Removing Evil With Compassion

Dalai Lama: In a Buddhist text called the Four Hundred Verses by Aryadeva, an Indian pandit, there is a verse which says that the Buddha sees the afflictive emotions as the faults, not the person who possesses them. It's more or less the case that there's no such thing as justified anger directed toward the person. There are no authentic grounds for being angry toward a person.

Yearley: Could one's anger toward a quality one thought had to be eliminated lead one to destroy the quality if it might involve destroying the person? For example, as I saw the concentration camp guard in Nazi Germany whose furious hatred was leading him to kill a person, I also realized he was a good father and a person who deserved to live. However I understood that the only way his hatred could be destroyed was to destroy the person.

Dalai Lama: This is justified in the following case: You recognize this evil propensity, or vice; you know it must be dispelled because of the ensuing harm that it would bring about; and – this is an extremely important point – out of great compassion arising from the wish to avert the great harm, you see that you must dispel the vice. Recognizing that there is no way to dispel that vice other than through an act of violence, then you may take the life of the person who bears that vice, without ever losing compassion for that person, and while being willing to take that act yourself.


What the above statements from the Dalai Lama mean is that when there is evil existing in the world, it is our responsibilities to confront it and resolve it with compassion.

So, if you have the opportunity to kill Adolf Hitler, it is justified to do that, out of compassion, to ensure that millions of people do not suffer due to his actions. Of course, there are consequences, from the karmic perspective, of killing someone but on the other hand, you also generate a lot of good karma and merits because of your act of removing this evil.

So, if you see evil, please do not turn the other cheek. You have to face up to it, with compassion and with equanimity for the good of your fellow human beings.

Dalai Lama on Humanity

Dealing With Regret

On one occasion this [elderly] monk asked the Dalai Lama for initiation into a particular set of demanding practices. The Dalai Lama demurred, saying that they were meant for younger monks, that they were vigorous and demanding exercises that he wished to spare the man from undertaking. The next thing he knew, this monk committed suicide, hoping to be reborn into a younger body with better stamina. The Dalai Lama was asked… how he dealt with his regret, how he made it go away. 'It didn't go away,' the Dalai Lama replied, a little perplexed by the question. 'It is still there.'…

The psychiatrist [questioner] was operating from the point of view of fixing the pain rather than feeling it. The Dalai Lama, for all his good humor, had the fortitude, and the faith, to accept his regret without looking to heal it. This is the essence of the Buddhist approach to psychological change.Striving to rid of the pain only reinforces it, while acceptance of the truth deepens our capacity for tolerance, patience and forgiveness. The Dalai Lama was forever changed by the loss of his friend and by his part in it. How could he not be?

In Buddhist psychology two mental factors, called shame and dread, are considered to be skillful qualities that increase with meditative awareness… Would we not want to free ourselves from them, as we do from anger or fear?… Their function is to make us shrink from unskillful actions, to recognize the negative consequences of our deeds, and to develop a wariness toward repeating our mistakes. The Dalai Lama was honest enough with himself to recognize the role he had played, however unwittingly… I would attempt to rationalize the situation, to excuse myself, or, at the very least, to grieve my loss and move on.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif But in the Buddhist view, this desire would, in itself, be clinging. If could redirect my awareness from my regret to my abhorrence of it, I would have a chance of seeing my own clinging in action. Seeing this clinging is what frees the mind.

- Extracted from The Daily Enlightenment

The Purpose of Life

I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy.

From the very core of our being, we desire contentment.

In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.

Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter.

It is the principal source of success in life. Since we are not solely material creatures, it is a mistake to place all our hopes for happiness on external development alone.

The key is to develop inner peace.

~ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama