The Psychology of Those Who Do Evil: Why Do We Cause Suffering Without Remorse?

Have you ever wondered why a person who knows clearly that their actions are wrong, who knows they will cause others pain, would still be determined to do them? In the dharma talk "The Psychology of Those Who Do Evil," Teacher Thích Chân Quang opened a deeply insightful perspective: each of us has a reason to justify evil, and the most frightening thing of all is when the heart no longer feels even a twinge of remorse.

**Evil begins with the smallest things**

Teacher Chân Quang began with an observation that startled many: as hard as it may be to hear, there are people out there for whom causing suffering (dukkha) to others is an art. As for us, sitting here, who would dare say we have never done something wrong? Our evil is not murder or robbery, but "speaking ill of others just a little, humiliating someone a bit, gossiping in secret." These things seem harmless, yet they are the seeds of evil in the heart. When we feel a secret pleasure when others fall into misfortune, when we remain unmoved by the pain of animals, we are nurturing an invisible monster within us.

"It is very hard for us, once we know to go to the temple, to then do evil. Or, if we do not do anything gravely wrong, we do only small evils. For example, speaking ill of others just a little. Humiliating someone a bit, gossiping in secret."

**Ecological balance, or evil made legitimate?**

In nature, people say that animals eating one another serves to maintain ecological balance. But from a Buddhist perspective, that act is cruelty. Teacher Chân Quang told the story of releasing ten wolves into a forest to eat the deer, with the aim of helping young trees grow back. The forest did recover, but this method traded the lives of countless creatures for the growth of plants. The Teacher said: "Instead of releasing ten wolves to devour the deer, we could send a thousand people in to plant trees and protect them." That is the vision of compassion.

It was precisely this thinking of "letting nature balance itself" that led some countries to handle the COVID-19 pandemic with a relaxed approach, treating death as part of a natural current. Vietnam chose a different path: recognizing the danger from the very first cases, acting decisively, and at the same time treating its people with kindness. Teacher Chân Quang stated it plainly:

"That solution sounds scientific, sounds civilized and intellectual, but to say it bluntly, it is evil."

**Not causing suffering to ourselves, not causing suffering to others**

The Buddha taught a very short yet profoundly deep sentence: "Do not cause suffering to yourself, do not cause suffering to others." Many people are surprised when they hear this, thinking that we only bring pain to others — who would make themselves suffer? But in truth, when we do evil, we have already set our own soul ablaze first. The Teacher told the story of a man who could not let go of a past relationship, tormented and wounded in his pride, until his spirit was broken and he decided to burn down the home of the one he had once loved. Before causing suffering to another, he had already burned himself.

"Truly, when we cause others to suffer, what has really happened? We have caused ourselves tremendous suffering as well."

**When the heart no longer feels remorse — the professionalism of cruelty**

Teacher Chân Quang distinguished two levels of the evil mind. If, when causing pain to others, we still feel a flicker of unease, we are only amateurs in cruelty. But if our heart is not stirred in the least, we have become professionals of evil. There are even those who feel pleasure while tormenting others — that is super-professional. The Teacher cited the case of the police officer who pinned George Floyd down: his face was not merely blank, it shone with a kind of delight at holding the power over life and death. The consequence was that all of America erupted in protest, with burning and destruction, leaving ruin in its wake.

"It is when making others suffer that we feel pleasure."

**Our own reason — the justification for every wrongdoing**

Why do we know something is wrong and still do it? Because we always give ourselves a reason. A husband who beats his wife says it is because she is disrespectful. A thief says it is because he is too poor. A student who attacks a classmate says it is because that classmate is arrogant. Self-justification is how we blind our own conscience. Teacher Chân Quang emphasized:

"Whenever we do wrong, we have a reason. Whenever we do evil, we also give ourselves a reason."

If we do not examine ourselves, we will be blinded by that very reason, and from a small mistake we may climb onto the path toward greater wrongdoing.

The Teacher's dharma talk is not meant to frighten us with visions of hell, but to awaken us to our own subtle psychology. Whenever we are about to speak a harsh word, about to hurt someone, let us pause for a moment and ask ourselves: "What am I justifying right now?" If there is still a twinge of remorse in the heart, we still have a chance to return.