You have to have goodwill (mettā) even for people who are doing evil. Goodness has to start *here*. And you have to decide it’s going to start with you. If you can have this attitude, it cleanses the mind.

"You might say, “Well, because so-and-so did something bad, that gives me the right to do something bad in return.” But that kind of attitude is what tears the world apart.

The attitude that can have goodwill [mettā] even for people who are doing evil, so that when you’re dealing with them you can trust yourself: That’s what keeps the goodness in the world going.

If you had to wait for everybody to be good before you’d treat them well, we’d all be at each other’s throats pretty quickly. Goodness has to start here. And you have to decide it’s going to start with you. If you can have this attitude, it cleanses the mind."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Cleansing the Mind"

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