I think it was KD who told me this Buddhist pearl of wisdom, which is (inexpertly quoted), that every time we do good, the same amount of evil comes into being.
It’s a yin yang thing apparently – the way a world operates when it’s divided into opposite poles.
Today, listening to the radio only for short intervals, I heard about:
1. The terrible struggle facing new immigrants to Canada, who, although better educated and more qualified than they have ever been, inevitably end up working minimum wage jobs and living in rotting suburbs.
2. The tent cities of homeless people mushrooming up around the Seine, in France.
3. The latest attack on Israel, the latest attack on Lebanon. The head count of the dead.
4. The inadequate apologies of the Catholic Church regarding the molestation of 47 children by a Bishop of the church.
5. Local crimes and misdemeanors – which seem to be increasing in violence and frequency.
So! I have had enough. Something must be done. I’ve concluded that, if good is creating evil, we are all being far too nice. One quick edition of the news is proof positive.
I urge you all to tell the next woman who asks you if the outfit she’s wearing makes her look fat to tell her, “Yes, you look a perfect cow in that outfit and what happened to your hair?” Stop smiling at children immediately. Let that door you walk through slam in the elderly lady’s face.
Don’t say “please” or “thank you,” or shut up when you see that someone clearly needs to speak. For the love of humanity, stop giving to charity and recycling and remembering your lonely old granny’s birthday, and get in that big fat gas-guzzling SUV and drive like hell just for fun. Run a red light.
Get drunk in public and critique everyone who walks by you. Cheat on your taxes (ok – cheat bigger). Try making petty theft a hobby, then try a bank. Don’t give to charity, don’t feed the hungry. Ridicule difference, be a racist bigot, aspire to unapologetic greed, pride and sloth. Abuse any power you can steal.
Lean, mean and snake-vicious, we’ll save what’s left of the world. Do it for the children.
This has been a public service announcement from Radio Station LOE. Thank you for your bandwidth.
8 comments:
I was going to say "good Morning"!
But to follow your instruction ( Oh, Fantabulous One). Get Lost!:)
I accept no responsibility for this. Do you actually think I am going to be reincarnated as a fox for 500 kulpas for such silliness? (grinning) No way!
The quote you were looking for is the Taoist saying, "If you want to eliminate evil from this world, stop being so good."
I believe that it is a suggestion to add balance to one's life. If we become too good... if we think we know what is right... then we see all sorts of things as evil.
If we follow the middle way, then we don't make such dichotomous distinctions. Life is not good or bad - it is just life.
So to eliminate evil, find balance. Don't just swing the pendulum to the other side. That is still duality. The point is to stop the pendulum from swinging and then see that there is no pendulum.
So in conclusion: Bite me you silly, playful Canadian. (giggle)
Thanks to KD for the correction. It was fun to write this outrageous thing, and frankly KD - a fox? I mean threaten me with me coming back as a pigeon or a bass and I might react. But yes, correction taken. Balance, indeed.
DM & H - Glad you got a chuckle out of it.
Hmmmm. Lean, mean and snake-vicious. In-ter-ess-ting POA. I can't help thinking you are brilliant.
LJ
You gotta have humor...miles and miles and miles of humor...
Rumor can make for drama and diversion; but humor makes for laughs!
I wondered if the "humor" here went overboard...but hell, it was going through my head and somehow it just leaked out my fingers. Imagine!
*L* Excellent plan! O, but what about the converse - what if you were caused to do the good thing because equivalent evil sprang up elsewhere - don't we risk throwing it iall off balance? Great post, hon!
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