For example, look at the lovely, say a person inspiring lust and craving. I want, I want, I want! How can this addiction, obsession, craving be cured? (We don't want to cure it; we just want it, in ignorance believing this object will satisfy and fulfill us when it will not, cannot, and never has). Not getting it or getting it and realizing it didn't fulfill us or satisfy us, but only disappointed and became the source of great pain, how can this craving (addiction, clinging) be cured? How? See it for what it really is. Wise reflection (yoniso manasikara). First, mind must be heightened (temporarily purified/cleansed of the Five Hindrances and basic defilements, asavas and kilesas) then the mind must be systematically applied to looking objectively (vipassana) at what is clung to.

What is clung to? Only five things, the most fundamental five things in all of our many existences (countless rebirths), are tenaciously clung to and identified with even though they are impermanent, disappointing (unable to ever fulfill us), and impersonal. These are the Five Heaps, the Five Aggregates clung to as self (khandhas):

1. form (body, materiality);
2. feelings
3. perceptions
4. mental formations
5. consciousness.

Then there was peace, light, awakening

Letting go of these, there is no more disease. Ignorance is cured in an instant and with it go clinging and aversion. Poof! This is the first stage of enlightenment, stream entry (entering the current that inevitably and invariably leads to the end of all suffering, complete awakening, full enlightenment, arahantship). This is liberation, a cure for the insatiable desires that plague us. While in English we say "desire" is not all bad, remember that "desire" is a translation of the Pali word tanha (lit. "thirst," "craving," "insatiable greed"). That's bad, but how to translate it. The Sanskrit trsna means the same thing, and only "craving" and "clinging" come close in English. We cannot let go by will only by wisdom, so there is no need for asceticism (rooted in aversion) or saintliness (rooted in a desire for more refined desires) or delusion (the ignorance of thinking we understand when the heart/mind has not yet been trained and has not yet penetrated the truths the Buddha talked about. This is not an intellectual endeavor. True freedom comes from true experience. That is what the Ennobling (Enlightening) Eightfold Path is for.

• Original score: • The Green Tara Mantra | The Frequency...
• Script: Anmol
• Edit: Medo
• Voiceover: Karan Nambiar
• DISCLAIMER 01: All ideas expressed on this channel are for entertainment and general information purposes only. There is no advice on what an individual should or should not do. Any response made by anyone after hearing this communication is their interpretation and is their responsibility. Ideas expressed by this channel should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice or professional help. If expert assistance or counselling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
• DISCLAIMER 02: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If one is, or represents, the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have an issue with the use of said material, please send an email to doseofquotes02@gmail.com.
• Copyright © 2022 Asangoham. All rights reserved
• Muse "Thought Contagion" from the album Simulation Theory; Paul Levy via Asangoham (video); Xochitl, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Nazi rally at MSG w/ South Park, TIC Dog

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog roasts MAGA Trump supporters at his MSG Nazi rally | The Daily Show

(The Daily Show) Oct 30, 2024: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog went to Madison Square Garden (MSG) to cosplay as a January 6th insurrectionist, tease MAGAots, launch a line of merch, and write a song about Republicans’ favorite thing: “Liberal Tears.” #DailyShow #Trump #Triumph

More Trump trashing | The Daily Show (Comedy Central Africa)

Trump's Puerto Rico fallout spreads as he insists he's "not a Nazi" | The Daily Show

(The Daily Show) Oct. 29, 2024: With one week until Election Day, Ronny Chieng assesses the fallout from standup roast comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's racist Puerto Rico joke, while The Donald plays defense, like a Hitler insisting he's "not a Nazi." Plus, German Grace Kuhlenschmidt takes RFK Jr.'s advice and travels back in time to save Baby Trump from becoming what he is now. #DailyShow #comedy

• 0:00 - Ronny Chieng's TDS open
• 0:26 - Trump facing major backlash after comedian's Puerto Rico comments
• 4:12 - Trump insists he's "not a Nazi"
• 5:43 - JD Vance defends Trump's "not a Nazi" claims
• 7:04 - RFK Jr. chimes in on Trump's Nazi fallout
• 8:22 - Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Troy Iwata weigh in on the Trump fallout

• Creator of Godwin's Law says it's OK—and necessary—to compare Trump to Hitler (Raw Story)
• Kamala H. denounces D. Trump as ‘fascist’ who wants ‘unchecked power’ (The Guardian)
• Why do people keep making meme comparing Trump to Hitler? (BBC)
• VIDEO: AOC rallies for Kamala in Madison, Wisconsin (full speech)
• The racist Trump rally was not an accident | AOC explains on CNN

(CJ Werleman) Watch comedians destroy Israeli propaganda (hilarious)

Final Election Rallies | Daily Show w/Jon Stewart (Comedy Central Africa)

The Paradox of Life: Alan Watts (video)

The great danger in lying (sutra)

Why'd you go and come back, Dad?

The discourse called the Ambalatthika-Rāhulovāda Sutta taught by the Buddha at Ambalatthikā (near Veluvana) to his son, the young Buddhist monk Ven. Rāhula deals with falsehoods.

Like an insignificant drop of water is the recluseship of those who do not shrink away from deliberate lying. It is thrown away, upset, empty, and void.

There is no harm they will not do who do not avoid lying. They run every risk, like an elephant who does not guard his trunk.

The Buddha had a son or two, Rahula and Ananda

One should practice constant reflection, thereby abandoning all things conducive to suffering, either to oneself or others, and develop self-control and purity (MN.i.414-20).

Ven. Rāhula was evidently very young at the time of this sutra, for we find the Buddha making use of frequent similes and pointing them out to him.

Well, Son, if you go with your father, I'll become a nun, too. Really, Mom, can I?

.

Let's get out of samsara [this simulation].

According to the Commentary, he was at the time only 7-years-old (MA. ii. 636), meaning in the first year of his training as a novice, a "little recluse" (samanera) in training.

The Commentary states that it was taught because very young novices might be tempted to say things both proper and improper; they were likely to imagine things.

This sutra is to warn Ven. Rāhula against the use of lies (MA.ii.635f.; AA.i.145; ii.547).

The Ambalatthika-Rāhulovāda Sutta is among the portions of scripture mentioned in the Bhābrā Edict of Asoka as being essentially worthy of study by all monastics. (See Mookerji: Asoka, p.119) (v.l. Ambalatthiya°). More

• What is samsara? (It is the Wheel of Life and Death, the Endless Round of Rebirth, the Sea of Suffering, the "Simulation" we're trapped in until we awaken).

SUTRA: Teaching Rahula

I will show you the way to enlightenment. But as you are very young, I will show it in similes.

.

(MN 61) The Buddha taught this to his son, Ven. Rāhula, at Ambalaṭṭhika. Thus have I heard: On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary.

Now on that occasion Venerable Rāhula was living at Ambalaṭṭhika. Then when it was evening, the Blessed One rose from meditation (seclusion) and went to Ven. Rāhula at Ambalaṭṭhika.

Ven. Rāhula saw the Blessed One coming. When he saw him, he made a seat ready and set out water for washing feet. The Blessed One sat down on the seat made ready, and he washed his feet.

Ven. Rāhula bowed and sat respectfully to one side. Then the Blessed One poured out the remaining quantity of water into the water-dipper and addressed Ven. Rāhula:

“Rāhula, do you see this small quantity of water poured into the water-dipper?”

“Yes, venerable sir.”

“Unless people are careful not to knowingly speak falsehood, there is as little of the monastic in them as this.” Then the Blessed One threw away the small amount of remaining water, and he addressed Ven. Rāhula:

“Rāhula, do you see that small remaining amount of water thrown away?”

“Yes, venerable sir.”

“Unless people are careful not to knowingly speak falsehood, what there is of the monastic in them is thrown away like that.” Then the Blessed One turned the water-dipper upside down, and he addressed Ven. Rāhula:

“Rāhula, do you see this water-dipper turned upside down?”

“Yes, venerable sir.”

“Unless people are careful not to knowingly speak falsehood, what there is of the monastic in them is turned upside down just like that.” MN 61: Ambalaṭṭhikarāhulovādasutta—Nyanamoli Thera (translation) (suttacentral.net)

• MN 61: Ambalaṭṭhikarāhulovādasutta—Bhikkhu Sujato (translation)
• MN 61: Ambalaṭṭhikarāhulovādasutta—I.B. Horner (translation)
• G.P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Proper Nouns (palikanon.com); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Good cop says NO to lockdown (video)

Christine Clarridge, The Seattle Times; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

I took an oath to only do legal things.

["I was just following orders," war criminals and cowards say. We say, "Disobey." Good police do not enforce unconstitutional or illegal orders. Here's one good cop getting smashed down for standing up and saying something.]

A Port of Seattle police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after posting a video online last week telling fellow officers they should NOT enforce coronavirus-related lockdown orders.

