Hypocrisy

It’s a very common word. It’s been defined as it’s been used in many ways. But I think it needs explained once again because I think I have slightly different views. I rather give it simple supplementary explanation.

Once I learned about three common hypocrisies:

1.      Aging: everyone is a subject of aging and gradually getting older and certainly has become or will become an old person – the closer to death, the less physical beauty. By knowing the fact, whether with negligence or denial, if someone loathes an old person, then this is hypocrisy.

2.      Illness: it’s same as above. Everyone is a subject of illness and pain. Whether getting a severe disease or a simple headache or even lighter illness such as skin rush or just mosquito bite, all living things are equal for this reason. By knowing this fact, whether by negligence or denial, if a person loathes an ill person, this is also hypocrisy.

3.      Death: everyone fears of pain. The reality is death is also a pain. We’re all going to die one day – even if young now. Yet some people tend to loathe the dead body. This is also hypocrisy if not comparing with one’s own body and loathing it also. We know a living body keeps dying every moment and the hair, the finger nails, toe nails, dead skin, fat (or oil), and all sort of evidences are always indicating the truth.

These three are from the Buddha Himself. Maybe I’ve missed some information which is also important. Perhaps there is the forth: dirtiness caused by wastes coming out of the body. But I rather give my own points of view based on what I’ve learned so far.

We cannot be free from hypocrisy because of emotions – the human nature of psychology. Greed, anger, delusion, pride and jealousy are the very reasons because they make us to overlook ourselves.

Someone becomes greedy because of something valuable. Otherwise, that person would be normal – although that person has not abandoned greed completely. That is the way how greed appears, comes out of its domain, and does its activity. But we, with little ignorance, know greed is bad and will definitely oppose others for their greed yet we can become greedy. At the moment when greed is present, a person is hypocrite. 

Anger, pride and ignorance appear, come out of their own domains, and do their activities – just that way too. But we know, with little ignorance, how bad anger is. When we get angry, we’re both angry and hypocrite.

Ignorance is the very reality we cannot avoid. Nobody can know everything when we do something. Ignorance itself doesn’t make us hypocrite directly but it supports greed, anger, pride and jealousy and so there is hypocrisy.

All conscious living organisms are not free from these realities. If we get greedy or angry and do not dislike ourselves and correct our minds, that is a practice of hypocrisy.

Here jealousy and envy are also hypocrisy. They are based on selfishness so they’re selfish hypocrisy – sounding much worse. More than that, covetousness is a real problem as it’s about wanting others’ properties – any or all of money, wealth, position, love, just anything at all. Here healthy competition itself falls into this category as raising/fixing the price to make bigger profit can be immoral covetousness.

So is there anything left which is not hypocrisy? Of course just remove the selfishness and delusion; anything can be done without hypocrisy this way. Whatever action taken from the self perspective, like I do it, I want it, etc. can be tainted with hypocrisy because immoral self-interest could be there; otherwise it’s moral and not hypocrisy.

Fire burns because it gets fuel. Material things are fuel for greed, anger, pride, jealousy and ignorance. If someone doesn’t consider these realities and loathe others for their greed, anger, pride, jealousy and ignorance, then that’s hypocrisy. When one has yet to have abandoned these hypocrisies, disliking others for having any hypocrisy, one is obviously hypocrite.

Why should a person who has greed of his/her own criticise someone else for having/showing greed? Why can a person criticise others’ anger, pride, jealousy and ignorance?

We want to be intelligent, smart, have everything, famous, loved, cared, looked after, followed, safe, moral, satisfied, pleased, happy, want to be treated well and nicely, and all sort of good quality of life are wanted. Why can one harbour such bad emotions if one is not totally lacking self-control and hopelessly ignorant?

Criticising, judging others, and not criticising and judging oneself, it’s a way of practicing hypocrisy. But it’s better to judge and analyse oneself because one can improve oneself this way.

But we should pardon the nature of politics because we need a peaceful society in which political activities must exist healthily. If politicians have the condition to practice their best and serving the common interests, then what will we say?- it’s what we actually want as a society.

If a person practices hypocrisy willingly than that person is immoral. It’s hard to control the mind but it’s good to have not sped and crushed. We cannot expect animals and other organisms to practice morality. But as intelligent beings, we humans can know and have conscience. It’s always great to increase conscience.

Ignorance is actually the predominant factor of all existence and occurrence. The dark shadow of ignorance casting by all individual living organisms is so vast that we have to live in the dark most of the time. This way we actually affect one another with borrowed ideas. That shadow is the great shadow of life. We each casts a little shadow and make it big blanketing black shadow of oneness so fearsome that it engulfs everyone. That’s actually our own contribution as a global society of the world. Whatever we do, act, say... is not free from our ignorance – meaning we’re not perfect and our actions cannot be perfect ideologically even when the action is the only right thing to do; still we do it with delusion more or less. The contribution of our ignorance we make to one another is what we actually have in common. Not all of us are just like that though. Sometimes sages come and shine the light of truth. Whenever such a sage appears, we rather not miss his/her teachings.