[272] World Scripture - Good and Evil - 1. Goodness Is Selfless

[대태양/김현수]

World Scripture Ⅱ

Part Three The Path of Life

Chapter 11 Growth, Responsibility and Destiny

5) Good and Evil

HOW CAN ONE DISTINGUISH GOOD FROM EVIL? are there universal indicators behind, within, or consequent upon an action by which one can determine whether it was a good or an evil act? What is the difference between a good person and an evil person?

Good and evil may be distinguished outwardly or inwardly. some passages distinguish good and evil by their root in the self: good deeds are motivated by the conscience while evil deeds satisfy the body’s desires. other passages distinguish good and evil by the mind’s purpose and intention. Discerning good and evil may be difficult, however, if we cannot fathom the mind’s intention and there is no clear outward indication to go by. the end of an affair may take time to develop. here there are passages calling for patience until the matter bears fruit, at which time good and evil will be evident.

Father Moon discusses these ways of distinguishing good and evil, but he mainly fixes on an objective standard: goodness is altruistic and seeks to benefit others, while evil is self-centered.

1. Goodness Is Selfless and Altruistic, while Evil Is to Gratify Selfish Desires

World Scripture

Every selfless act, Arjuna, is born from the eternal, infinite Godhead. God is present in every act of service. All life turns on this law, O Arjuna. Whoever violates it, indulging his senses for his own pleasure and ignoring the needs of others, has wasted his life. Bhagavad-Gita 3.16 (Hinduism)

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King, Jr. (Christianity)

There are among them some who wrong their own souls; some who follow a middle course; and some who are, by Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds. That is the highest Grace. Qur’an 35.32

Whosoever seeks, by whatever means, merely the happiness of cyclic existence for personal ends, he is to be understood as a mean person. Whosoever reverses deeds done from base motives and turns back the happiness of worldly pleasures for the sake of his own liberation, that person is called middling. Whosoever wishes to eliminate completely the sufferings of others through his own sufferings, that is the excellent person. Bodhipathapradipa (Buddhism)

Four characters of men: He who says, “What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours”—that is the average type: some say it is the character of Sodom. He who says, “What is mine is yours and what is yours is mine” is undisciplined. He who says, “What is mine is yours and what is yours is yours” is a saint. He who says, “What is yours is mine and what is mine is mine” is wicked. Mishnah, Avot 5.13 (Judaism)

If you, Rahula, are desirous of doing a deed with the body, you should reflect on that deed of your body, thus: “That deed that I am desirous of doing with the body is a deed of my body that might conduce to the harm of self and that might conduce to the harm of others and that might conduce to the harm of both; this deed of body is unskilled, its yield is anguish, its result is anguish.” If you, Rahula, reflecting thus, should find it so, a deed of body like this, Rahula, is certainly not to be done by you. Majjhima Nikaya 1.415 (Buddhism)

If, for my own sake, I cause harm to others, I shall be tormented in hellish realms; But if for the sake of others I cause harm to myself, I shall acquire all that is magnificent. By holding myself in high esteem I shall find myself in unpleasant realms, ugly and stupid; But should this [attitude] be shifted to others I shall acquire honors in a joyful realm. If I employ others for my own purposes I myself shall experience servitude, But if I use myself for the sake of others I shall experience only lordliness. Shantideva, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life 8.126-128 (Buddhism)

The gods and the demons, both having the Creator as their origin, were rivals of each other. So the demons, swollen with pride, said, “In what, pray, should we place the oblation?” And they proceeded to place the oblation in their own mouths. The gods then proceeded to place their oblations each in the mouth of one of his fellows. And the Creator gave Himself over to them.3 Satapatha Brahmana 5.1.1.1-2 (Hinduism)

It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong. Jeremy Bentham4 (Humanism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

How do the directions of good and evil differ? Good always centers on God, the Absolute Being, or puts itself in the other person’s shoes. Evil centers on the self, or puts itself in the subject position. What is good? It is to advance the purpose of the whole by sacrificing yourself. What is evil? It is to pull everything toward you. Thus, good and evil have different directions. Your body wants to do everything it desires, while your mind tries to restrain you from acting to satisfy the body. Thus they also have different directions, one good and the other evil. (16:137, January 2, 1966)

For human beings, the most important thing is to be able to discern between good and evil. Yet until now, the standard for determining good and evil has been unclear. Evil is to present conditions that enable Satan to accuse human beings. What is sin? It is something that provides grounds for Satan to accuse. Christians more than anyone must know clearly what sin is, especially the root of sins. Evil began at the Human Fall, when not only Satan but also Eve thought, “I will be the subject partner. I will be the center.” God’s Principle of Creation is to live for the sake of others, while the attitude of living for one’s own sake is Satan’s nature. You must know clearly the origin of good and evil. An evil person tells others to live for his sake. God and Jesus work to subdue this kind of spirit, which is why they teach us not to be arrogant, to sacrifice for others and to serve others. (69:85, October 20, 1973)

How do we determine if someone is good or evil? It is whether he or she lives for a public purpose or for an individual purpose. That is the norm of human ethics. A good person sacrifices him or herself for the sake of others while an evil person exploits others for his or her own benefit. This is my way of teaching about good and evil. (102:234, January 1, 1979)

There are two basic types of people in the world: those who think and act altruistically for the sake of the greater good, and those who think and act to benefit themselves. Most people do not like to think about the world and act for its benefit. They prefer to think about themselves and act out of their self-centered thinking. The altruistic person admires the saints who were dedicated to the welfare of the world, patriots who lived for their nation, and righteous leaders of the current era, taking them as role models for his own life. The self-centered person could care less about saints, patriots or today’s leaders. He acts only to benefit himself. Which type of person are you? Which type of person would you like as a friend?… You know the altruistic way is correct and a self-centered life is wrong, but what is your reality? You answer that you are altruistic, but your self-concept does not match your reality. The fact is, you are walking a self-centered path. You know the truth, but your reality does not match it. (117:214-15, March 7, 1982)

By the criterion of goodness, we can classify all people in the world into three groups: first, people who oppose goodness; second, people who know goodness but don’t actively pursue it to make it their own (they end up living in the buffer zone between heaven and hell); and third, people who want to take responsibility for accomplishing goodness. It is people of this third group whom God needs to accomplish His will. (Way of God’s Will 2.2)

What makes someone a good person? Someone who just takes a bite out of what he receives is an evil person, while someone who adds to what he receives and passes it on to others is a good person. This is why every parent wants their children to grow up to be better than themselves. (315:211, February 2, 2000)

Does the president of the United States think centering on himself or centering on the United States? Does he act for his next election or for the future of the nation? These matters determine good and evil. To go one step further, if the president focuses only on the benefit of the United States, then he will only be a respected president within the United States. However, if he centers on the world and the benefit of the world, then the world will admire him as an American president who has worldwide influence. Otherwise, although he serves his nation’s best interests, his actions will cause friction in the rest of the world. All human beings are subject to this law and will be judged accordingly. What will ensnare you in the judgment? The main thing is the self-centered thinking. You will be judged for focusing on yourself. How can you confidently say that you will not be caught by this universal law? You will be liberated from the law when you become the type of person about whom people say, “He does not live for himself. He lives for the welfare of the world.” (93:302, June 12, 1977)