Stiphan wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:25 pm
"
To loathe more evil and abstain from it, to refrain from intoxicants,[12] and to be steadfast in virtue — this is the greatest blessing." - Maṅgala Sutta, Khp 5.
It's good to loathe evil itself, but that loathing or hate should not be directed at a human or non-human being.
I think it depends on what is meant by "loathe". In the context of the quoted sutta, the terms
ārati and
virati are used as a pair, and mean to abstain, avoid, or keep off or apart from. Thanissaro, for example, renders that particular line
Avoiding, abstaining from evil;
and Piyadassi
To cease and abstain from evil
and Dr. Soni
Avoiding evil and abstaining,
Narad Thera's translation of "to loathe more evil" seems in this context to be idiosyncratic or even possibly misleading. There is, as far as I can see, nothing of
hating the evil, merely that the evil should be avoided; which means that the same strategy (
ārati &
virati) can certainly be applied to sentient beings. If there is anything in the Dhamma which is equivalent to the Christian idea of "Hating the sin, but loving the sinner", I haven't seen it yet. Are there any other candidates for it? Hating anything just seems to multiply the problem. In the context of meditation, physical pains or mental problems such as restlessness are made worse by hating them.