What Buddhism can teach in this moment of deep divisions: No person is ‘evil,’ only ‘mistaken’

The three wise monkeys, embodying the proverbial principle from Buddhist philosophy: ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.’ Natallia Pershaj/iStock/Getty images plus by Jeremy David Engels, Penn State Democracy depends upon using words wisely. With the right words, citizens can live and work together, even in disagreement – and resolve conflicts peacefully. Today, politicians routinely describe their opponents as “enemies,” disparaging them as “evil,” “monsters,” “demonic” and “garbage. By creating the impression that people “on the other side” are irredeemable monsters, such talk undercuts the potential for civic cooperation – for what’s the point of trying to understand, and to work with, someone who is “evil”? More fundamentally, this “us vs. them” rhetoric of “enemyship” – as I call it – undermines the chances for peaceful coexistence between people who see the world differently. I am a professor of rhetoric who studies the power of words to build – and destroy – the world we share. I am also a longtime scholar, teacher and practitioner of mindfulness. My research draws on the wisdom of mindfulness and other spiritual practices to reimagine how we teach the basic habits of democratic citizenship. A lesson from Buddhism seems particularly apt in...