The Devil Is A Myth

The word ‘devil’ is synonymous with supernatural evil. Evil is banal as it is simply selfishness.

Banal: lacking in originality. Evil is gaining and maintaining status and wealth that causes suffering to others, or following orders blindly. ‘Banal’ can describe all of us, because we lack the recognition and experience of originality.

Our original nature is pure awareness,
full of compassion.
Our unoriginal nature is an acquired self-reflection,
full of selfishness.
Original sin is turning away from our original nature.

Evil is promoted as something supernatural ‘out there’ to deter us from looking at ourselves first. If we look for ourselves, we can solve the problem. When we invite others to sort out our problems, we also invite deference and subservience. As long as we keep looking at others, or the supernatural, we will never identify the source of evil, which is our own mind clinging to ideas and forgetting the heart of the matter – love. Holding on to likes and dislikes is called ego-clinging. This is obsessive awareness, lacking the recognition and experience of originality which is the emptiness of essence.

Our selfishness is the devil. Others’ selfishness is the devil. The devil has been created as something supernatural ‘out there” for us to fear. Our present moment is created by our own past actions – that is karma – although this is not always obvious. We are born with a certain coding, some fortunate, some unfortunate. The fortunate may become unfortunate, and the unfortunate may become fortunate. It all depends on our reactions and motivations, which leave a beneficial or harmful imprint in the mind’s attitude.

The devil is our own likes and dislikes, lying in ambush and waiting to be activated. These defilements of desire and aversion are in all sentient beings: that is what keeps us sentient and not enlightened!

Has anyone ever seen either the Devil or God? These are two words that describe the workings of our own minds and hearts. Experience of good and evil are in are own hands and not in someone else’s.

It doesn’t matter what we call something; it is the genuine, direct experience that is important.