Why does a master know there is no evil in the world ?

[infinitethoughts]

(Hint, it's a trick question.)

What do you guys think?

[Savage]

Because he knows there's no world (and no master either).

[Plato]

Is this along the lines of Nietzsche ? The master only recognises good and bad. Only slave morality has a concept of evil and the masters are the evil ones.

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Because he knows there's no world (and no master either).

Wouldn't that be a master buddhist?

[Jennihul]

Hey, I'm a master!


Jennifer

[Old Soul]

Because he has conquered evil ?

[supertom]

Because he knows himself

[krisking911]

Interesting question---
Because the Master (We are all masters, hence, there is no master...get that?) knows that "Nothing Matters" Nothing is "EVIL" nor "Good" unless you say it is. It is what you call it. If you want to call killing evil----ask the person who did the killing that question---he/she only does what he/she thinks is "right" givin their model of the world---at that point of NOW---


I choose to call "all" Good---or in other words, all is belificial for you in some way...

[bellemeadows]

I like how Puck puts it in A Midsummer Nights Dream:

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

[Liara Covert]

I second Steve Pavlina's answer.

[Healing Energy]

I will assume for this reply that there is not a clever trick answer to the question.

A true master knows he/she is a divine part of God and God is the sum total of everything in existence and “evil” is just a description of that which we give to something that does not work or does not describe who we are.

[Parthon]

The world as it stands is just a situation and it is only when humans, as the observers, compare the world as it is to our own beliefs and judgements do we recognise evil. This makes evil a matter of perception, not of situation.

[Nicketas]

Originally Posted by Parthon

The world as it stands is just a situation and it is only when humans, as the observers, compare the world as it is to our own beliefs and judgements do we recognise evil. This makes evil a matter of perception, not of situation.

Really? So the Holocaust was really just a matter of perception then?

Clearly, that was not an act of "evil" as the DICTIONARY describes it.

See, its neat when you can reframe anything.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by infinitethoughts

Why does a master know there is no evil in the world ?
(Hint, it's a trick question.)

What do you guys think?

Because the master knows evil is in one's mind, not in the world.

[Parthon]

Originally Posted by Nicketas

Really? So the Holocaust was really just a matter of perception then?

Clearly, that was not an act of "evil" as the DICTIONARY describes it.

See, its neat when you can reframe anything.

Well actually, yes it is just a matter of human perception that the holocaust was evil. In the world itself, millions of people died to the hands of other people. That's the reality of it. Because humans value the sanctity of life it's a horror that those acts were commited. We call it evil, and rightly so, but the actual reality of the situation doesn't contain evil, it's just something that happened.

I'm not diminishing the tragedy it was, or the fact that what was commited is, from our viewpoint, very very very evil, but when you can separate and own both the actual reality of the situation and all the meaning behind it, you gain power over the situation. When you confuse your perception of reality with reality itself you end up acting on your perception, on your illusion. You waste power and energy working on something that's not real, where it could be better spent dealing with the underlying situation.

As far as the holocaust, it was far more effective to fight the germans doing the killings than it was to fight evil. Eventually we triumphed and put a stop to it, but if we were fighting the idea of evil, we might still be fighting it now. How's it going for America?

[infinitethoughts]

Originally Posted by Nicketas

Really? So the Holocaust was really just a matter of perception then?

Clearly, that was not an act of "evil" as the DICTIONARY describes it.

See, its neat when you can reframe anything.

Steve, supertom, Parthon, wolfgang, got the answer.

Nicketas. Go back to the original question.
Why does a master know there is no evil in the world ?
(Hint, it's a trick question.)

Then ask yourself are you a physical brain in "the" world, or are you simply Awareness?

Seeing then that you are Awareness, then ask yourself how do you become aware of "the" world?

[Angela]

Originally Posted by infinitethoughts

Steve, supertom, Parthon, wolfgang, got the answer.

Well, they got an answer.

I think it's interesting that you asked "why" not "how" -- a question that might yield some very different answers than the one you are expecting when you think you "know" the answer.

[Jennihul]

Evil is a human invention. God/Source is pure loving goodness on a level that we could never truly comprehend. Source created us. We weren't even humans then. Gave of itself to us. Anything we wanted. It gave. We received. We decided we wanted the one thing we didn't have: the ability to give as well as receive. Source created humans as a way to make that happen. Humans invented evil in the course of their journey to remember our Godness.

Evil is simply a contrast to the good we once knew before we were human.

There is no devil. There would be no evil either if we simply decided that.

Jennifer

[torilink]

Originally Posted by Nicketas

Really? So the Holocaust was really just a matter of perception then?

Clearly, that was not an act of "evil" as the DICTIONARY describes it.

See, its neat when you can reframe anything.

no, none of this is real - in the sense that what is real is eternal. If it isn't eternal it isn't true - just part of the illusion. In the egoic illusion of "reality" everyone dies, is death evil? Is murder good or bad? Is something that isn't real bad? Is something untrue wrong? Is a phantom or shadow of an untrue past right or wrong?

