On good and evil...

What is Evil? Does evil exist outside of human action. We certainly could call Aurora killer evil. But what if he was incapable of stopping himself, if he is insane, is he still evil? Carl Jung said "None of us stands outside of humanities black collective shadow." Meaning that the history of man is filled with evil. And we all share the blame for it. Buddha said "By oneself, indeed, is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself, indeed, is one purified. Purity and impurity depend on oneself. No one purifies another." Once as a child I spent an afternoon with a slingshot out in the desert, turning over bushes and boards and killing the mice that went scurrying away. I remember doing it for an hour of so before it began to sicken me. At first I enjoyed it, but I began to understand that somehow it was wrong. That even though these were vermin, I should not be treating them this way. Do these killers feel like I did when I began killing the mice? Had my upbringing been filled with hate and anger would I have been capable of such an act. I think not. I think a lot about good and evil, and feel that in some ways they don't really exist. It is the actions of people that define those terms. For example we would all call Hitler evil. (Most of us anyway.) But of all the people he killed it can be guaranteed that at least one of them was a serial killer, or some sort of psycho. Does he get a pass for that one. In the moment that his actions destroyed another evil, was he for a moment good? Or do you weigh evil on a scale, (well I did steal that candy from a baby, but I've helped thousands of old people across the street.) Some people seem to spend their lives trying to balance their soul, we all have done things we are ashamed of. But how many of us would call ourselves evil? Certainly Hitler didn't think of himself as evil? Nor Mussolini or Pol Pot. Charles Whitman (see Texas tower killer) when he killed his mother and ex-wife wrote that he was trying to protect them from a life without him. He then went on a shooting rampage that killed another 12 people. He was aware that his actions were wrong. He even wrote in a letter that he wished to be autopsied to see what caused him to do the things he did. (Surprisingly a tumor was found which Doctors said could have easily affected his ability to control his actions and emotions.) Was he Evil?  How about good, did Mother Theresa ever get really pissed off?  It is certain she had many doubts. The many horrors she saw in her life caused her to wonder if God existed at all. (Her private letters often spoke of this doubt. " What do I labor for?" she asked in one letter. "If there be no God, there can be no soul. If there be no soul then, Jesus, You also are not true."  She stopped praying before her death, but still traveled when she could to care for the sick and needy. So despite having strong doubts in her belief she still tried to stop the suffering around her. Does that make her good? Most of us in our day to day existence don't have time to think of good or evil, is cutting someone off in traffic because you are in a hurry, evil? No? What if by cutting them off you cause an accident that inures or kills someone. Then is it evil? Does it require intent to make it evil? (Wow I was accidentally good all day long.) Well, I hope these questions don't annoy you. But if they do, remember they are just opinions. No need to get evil about it. Ciao for now.