Officer Greg Anderson is on leave [for insubordination] pending an investigation, according to a Port of Seattle spokesman, who declined to comment further on the pending personnel matter.

Keep Seattle beautiful and free!

In the video posted on May 7, Anderson, in uniform and sitting in a heavily armed patrol vehicle [looking like Darth Vader's ship], says citing or arresting people in relation to what he called “tyrannical” social-distancing orders violates people’s constitutional rights.

“I want to remind you that regardless of where you stand on the coronavirus, we don’t have the authority to do those things to people just because a mayor or a governor tells you otherwise,” he says. “We don’t get to violate people’s constitutional rights because somebody in our chain of command tells us otherwise.”

Anderson said he was disturbed at the implication people would be violating the law by “going to church, for traveling on the roadways, for going surfing, opening their businesses, going to the park with their families or doing nails out of their own house using their own house as a place of business.” More

What we fear in Trump we have in Clinton

Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Dr. Jill Stein (democracynow.org)

We agree, "If it's Hill, it's Jill!" If Bernie Sanders abandons us and tries to lead the post-Occupy Movement to back Clinton, we're going Green or voting Republican. Why? Jill explains:
 

Green Party’s Dr. Jill Stein, MD: What we fear from Donald Trump we already have in Hillary Clinton

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein (Jill2016.com) takes aim at the presumptive nominees of both major Money Party, the RepubloCrats, Donny and Hillary.

"Trump SAYS very scary things -- deporting immigrants, massive militarism, and ignoring the climate. Hillary, unfortunately, has a track record for DOING all of those things," Stein says.

Go Green with Dr. Jill Stein

"Hillary has supported the deportations of immigrants, opposed the refugees -- women and children coming from Honduras, whose refugee crisis she was very much responsible for by giving a thumbs-up to this corporate coup in Honduras that has created the violence from which those refugees are fleeing."

Stein explains and goes on to say, "We see these draconian things that Donald Trump is talking about [doing], we actually see Hillary Clinton doing." More

• VIDEO: Dolores Huerta and Norman Solomon on Trump, Sanders' next steps, biased mainstream media coverage of the 2016 race
• Glenn Greenwald:  Trump, Clinton "playing into the hands" of ISIS [which was yet another cynical creation of the CIA]

Space: The Light Alliance (audio)

Gordon Asher Davidson (coasttocoastam.com, July 8, 2015); Wisdom Quarterly; CJ

Teacher of meditation and spiritual practices Gordon Asher Davidson discusses his insights into the changes going on all around us. Davidson believes our world is being guided by an Interdimensional Light Alliance or Solar Council that is working closely with members of humanity to release the hold of darkness on our planet.

During the last 20 years of his meditation practice he has been in contact with a spiritual master, who is very involved in the process to transfigure the world. Davidson described his contacts as a "telepathic conversation" rather than channeling.

According to these contacts, the Earth was created as a garden planet, but predatory aliens came here millennia ago. They came for the purpose of exploitation and a takeover.

 
The Light Guardians [in Buddhism known as Sakka, King of the Devas, and his regents known as the Four Great Kings in charge of the four quarters of the sky] of our planet were aware of these predators but made a decision that they would be allowed to remain to become part of Earth's evolutionary process.

(CoasttoCoastAM.com) Gordon Asher Davidson appears at Minute 21:00

• UFO photos: Arctic UFOs photographed from the USS Trepang in 1971 (theblackvault.com)

This was so that humanity would have the ability to choose between light and darkness, Davidson explains.

However, a cosmic decree by the Solar Council following the events of 9/11 (a staged attack to create fear and terror and exert control) has been made to offset the power of the dark ET cabal by having them removed by the galactic civilization, Davidson announced. More + AUDIO

Gordon Asher Davidson

GORDON ASHER DAVIDSON (worldtransfiguration.com) has a long career of active leadership in social change institutions and movements, while simultaneously pursuing a deep, inner meditative life culminating in his book, The Transfiguration of Our World: How a Light Alliance Is Transforming Darkness and Creating a New Earth.

His experience includes co-authoring with his wife, Corinne McLaughlin, The Practical Visionary and Spiritual Politics (forward written by the Dalai Lama); co-founding Sirius, a spiritual/environmental community; serving as founding director of the Social Investment Forum; founding and co-directing a Washington D.C. institute, the Center for Visionary Leadership; and offering many clients worldwide deep spiritual guidance and transformational consulting for over 20 years.

