No One Gets Away With Anything

In Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment, a young man murders an old lady. He initially feels justified in his action. She’s going to die soon anyway. Who will miss her? And aren’t some crimes defensible if they benefit the healthy aspects of society? Once his deed is done, however, his soul begins to be eaten away by guilt and horror, and he realizes that good and evil are not just made-up concepts: they’re woven into the fabric of human existence.

Sylvia Boorstein once said that the essence of Buddhism is that no one gets away with anything. It’s easy to look at the criminals running our society, for example, and believe that they have, in fact, gotten away with something. But to do that is to discount the enormous pain these people are in now, the enormous pain coming to them in the future, and most importantly, your own power to resist all of this. Because as soon as you believe they’ve gotten away with it, your narrowed vision affirms their power, whether you want it to or not.

The philosopher Gilles Deleuze said, “Power demands sad bodies.” Totalitarianism doesn’t just happen because a few bad people figure out how to take over a government. It happens because a lot of good people stop believing in themselves and their capacities. People say, “Don’t you see how bad things are right now? Why should I make art? Why should I fall in love? Why should I notice the magnolia blossoms?” In this way, their bodies become hollow bells resonating with the frequency of tyranny.

No one gets away with anything. By all means, march, write letters, strategize, revolt. But notice where trying to be the handmaiden of karma just makes you feel more hopeless. And remember too, that, just as no one gets away with evil, your own goodness is never wasted. Resist the idea that this isn’t a time for delight. Resist the idea that your simple acts of generosity, your celebrations, your goodwill somehow don’t count right now. You’re going to have to be more disciplined than that. You’re going to have to find discipline in your joy.