Merle,
"God knows" why some people seem predominantly good, and others bad.
And maybe we do, too.
I think it depends mostly on how close to the heart of things they are, how
close to the Buddha Nature they establish themselves (or become established),
and how close they remain.
The further, the worse.
But many seemingly good people are not even Awake, and live instead according
to "principles" instilled in them by family and culture. While, seemingly or
demonstrably bad people exhibit behavior that seems enabled by a lack of all
remorse and no appreciation of reward or punishment given by family and society.
The key features of these "types" is -- by definition -- a CONSISTENCY of a
type or character of behavior: Good behavior, or Bad behavior.
Each of us exhibits both! We can do both good and bad things.
But the types exhibit a consistency.
Usually, we value "Consistency" when it is a flow of good fruits or behavior,
and reject it when it is a flow of rottenness and bad behavior.
So, Consistency is clearly not itself a virtue. There's something BEHIND it,
just as there is something behind EVERYTHING: Causes and Conditions, again, I'd
offer.
Religionists and Psychologists, Criminologists and Hagiographers, and others
have theories that attempt to answer your question; and I suppose -- and agree
-- that the people whom they study and the behavior that those people exhibit
who are subjects of theirs is due to ...Causes and Conditions.
Sometimes the causes and conditions lead to variations in organic "wiring" of
the nervous system of a person or other animal, and variations in its chemical
neuro-transmitters. Variations drive Evolution, you know, and one powerful and
prevalent driver of variation is natural background radioactivity from the
Earth, and Cosmic Ray irradiation from the sky. Chemical pollutants have
similar disruptive effects on DNA. These variations can change a person's
behavior from the average, and give them a singular and consistent character.
Note, that there has never been a "normal", final-version, Human blueprint, but
that Humans have been evolving "from the beginning", and must clearly continue
to do so, unless un-natural (non-random) steps are taken (in other words, Human
evolution may someday be stopped by genetic engineering).
Thus, it seems to me that Causes and Conditions impinge on the nature and
character exhibited by all things, living and non-living.
We do not have to postulate a "God", or a force of "Evil" to be the effective
mover of things.
But we all know that there are causes and conditions of things, of beings, and
of environments.
It's a big life that we live. And it can't help but be influenced by
everything.
I don't suppose that mine is the final word on the subject, so please add some
of your own, if you like. That's why we're here.
--Joe
> Merle Lester wrote:
>
> good post joe...i understand where you are coming from...,....
>
> so why are some folk very very good and others very very bad?...
>
> don't forget to include those who are brain damaged in your response or their
> wiring is not up to scratch...
>
> knocks a little hole in your cause and effect theory...as those in the latter
> category..they cannot help how they are and your making the assumption us who
> are healthy can?..
>
> thus assuming we have free will...
>
> lots of curly ones here joe...
>
> i appreciate your response..
>
> thank you...
>
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