Native American wisdom: Bernard Alvarez with guest Davidson

• Dark Alliance? NSA allows personnel data breach of 21 million government employees and applicants

How to lead a Buddhist life 1: Poisons

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Amber Dorrian, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly (edited from Alankhoo)

The 14th Dalai Lama admonishes happy Westerners (overgrownpath.com)

  
The fundamental message of Buddhism (of all previous buddhas) was summarized by Shakyamuni in the Dhammapada ("Dharma-path"):

 

To not do any harm,
To cultivate all that's good,
To purify one's mind --
This is the teaching of all buddhas.

 

The instruction is simple, but that does not mean the practice of it is easy. Even a three-year-old child knows this much, but that is not to say that such a child can practice it. Even a 100-year-old can hardly manage to put it into practice in daily life.

VIRTUE

Kwan Yin Bodhisattva (123Chic/flickr.com)

Virtue (sila) is the preliminary stage on the path to enlightenment whether as a disciple (savaka, "hearer") or as a supremely-awakened teacher (buddha). It is a necessary but insufficient condition, a foundation for the concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (prajna) essential for liberation.

  

Virtue in Buddhism is practical, ethical, and based on personally verifiable individual experience in this very life. It is regarded as the one of the best moral codes ever taught in the world, as it avoids extremes on both sides.

What is the criteria of virtue in Buddhism? In one admonition given by the Buddha to his son, the new and very young monk Rahula, an answer is discernible: 

"If there is a deed, Rahula, you wish to do, reflect: 'Is this deed conducive to my harm, to another's harm, or to harm for both?' If so then this is an unprofitable deed leading to suffering when it eventually comes to fruition. From such a deed, wishing to avoid suffering, you should desist.'

"If, however, there is a deed you wish to do, reflect: 'Is this deed neither conducive to my harm, to another's harm, nor to harm for both?' If so this is a profitable deed leading to happiness when it eventually comes to fruition. Such a deed do again and again."

  

So a Buddhist takes into consideration the interests of everyone involved -- oneself, the other, and "both" [the collective or everyone impacted, which includes future generations, animals, unseen beings, and the environment.]

  

To better understand this standard of virtue, one may study the Dhammapada, a collection of Buddhist aphorisms preceded by their origin story. Many other sutras are also very helpful. The most useful to lay Buddhists is the "Advice to Householders" (Sigalovada Sutra), a discourse with additional fragments that form a long sutra explaining the reciprocal duties of everyone in society -- children (like Sigala), parents, teachers, monastics, bosses, workers, servants, and friends. Also see:

• Vyagghapajja Sutra
• Mangala Sutra
• Mutta Sutra
• Parabhara Sutra
• Vassla Sutra
• Dhammika Sutra

THE THREE POISONS

Good (profitable) deeds are essential for one's emancipation. And when the ultimate goal (enlightenment/seeing nirvana) of the supreme life is attained, one transcends both good and bad. Virtue is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is not that it is pleasing to some deity (though such deities may indeed be pleased by it, having reached their delightful rebirth due to it). It is that it leads to everyone's relief and happiness.
  

There are three "poisons" or unwholesome roots. In Mahayana Buddhism's "Flower Adornment Sutra" states that all detrimental karma created in the past is based on beginningless greed, hatred, and delusion born of body, mouth, and mind.
  
Wishing to no longer do harm but to become helpful and compassionate, one turns around. We have all done harm, and that is nothing to feel bad about. Instead, repenting of past harm, one reforms without wallowing in guilt (which would be a serious form of unskillful mental karma).  Rather than guilt, one lives anew, in the now, becoming a blessing to oneself and others.

  

In the ancient original sutras as well as the later Mahayana Repentance Verse, the distinction between what is "good" (beneficial) and what is "bad" (harmful) is straightforward: It hinges on the intention or motivation from which an action (karma) springs. "Karma" just means action, but the Buddha clarified that what gives karma its direction is intention (cetana). Deeds that are associated with greed/attachment, hatred/aversion (and fear), and/or delusion/ignorance are harmful.

  

These three "poisons" of the heart/mind -- broad categories called greed, hatred, and delusion are called the "Three Poisons" and the "Three Unwholesome Roots." They are the primary source of all suffering by their intrinsic nature. It is for this reason that the Buddha pointed them out to his hearers. It is because the three antidotes -- broad categories called simply nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion -- ripen in happiness that he pointed them out and encouraged seekers in that direction. 

