The Oneness of Good and Evil

Eastern philosophies tend too emphasize the interconnectedness of all things hence we find concepts such as the 'oneness of mind and body' or the 'oneness of living beings and their environment'. Good and evil or positive and negative are seen as potentials so we also have a concept called the 'oneness of good and evil'. Some time ago I was asked to produce an image to illustrate this seemingly contradictory idea.

Shakymuni Buddha and Adolf Hitler seem to be poles apart, yet in Buddhist teachings such as the Lotus Sutra it is said that the Buddha Nature is universal - everybody has it - and it also exists in everything everywhere including inanimate objects down to the minutest particle of dust. If we consider that the potential for good and evil or positive and negative is inherent in every moment of life then it becomes apparent that we can manifest either condition depending on our actions. So a good person could become corrupted and turn evil and by the same token an evil person could also have a change of mindset. A good example of this is King Ashoka, this warlike monarch lived in the third century BC and ruled most of present day India. However after a particularly brutal war he came under the influence of Buddhist ideas and set about improving life for his subjects. He even sent emissaries to neighbouring countries declaring his peaceful intentions and he encouraged the spread of Buddhist philosophy believing it could create peace in society. During Ashoka's reign Buddhist monks travelled to the Greek states and it is thought that Buddhism influenced the development of Stoic philosophy. Greek sculptors came to India and from that time on we begin to see more realistic statues of the Buddha especially in Gandhara.

In my picture I am saying that no matter how evil a person may be a change of heart is always possible, so instead of making the causes that lead to the life state of hell one could do the opposite and start making causes that reduce the balance of negative karma and hopefully bring forth the enlightened life state of the Buddha. Even Hitler has the Buddha Nature and perhaps in a future lifetime when the balance of his karma has been corrected he could become a Buddha himself. This possibility is suggested in the 12^th chapter of the Lotus Sutra when Shakymuni predicts that the treacherous Devadatta would become a Buddha called Heavenly King Thus Come One in a future lifetime.