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I think "blame" is inherent in the judgment of a person as "bad person" or "not good person". "Good and bad actions" is quite different from "good and bad persons". All beings are inherently "good" because they have Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature can never be removed or not present in any beings, it can only be obscured. If one can see past that obscurity, one sees "bad actions" but not "bad persons".
The fact that they might have Buddha Nature will not stop those who have a particular kind of Personality Disorder from doing great harm to you or your family if they can... Lets get real here. You could beam metta at them until you were blue in the face. If you spent some time in a secure unit for people who have Personality Disorders and who are violent, as I did during psyche training..you would stop thinking along abstract lines fairly rapidly..you would need to.
Buddha's words: “Monks, even if bandits were to savagely sever you, limb by limb, with a double-handled saw, even then, whoever of you harbors ill will at heart would not be upholding my Teaching. Monks, even in such a situation you should train yourselves thus: ‘Neither shall our minds be affected by this, nor for this matter shall we give vent to evil words, but we shall remain full of concern and pity, with a mind of love, and we shall not give in to hatred.”
I think "blame" is inherent in the judgment of a person as "bad person" or "not good person". "Good and bad actions" is quite different from "good and bad persons". All beings are inherently "good" because they have Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature can never be removed or not present in any beings, it can only be obscured. If one can see past that obscurity, one sees "bad actions" but not "bad persons".
The fact that they might have Buddha Nature will not stop those who have a particular kind of Personality Disorder from doing great harm to you or your family if they can... Lets get real here. You could beam metta at them until you were blue in the face. If you spent some time in a secure unit for people who have Personality Disorders and who are violent, as I did during psyche training..you would stop thinking along abstract lines fairly rapidly..you would need to.
I don't think that is the case. Beaming metta does not need to involve standing right next to them. For example, you could beam metta to a lion, but you don't walk over there and try to pet it. Just because the lion would try to kill you, does not mean it's a "bad lion". No one claimed that the Buddha nature will stop them from causing harm. The claim is that they are not inherently "bad persons", just because they have a mental illness or do bad things. I don't think it's appropriate to consider mentally ill persons to be "bad persons".
I think "blame" is inherent in the judgment of a person as "bad person" or "not good person". "Good and bad actions" is quite different from "good and bad persons". All beings are inherently "good" because they have Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature can never be removed or not present in any beings, it can only be obscured. If one can see past that obscurity, one sees "bad actions" but not "bad persons".
The fact that they might have Buddha Nature will not stop those who have a particular kind of Personality Disorder from doing great harm to you or your family if they can... Lets get real here. You could beam metta at them until you were blue in the face. If you spent some time in a secure unit for people who have Personality Disorders and who are violent, as I did during psyche training..you would stop thinking along abstract lines fairly rapidly..you would need to.
I don't think that is the case. Beaming metta does not need to involve standing right next to them. For example, you could beam metta to a lion, but you don't walk over there and try to pet it. Just because the lion would try to kill you, does not mean it's a "bad lion". No one claimed that the Buddha nature will stop them from causing harm. The claim is that they are not inherently "bad persons", just because they have a mental illness or do bad things. I don't think it's appropriate to consider mentally ill persons to be "bad persons".
This is something I have struggled with on several occasions. Most recently, a man that I knew quite well and considered a friend, was released from prison after serving time for raping his daughter for many years. As it turns out, unknown to most of his friends, this was not his first offence. Now, the problem we face is how to deal with him. He has served his time, payed the penalty. Can we simply resume our friendship? His kind are known to be difficult, if not impossible to treat. So he must always be considered a danger to others. Most people would say he is a bad man. So should he be isolated from everyone he knows? It seems cruel. And might possibly compound the problems he has. He has nothing to loose. He has lost everything. Home, family, friends. I feel bad that he has to suffer so much even if he deserves to. But his actions are unforgivable. So now I, like others simply avoid him, which is a hassle. I have more or less decided that if I come face to face with him I will be compelled to bring the issue up. Ask him what steps he has taken to address his problem of being a pervert. Then take it from there. I have also had the misfortune of having been friends with several (3) people who wound up becoming murderers. One of them killed all six of his children (see Jay Handel). The magnitude of his crime makes it very difficult for most people to see his Buddha nature. He is a monster to everyone. He is behind bars for life, so with no possibility of ever seeing him again, I can hope that his suffering is diminished in time. That he finds some peace. It's much easier to do from a distance.
Comments
Lets get real here. You could beam metta at them until you were blue in the face.
If you spent some time in a secure unit for people who have Personality Disorders and who are violent, as I did during psyche training..you would stop thinking along abstract lines fairly rapidly..you would need to.
“Monks, even if bandits were to savagely sever you, limb by limb, with a double-handled saw, even then, whoever of you harbors ill will at heart would not be upholding my Teaching. Monks, even in such a situation you should train yourselves thus: ‘Neither shall our minds be affected by this, nor for this matter shall we give vent to evil words, but we shall remain full of concern and pity, with a mind of love, and we shall not give in to hatred.”
Most recently, a man that I knew quite well and considered a friend, was released from prison after serving time for raping his daughter for many years. As it turns out, unknown to most of his friends, this was not his first offence.
Now, the problem we face is how to deal with him. He has served his time, payed the penalty. Can we simply resume our friendship? His kind are known to be difficult, if not impossible to treat. So he must always be considered a danger to others. Most people would say he is a bad man.
So should he be isolated from everyone he knows? It seems cruel. And might possibly compound the problems he has. He has nothing to loose. He has lost everything. Home, family, friends. I feel bad that he has to suffer so much even if he deserves to.
But his actions are unforgivable.
So now I, like others simply avoid him, which is a hassle.
I have more or less decided that if I come face to face with him I will be compelled to bring the issue up. Ask him what steps he has taken to address his problem of being a pervert. Then take it from there.
I have also had the misfortune of having been friends with several (3) people who wound up becoming murderers.
One of them killed all six of his children (see Jay Handel). The magnitude of his crime makes it very difficult for most people to see his Buddha nature. He is a monster to everyone.
He is behind bars for life, so with no possibility of ever seeing him again, I can hope that his suffering is diminished in time. That he finds some peace. It's much easier to do from a distance.