Evil and Suffering

Buddhist

• “Purity and impurity depend entirely on oneself. No one purifies another.” - Each person is responsible for their own actions - no one else can make you good or bad. Suffering and liberation come from your own thoughts, speech, and actions. You can’t rely on others to "purify" or save you - in Buddhism, there’s no god or external being who removes your suffering or evil. You must walk the path to enlightenment yourself, through right actions and moral effort (following the Eightfold Path).

• “If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox” = Good (kusala) actions come from a pure mind and lead to happiness and eventually to the end of suffering.

• Ryokan’s hut was visited by a thief, but there was nothing for him to steal. Ryokan didn’t want him to return empty handed, so gave him his clothes = do not judge the evil person, It teaches the value of non-attachment (anatta) - Ryokan is not bound to his possessions and does not suffer from losing them. It shows that suffering doesn’t have to create more suffering — Ryokan breaks the cycle of negativity with kindness and peace.

• Gasan, Zen Buddhist Master - “The one who preaches without Enlightenment is killing Buddhism” - evil is not just physical harm - actions that negatively affect others mentally, spiritually, or socially also cause suffering and are unskilful

Christian

• “Suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character” - soul making

• The Story of Job: Job, a holy man, goes through horrific suffering for no apparent reason. He loses everything except his faith. = life as a test

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