Question:
Hi Adam,
What is responsible for all the bad in the world? Is the Pain Body to blame?
Hope it's ok to msg you? If not, no probs. Thank you so much for your work.
(note for readers: "Pain Body" is a term used to describe an energy in human beings which seeks to creates pain for itself or others. Someone who seems to enjoy complaining, being angry or making problems out of things often, would be an example.)
Response:
I’m not sure what the answer is. All the bad in the world could be wide-ranging, but I will take what you mean as bad to be the unnecessary suffering that humans inflict on themselves and each other? Things like crime, exploitation, abuse, unfairness, pollution etc.
I’m not sure if I would say that the pain body is solely responsible. I wouldn’t start “blaming” things, since this can create more of an inner conflict. It seems that the main issue is what we take ourselves to be. If I take myself to be an entity entirely separate and alien to you, then I will regard myself as much more important than who I think you are. I will also not see you anymore, I will only see my own concepts about you. This can create a sense of “me vs everything else”, and it creates disharmony. It also creates a great fear of destruction, and the world seems a threatening place. This fear, with the discomfort of uncertainty and the trouble that the idea of time creates - all leads to humans not minding hurting each other in order to make themselves feel better or safer.
If we take the self to be one thing in a certain place, existing autonomously and independently, then everything seen as “other-than-self” will become merely a means to keep my independent self as safe as possible, no matter what it may do to others. However if the idea of self falls away or is seen to be merely a construct of thought, then “self” is no longer limited to be just one separate body. The earth is seen as inseparable from me, as are other people, objects, plants and animals etc.
There are varying degrees to this. In an extreme form, the belief in a limited separate self creates an utter madness, an insanity and self delusion that becomes very destructive. But even if the ego or pain body is strong, there can still be an awareness of the madness of many human beings in their destructive nature, and a clear vision that we are all somehow connected.
When it comes to pain body, perhaps this kind of “enjoyment of pain” does create a lot of pain externally. I have sometimes felt that another layer or aspect of the madness of the pain body - the need to resist and fight life - actually creates life circumstances to trigger itself. If someone feels a victim of something, for example, it may be helpful to see if the role of the victim, the one being hard-done by, is also being strangely enjoyed by the "victim". The pain body can cause pain to others, but it can also attract it to itself.
I wouldn’t say any rules apply on how to act, however. There is of course the other question of what is good and bad, where is the line drawn between the two…but that is a whole other topic.
In short, I would say that all of the outer turmoil and “badness” of humans is usually a reflection of an inner condition. Sometimes the bad can be a huge wake up call, like someone having to shake you awake. It can sometimes cause people to go deeper within, to no longer be completely lost in the world of movement and change.
I’m not sure how satisfactory that answer will be for you, but it’s all I have right now.
Thanks for your message, hope you are well, and thank you for your continued support of the website and its Facebook page.
Adam