Ancient temple complex, Indonesia (LittleMissBigFeet/flickr.com)

  
Ultimately, one does not become attached to either. But in the meantime, the good is helpful (when the real goal is liberation) in all places everywhere -- even in harmful scenarios. For example, it is only because of past good karma that a criminal succeeds in business, not because of the unwholesome business s/he is engaged in now. It is very hard to accurately label anyone "good" or "bad" because prior to full enlightenment, everyone is a mix of both. But not all of it is manifesting its results at the present time. It will.

  

So we may consider ourselves "good" but know that our motives are flawed even as others applaud us. Moreover, we may consider ourselves "bad" forgetting how much good (nonharming) we do everyday. It all stores up and comes to fruition opportunistically. And the one thing almost everyone wishes on his/her dying bed is having racked up a greater store of merit, which follows one into lives to come.

These three -- craving, aversion (including cowardice), and confusion -- create all bad karma. What makes it "bad"? The results, when experienced, are unpleasant, unwelcome, and unwished for. One may think that "Crime doesn't pay." But it does pay for a while, as one exhausts one's store of merit. When it is exhausted and one begins to experience the results of unwholesome karma, it is universally unpleasant and unwelcome.

  

Unskillful karma results in all kinds of unsatisfactoriness, unpleasantness, disappointment, distress, and suffering of all kinds. But this is not due to a strict cause-and-effect relationship. For if it were, everyone would know it and understand it. It is infinitely more complex, a net, a web, an entanglement, a thicket. Nevertheless, many seers discern general laws (axioms). Like begets like, good good and bad bad. We do unto others knowing that that is what will (eventually) come to us. The thought that it will or should come immediately to us is a delusion a wrong view, and that leads to disappointment.

  

The Buddha to come (Snap-shooter/flickr.com)

The law of karma is much more subtle, much more uneven or asymmetrical. The little good we do becomes great; the little harm is magnified. Killing, for instance, is very harmful and is not easily exhausted. It may drag us at the time of death to realms of woe, the return from which is very difficult and uncertain.
  
And even when we return to the human world or better, it may still dog us. In just the same way, a small good grows. It connects to other good and forms the basis of far greater good than it should if karma were "cause and effect." One cause will have many effects, and each of those effects will go on to become a cause.

The Three Poisons are an obstacle, a hindrance, a frustration to attaining merit (a general term for one's store of good karma). So it is something we are wise to abandon by all means. And even if we do not abandon the unwholesome, it is extremely beneficial to cultivate the good. Why else are "bad" people handsome, rich, debonair, cunning (intelligent), and so on? It is not from cultivating harm but rather by misspending it through current choices.

GREED

Greed (sensual desire, craving) is the proximate cause of many offenses. The five greedy or selfish desires are for wealth, sensual enjoyment, fame, eating, and sleeping. 

  

Greed-based desire is endless and can therefore never be satisfied. The lesser the greed we entertain, the happier and more satisfied we are. The best prescription to deal with greed is giving (letting go) for the benefit of others. 

  

HATRED
Hatred (aversion, anger) is another cause of unwholesome karma. When we lose our temper and get angry, we are unhappy while making others miserable as well. The best prescription for calm and patience is kindness and appreciative joy (or again and again reflecting on the harm that arises based on hate).

DELUSION
Delusion (wrong views, ignorance, confusion) means holding persistent beliefs at variance with reality, distortions, perversions, misunderstanding, or simply not knowing any better. The best prescription is mindfulness (not "thinking" but being clearly cognizant of the present moment). It is also very useful to hear the Dharma, investigate it, ask questions, observe, and think (or at least reflect) in an objective manner. It is very useful to avoid or abandon our prejudices, which only hinder our understanding.

 

For instance, if we don't believe in karma (the fruition of deeds long after they are performed in accordance with an impersonal law or principle that is not a judgment by the universe or a god. Instead, we usually commit offenses in line with our mistaken belief or wrong views and much later suffer the natural result. CONTINUED IN PART II

Is There "Evil" in the World? (video)

Wisdom Quarterly (revisiting a question)

The banality of "evil" -- What would possess humans to such conduct? Otherworldly entities or our own psychological makeup?

There are unseen beings -- yakkhas, petas, narakas, bhummmi-devas, nagas, kumbandhas, and so on -- in Buddhist lore. They correspond to those of European legend: ogres and "demons," spirits of the dead, hellions, mischievous faeries, reptilians, dwarfs, trolls, gnomes, and poltergeists in general.

Like humans, they have personalities and tendencies. They are not strictly malevolent, but are subject to anger, jealousy, territoriality, and delusion.