The master knows there is no evil because he is aware that none of it is real, even he himself (identity) is merely a shadow of a thought.

Holding on to those concepts we believe in - such as hate, murder, revenge, oppression, holocaust, evil, justice and on and on.... only serve to continue those experiences within the dream. They exist because the ego cherishes them, but they are all still untrue.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by torilink

no, none of this is real - in the sense that what is real is eternal. If it isn't eternal it isn't true - just part of the illusion. In the egoic illusion of "reality" everyone dies, is death evil? Is murder good or bad? Is something that isn't real bad? Is something untrue wrong? Is a phantom or shadow of an untrue past right or wrong?

The master knows there is no evil because he is aware that none of it is real, even he himself (identity) is merely a shadow of a thought.

Holding on to those concepts we believe in - such as hate, murder, revenge, oppression, holocaust, evil, justice and on and on.... only serve to continue those experiences within the dream. They exist because the ego cherishes them, but they are all still untrue.

Torlink, I understand what you are saying and if a person has a sense of personal responsibility and empathy for others, then there is no problem. However, it could be taken by your average punter with a chip on their shoulder as a green light to pick up a gun and go on a shooting spree, for the sheer hell of it, in the belief that everything is illusion and nothing really matters.

I also question your concept of the ego which you seem to define as a kind of selfish, dysfunctional identity within a person. A murderer under questioning may have said previously that the devil made him do it. Now, he might say that his ego made him do it.

I tend to believe that the ‘you’ which you are conscious of in this moment is the only ‘you’ there is. In this moment, there is no other you (whether you call it the ego, the higher self or God). If you shoot someone, it’s not your ego doing it, it is you. If you give a million dollars to the poor, it is not your higher self doing it. It is just you.

I also question your view that something is only real if it is eternal. The commission of any act is real. It is not eternal, but it has definite consequences.

[Freelancer]

The master has so much fun that he simply doesn't notice it.

[wolfgang]

because the master is evil and in denial

[torilink]

Originally Posted by Cantando

Torlink, I understand what you are saying and if a person has a sense of personal responsibility and empathy for others, then there is no problem. However, it could be taken by your average punter with a chip on their shoulder as a green light to pick up a gun and go on a shooting spree, for the sheer hell of it, in the belief that everything is illusion and nothing really matters.

I also question your concept of the ego which you seem to define as a kind of selfish, dysfunctional identity within a person. A murderer under questioning may have said previously that the devil made him do it. Now, he might say that his ego made him do it.

I tend to believe that the ‘you’ which you are conscious of in this moment is the only ‘you’ there is. In this moment, there is no other you (whether you call it the ego, the higher self or God). If you shoot someone, it’s not your ego doing it, it is you. If you give a million dollars to the poor, it is not your higher self doing it. It is just you.

I also question your view that something is only real if it is eternal. The commission of any act is real. It is not eternal, but it has definite consequences.

the ego is the personal identity, or conceptual self - and yes sometimes that is dysfunctional & selfish, but that isn't all the egoic mind is.

There are two "You's" the identity or conceptual self - and the underlying self or higher self. You can react from the conceptual self or act from the higher self, that is always a conscious choice. When we aren't conscious then by default we react from our ego identity and the higher self is observing (for lack of a better term).

The ego cherishes drama - it maintains the state of separation, so it is self preservation for without a conceptual identity separation ceases to be.

All acts in this reality are real to the mind experiencing them, but that doesn't make them true in the broader sense. Just as a nightmare feels real while you're dreaming it, it quickly looses its sense of reality when you awaken.

There are consequences for every choice in this realm, but those consequences are limited to this space & time and have no bearing in the eternal reality.

My point really was that so long as we cling to and cherish thoughts of hate, aggression, injustice, inequality, good & evil, and so on we form beliefs in them and they will live on in the outer world we experience. The only way to undo it is to realize none of it is real - unless it is happening in this moment, it isn't real - the moment is the only truth, and if something is happening at this moment that troubles us then we step up and change ourselves and the world and make it a happier dream.

But clinging to drama's thousands, hundreds, or even tens of years old only maintains the drama in our experience.

[mercuryrising]

Chains of gold or chains of iron... either way, they are still chains.

[wolfgang]

Originally Posted by torilink

There are two "You's" the identity or conceptual self - and the underlying self or higher self. You can react from the conceptual self or act from the higher self, that is always a conscious choice. When we aren't conscious then by default we react from our ego identity and the higher self is observing (for lack of a better term).

Why are there two yous? Why not just one you and the illusion that you are separate? Is an unconscious choice not part of a divine plan anyway? The higher self my be involved with what we think is the ego being separate just as much as when we actually can come from being. The higher self may be setting those unconscious acts in motion as far was we know. It may want us to experience going off in all directions - including evil, even though it's all in the mind.

