In short answer, no person is irredeemably evil, according to philosophy of Theravada Buddhism.
- -According to evolution, all the life in earth were arise from simple DNA. First it started as a single cell as a unicellular organism and later evolved into complex multicellular organism. All those organisms are related and evolved by the simple DNA instruction. Charles Darwin was the first to formulate a scientific argument for the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. -So DNA is the life of organism. No DNA, no life. -When DNA makes a human being, mind spontaneously occur in that human and it permanently disappear when that living being dies. -Today’s society thinking is that during their lifetimes, some people become good and some people become bad due to genetics (nature) or influenced by environment (nurture). Bad actions of bad people are not due to their fault and good actions of good people are not due to their effort either. - - -From the view of Theravada Buddhism,. -Human beings are not blank slate at birth, according to philosophy of Theravada Buddhism. Some people are born good regardless of their good or bad environment or good or bad behaviors of their parents. Some people are born bad regardless of their good or bad environment or good or bad behaviors of their parents, too. -That does not mean their good or bad behaviors, attitudes are fixed since birth. They can change from good to bad or bad to good during their lifetime. During the growing period from childhood to adulthood, they can become good or bad (especially bad if environment encourages) according to influence of environment (parents, teachers, surrounding people, etc). -But it is easier to change from good to bad than bad to good. It takes more effort to change from bad to good than vice versa. It takes much effort to keep on having good behaviors. It is easy to keep on having bad behaviors. -According to philosophy of Theravada Buddhism, personality is learned as it was acquired from previous lifetime (his/her repeated actions at that life). In one person's life, his/her actions, which he/she repeatedly does, become his/her habits, behaviors, and then become personality. -According to the philosophy of Theravada Buddhism, Gotama Buddha emphasized more on the morality rather than any other thing as a person's destiny. - -Not doing the bad things, doing the good things, keeping one’s mind purely- these are the Buddha’s teaching.
Continue Reading
Be first to comment