Can anyone dispute that the human condition is fallen? When we realize the fact that, due to the Fall, we have arrived at the brink of self-destruction, we make desperate efforts to resolve the contradiction within.
We repel the evil desires coming from our evil mind and embrace the good desires springing from our original mind. Nevertheless, we have been unable to find the ultimate answer to the question : What is the nature of good and evil? We still do not have an absolute and definitive truth which can enable us to distinguish, for example, which of the two, theism or atheism, is good and which is evil.
Furthermore, we remain entirely ignorant of the answers to such questions as : What is the original mind, the wellspring of good desires? What is the origin of the evil mind that incites evil desires in opposition to the original mind? What is the root cause of the contradiction that brings people to ruin?
In order to ward off evil desires and follow good desires, we must overcome this ignorance and gain the ability to distinguish clearly between good and evil. Then we can take the path to the good life the original mind seeks. |