The choice to react or act is what? Say I decide to act from source - what is that compared to the ego choosing something? Why do we have to have this complicated figuring out if we are one of two "yous". Isn't oneness about being one - not having separation? In which case having to toss out the ego is another version of separating again. Just saying... I actually normally make posts just like you wrote and am being the devil's advocate now for the sake of pondering.

[Cantando]

Originally Posted by torilink

the ego is the personal identity, or conceptual self - and yes sometimes that is dysfunctional & selfish, but that isn't all the egoic mind is.

There are two "You's" the identity or conceptual self - and the underlying self or higher self. You can react from the conceptual self or act from the higher self, that is always a conscious choice. When we aren't conscious then by default we react from our ego identity and the higher self is observing (for lack of a better term).

The ego cherishes drama - it maintains the state of separation, so it is self preservation for without a conceptual identity separation ceases to be.

...
My point really was that so long as we cling to and cherish thoughts of hate, aggression, injustice, inequality, good & evil, and so on we form beliefs in them and they will live on in the outer world we experience. The only way to undo it is to realize none of it is real - unless it is happening in this moment, it isn't real - the moment is the only truth, and if something is happening at this moment that troubles us then we step up and change ourselves and the world and make it a happier dream.

I held very similar views about the ego and the higher self, but now I tend to think that the ego is more like an emotional overcoat we occasionally slip into, when we feel under too much pressure. We resort to being a 3 year old child again or even behaving like an animal, intent on self-survival, to the detriment of others.

But, it is still the same ‘you’ filtering through the particular identity being assumed at the time. And, at the other end, when deep in meditation, when you are feeling sublimely peaceful and expanded in awareness, you are still being ‘you’, but in a more natural state, unimpeded by negative feelings, emotions and desires.

Yes, we could define illusion as everything which is not eternal reality, but sadly, such a belief could lead an emotionally unstable person to feeling totally spaced out, depressed, unable to relate to ‘everyday reality’ and disconnected from others, which may then have dire consequences (as we read about every day in the news). If I was involved in helping such a person, I would not advise, ‘The only way to undo it is to realize none of it is real’, but, rather the opposite - to help that person confront what he has done, to accept personal responsibility and to work through it.

[Plato]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

because the master is evil and in denial

When the aristocrats of ancient greece went raping and pillaging for sport they were loving life.

[torilink]

Originally Posted by wolfgang

Why are there two yous? Why not just one you and the illusion that you are separate? Is an unconscious choice not part of a divine plan anyway? The higher self my be involved with what we think is the ego being separate just as much as when we actually can come from being. The higher self may be setting those unconscious acts in motion as far was we know. It may want us to experience going off in all directions - including evil, even though it's all in the mind.

The choice to react or act is what? Say I decide to act from source - what is that compared to the ego choosing something? Why do we have to have this complicated figuring out if we are one of two "yous". Isn't oneness about being one - not having separation? In which case having to toss out the ego is another version of separating again. Just saying... I actually normally make posts just like you wrote and am being the devil's advocate now for the sake of pondering.

well, technically yes it is all ONE - but there are two aspects, one is real/true and one is an illusion. When the true self is forgetting itself and we are functioning from the state of our self created ego identity we are functioning in time/space or what we call the "World" this is almost always reacting to past events or in anticipation of future events. And, yes I do accept that the true self desires these experiences - but for most of us here on these forums we have begun to awaken so I am writing in the context of my true self wanting to awaken and be conscious.

I don't believe the ego should be cast aside, but rather integrated. The problem with saying the true self and the ego are one (when that may be true in essence) is that the entire focus and purpose of ego is to maintain separation. Until it is integrated or united with the higher self in a form of resurrection, then it has a seemingly separate identity than the true self. It doesn't know or accept that it doesn't exist as it conceptualizes it does, but rather is part of the entirety - and everything its thoughts project into the outer world maintain that separate state of identity.

The need to react is based upon thought (focused on past or future) - the choice to act is based upon present moment awareness. I don't think we decide to react, reacting is the defaul act of the egoic mind, which believes it is separate.

I feel like I'm rambling, but I like the devil's advocate - pondering is good.

[Natsu]

Because he's a scam.

There is good and evil in this world. There is good and bad, too. But there is evil, sure as hell there is. No way of fighting it if you deny its existence.

[coLLege kid07]

Originally Posted by Natsu

There is good and evil in this world. There is good and bad, too.

That is a matter of perspective; mind identification.

Originally Posted by Natsu

But there is evil, sure as hell there is. No way of fighting it if you deny its existence.

No one is denying it's existence, but saying that the master and the world are illusions (mind identification).

[Angela]

Originally Posted by Natsu

No way of fighting it if you deny its existence.

That's true. Fighting something is an excellent way to keep something in existence.