They may communicate with humans, some of whom due to past karma are able to see them, offer advice, mislead, or even haunt. They frequently inhabit the wilderness and old homes but are, as in the case of pretas ("hungry ghosts" who linger after they have passed from the human world due to strong attachment).

What is "Evil"?
Evil is an interesting concept. We must separate it from Judeo-Christian connotations. There is Mara, a tempter figure in Buddhism who sounds like Lucifer but is more akin to the ancient Greek Cupid. He is not the devil. The Buddha often referred to him as Namuci ("the Evil One") because of his misguided tendency to obstruct attempts at enlightenment and liberation from the sensual realm.

Mara's "evil" is human-evil. That is to say, the roots of good and evil are present in all of us at birth to a greater or lesser degree. These are known as the Three Poisons:

1. Greed (lobha)
2. Hate (dosa)
3. Delusion (moha)

They are best understood as categories. Under "greed" falls: selfishness, lust, envy, jealousy, lack of consideration. Under "hate" falls: fear (bhava, which is so serious that it is sometimes categorized separately as a fourth poison of the heart) annoyance, irritation, anger, vengeance, ill-will, spite, begrudging, blaming, and unfriendliness. Under "delusion" falls: wrong-views, misperception, distortion of reality, ignorance, sophistry, and foolishness.

There are said to be many maras (obstructors). They can, and often are in the commentaries, viewed as mental defilements and hindrances to virtue, concentration, and wisdom rather than as independent entities.

The ogres (yakkhas) who support Mara are called "demons," but this is misleading. They are from an external point of view beings reborn on the basis of anger. Their good karma has led to a less unfortunate state than might have been, for they can be powerful, clever, and influential.

That a mara could wield influence over them is only because of that being's own good karma having come to fruition placing it in possession of great powers, now misused in the service of lust, anger, and delusion. But Mara's goal, unlike the Christian conception of Satan, is not that beings end up in the hells.

Even Yama, the mythological "king" or "judge" of the dead, does not want that. Mara, like Cupid, is instead an obstacle to liberation, wishing everyone to remain within his sphere of influence, which is the Sense Sphere (kama-loka).

• Protective Buddhist Chants (parittas)

The tormented narakas, denizens of various unfortunate destinations commonly referred to as hells, none of which are eternal but do last a miserably long time, might appear in the world only to warn someone or to grab a moment of respite, their karma allowing.

Pretas -- who are often confused, lacking direction and motivation, and are terribly sad and hungry in their pathetic state -- likewise do not mean to harm. They stand at the edges around houses wishing to come in, it is said in the Petavatthu. They are the ill-born departed.

Something can be done for them, by way of offering and merit in their name. This helps them move on IF, looking on, they approve of such actions. (It is their own mental karma, that of rejoicing in well done deeds, that liberates them, not some magical transference of merit).

But malcontent or disturbed pretas -- the "ungrateful dead" -- can sometimes become poltergeists. Modern parapsychological research reveals that this tends to happen in the presence of pre-adolescents, whose vital energies can be misdirected.

As for the others, nagas (powerful beings, particularly reptilians) and devas (demigods, whose lives are like that of the gods of the Greek pantheon) and so on, they are "evil" to a degree -- just as humans are evil to a degree.

Even celestial devas (radiant light beings inhabiting space) have not, generally speaking, overcome and eradicated greed, hatred, and delusion. Having suppressed these hindrances and contaminants of the heart, having undergone a fortunate rebirth based on some skillful karma (any deed, word, or thought rooted in nongreed, nonhatred, or nondelusion), they are beautiful, long lived, and enjoy many delights.

Their lives, too, are temporary. They are reborn in the future according to their karma, their "just desserts." Only the arahants, the enlightened ones, have overcome all that can upset. Only the Arya have even set foot on that route to freedom from all suffering.

Is there evil in the world? Yes, when defined as the Three Poisons. Is there good? Absolutely, when defined as the converse of those poisoned states of mind. Good can be summarized into three categories:

1. Nongreed: generosity, beneficence, love for oneself as one loves others and vice versa (metta), compassion (karuna), happiness in others' happiness (mudita), impartiality (upekkha). [These four are called Divine Abidings, Brahma Viharas, here and now.]
2. Nonhatred: forbearance, forgiveness, fearlessness, friendliness, loving-kindness, tolerance.
3. Nondelusion: wisdom, right-view (samma-ditthi), insight, understanding in accordance with the truth, knowledge, clear comprehension, mindfulness of what is in this very moment.

• Corpse of a Kumbandha?
• Scary creatures, fact or fiction