I often encounter situations where people divide the world into good and evil. There are various arguments, and some claim a fundamental principle like "not violating the ○○ of others." However, as long as they say "others," they are living in a dualistic world.

When I listen to people who live by dualistic logic, it often seems that good and evil correspond to light and darkness. Good is light, and evil is darkness. This is an interpretation that I personally find problematic, but since people living in a dualistic world of good and evil think that way, I will temporarily accept it as correct. Therefore, the discussion of good and evil can be replaced by the relationship between light and darkness. Let's explore the relationship between light and darkness.

First, in spirituality, light refers to one's own consciousness. This is also claimed by the dualistic side, and I don't have any particular objections to that. Then, what is darkness? According to the dualistic side, darkness is something that must be destroyed. And, by destroying darkness (evil), light (good) will triumph. This seems like a very simplified and old teaching. It's as if good and evil dominate the world, like in Zoroastrianism.

In reality, darkness arises as a shadow of one's own light, obscuring it. In the general interpretation of light and shadow, "shadows are created where light is blocked." So, darkness arises because of something that is blocking the light. This is a fairly common sense concept, so I don't have any particular objections.

Now, let's interpret that spiritually.

* One's own light (consciousness) → Current awareness, conscious mind
* What is blocking it → Ignorance, misunderstanding, misinterpretation
* Darkness → Something that one cannot understand, fear

So, darkness is simply something that one cannot understand. People try to justify this with elaborate arguments.

If interpreted spiritually, such arguments about good and evil to justify one's own (self-proclaimed) "good" are simply "ego's self-defense mechanisms." If that's the case, there's no need to emphasize it so much. However, that very ego's self-defense mechanism is the root cause of conflict in this world.

And, the attempt to justify this conflict with spiritual arguments is what dualism is all about. However, in reality, it is only an ego's self-defense mechanism to justify one's own actions, and ultimately, the lack of understanding of the other person continues, and the old religions that think in terms of good and evil, light and darkness, believe that "one side is right and the other side is wrong."

Even in modern times, there are various groups that continue the battle between good and evil in the world, using techniques and other means. This is not just a cultural way of thinking, but also continues in modern times as a religious and cult-like ideological background.

It is because of such ideas and ways of thinking that the conflict in this world does not end.

Let's summarize this situation again.

* Consciousness as one's own light
* "Something that blocks" as misunderstanding
* "Darkness" as something that one cannot see or understand

Therefore, "darkness is something that must be destroyed," as the dualists say, is a wrong interpretation. If we think about it honestly, we should eliminate our own lack of understanding, rather than destroying others. However, it seems that the general dualists in the world have a much simpler idea, simply believing that if they punish and destroy others as evil, that's all there is to it.

Supplement:

That being said, there is no need to force ourselves to interact with troublesome, uncomprehending, and disorderly people; we should interact with those we can understand. There is no need to force ourselves. As the saying goes, "it's useless to say," and there are always a certain number of people for whom nothing we say will make a difference. Therefore, even if it's not a conflict between light and darkness or good and evil, misunderstanding exists everywhere. So, there's no point in worrying too much about it. I think it's good to avoid people who are immoral, as Buddhism says.

It's okay to reject those who force us, and that can even be described as a conflict between good and evil. However, that is because they are not living independently and autonomously. While it's true that, in this world, earning money is necessary and things may not always go well, the basic principle is that we should reject those who force us if we are independent and autonomous. In most cases, death frees us from the physical constraints of this society, but the concepts of good and evil do not disappear even after death, so we need to re-examine our understanding so that there will be no conflict in this world.