Does Evil Really Exist?

We hear a lot of talk about evil. Reagan used to speak of the "Evil Empire" and Bush now refers frequently to the "Axis of Evil." In martial arts we speak of seiken ("righteous fist" or "righteous sword") and jaken ("evil fist" or "evil sword"), so as martial artists we need to come to grips with the concept of evil.

Is "evil" just a word we use to describe something we don't like? Is evil only a matter of perspective? Or does some absolute standard of evil exist? This is more than just an interesting rhetorical question. If you're a martial artist, then whether or not evil really exists is fundamental to your understanding and practice of martial arts. If there is no evil, then jaken and seiken are meaningless terms. If evil is relative, then they are relative terms, and you need to understand how you can know when you are practicing seiken and when you are practicing jaken. And, if there is some absolute standard of good and evil, I would think you would want to know what that standard is.

I'm not going to answer the question for you. Finding the answer has to be part of your personal journey as a martial artist. Instead, I'm going to throw some questions at you to make you think. Hopefully, as you grapple with the answers it will help you form an opinion on the matter that takes you to a deeper level of understanding as a martial artist.

If there is an absolute standard of good and evil, then who established that standard? Does that person have the right and authority to decide what good and evil is? I'm sure you see the implications of this question.

If good and evil are relative terms, if they depend on the situation or circumstances, then how can you ever be certain that you are practicing good rather than evil? Wouldn't that make good and evil nothing more than personal opinion? Or, if not a personal opinion, then a social construct or a democratic process? The implications of these should also be obvious.

Your opinion -- or, if you prefer, your ideology or beliefs -- on the subject of good and evil ultimately boil down to a matter of religion, don't they? If you believe in a deity, then you probably believe only that deity is qualified to establish what is good and evil. If you don't believe in a deity, then you must first decide if the terms "good" and "evil" have any meaning at all, or if they are just an artifice devised by the weak to try to hold those stronger in check. And if you decide that they do, then you must wrestle with the concept of who determines what is right and wrong.

If you haven't already done so by this stage of your life, I hope you will take some time to reflect on the existence of good and evil. Then apply your conclusions to your training and your values as a martial artist. Then extend it from the microcosm of martial arts to the meaning and role of good and evil in the world. I hope some of you will share your thoughts and conclusions here in the Satori blog.