Do Not Hate Evil People

There are many people in this world whom we consider to be evil, yet every one of them has a kind side. They only ever show their cruel side to you. What should we do about these people? We must not repay evil with evil, nor answer violence with violence.

Confucianism provides guidance for such situations: for example, you can keep a respectful distance from these people. You can even take this line of thought further, as Confucius observed: "When three people walk together, there is always one who can be my teacher."

The "three people" mentioned here consist of a good person, an evil person, and yourself. The good person prompts us to emulate their virtues when we encounter them. The evil person acts as a mirror, showing us the behaviors we must avoid. So even evil people can be a resource for cultivating goodness! In light of this, we have no grounds to hate them.

In fact, evil people can sometimes play a helpful role in our growth. This is why Shakyamuni Buddha invariably had Devadatta as his companion. In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha ultimately revealed a profound truth: "It is thanks to Devadatta, my good spiritual friend, that I was able to swiftly attain Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, the highest perfect enlightenment."

This is a profound dialectic taught by Buddhism: people require challenges. Only by rising to meet these challenges do we unlock the vast potential of our lives; we grow all the more in adversity. Just as a knife is only sharpened on a coarse whetstone, and gold is only refined to purity in scorching fire!

When we find ourselves in adversity, surrounded by adversaries and wicked people, being able to respond well to them helps us grow even faster. So not only should we not hate them, we should even be grateful for them: grateful for our rivals, grateful for evil people. At the very least, they provide us the opportunity to practice Kṣānti Paramita, the Perfection of Patience.