ON THE THREE EVILS

Prime Minister U Nu
(From a speech to the All-Burma Peasants Organization at Mandalay, May, 1953)

` Humanity has been led astray by three evils – greed, hatred and ignorance. Whether
we are Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Animists, or Atheists, we cannot escape the
three inevitables: old age, disease, and death. Nobody can deny that the five sense objects –
pretty sight, delightful sound, fragrant smell, savory taste, and nice touch – are only
fleeting phenomena. They are neither lasting nor permanent.

Nor can anybody deny that property is transitory: no one can carry away his
property after death. Men have been chasing these transitory pleasures with a dogged
tenacity mainly because they hold false views regarding property. They forget that this life
is not even one millionth part of the whirlpool of Samsara (the cycles of rebirth), and go on
amassing wealth even though it never brings them full satisfaction.

This insatiable greed for wealth results in the profit motive which is not directed
toward any utilitarian purpose. Once upon a time all commodities were common property,
and everybody had a right to use them for his own benefit. But with the advent of the profit
motive these commodities became objects of exploitation. They became instruments of
wealth and stimulus for greed. This led to the following phenomena:

1. Human society was split into two classes: Haves and Have-nots

2. The Have-nots had to depend on the Haves for their living, and thus the evil system of
exploitation of one class by another emerged.

3. With class exploitation, the poor became poorer because they could not get adequate
returns for their work. They had to resort to evil ways like stealing, looting, and
prostitution.

4. The Lord Buddha has taught us that there are four causes of death: kamma, frame of
mind, weather, and food. Under the system of class exploitation, how can the Have-nots
enjoy good food and protect themselves from extremes of weather? Can there be any sense
of happiness or contentment for them? Can even a good kamma favor one who is
cheerless? Thus one who is born into the class of Have-nots is handicapped in all the above
four factors, and disease is the inevitable result.

5. How can the Have-nots care for education with their hard struggle for a bare living?
Lack of education breeds an ever-increasing band of ignoramuses and Mr. Zeros.

6. How can a country abounding in ignoramuses and Mr. Zeros ever progress?
It is evident that most of the evils in the world can be traced to the advent of the profit
motive. Do you remember the legend of the Padaythabin (the tree of fulfillment) we heard
as children?

According to the legend, there was once a time when men and women could get
whatever they wanted from the Padaythabin tree. There was no problem of food or clothes
or housing, and there was no crime. Disease was comparatively unknown. In course of
time, however, the people fell victim to greed and spoiled the tree of fulfillment which
eventually disappeared. Then a class of people who could not afford to eat well, dress well,
or live well appeared, and crime became rampant.

Now I ask you to think of the Padaythabin as the natural wealth of our country, both
above and under the ground. If only this natural wealth is used for the common good of mankind
it will be inexhaustible, besides satisfying the needs of everybody. But greed comes in the way.
The poorest of the poor wants to become rich; the rich want to become richer, and the process
goes on ad infinitum. Spurred on by greed, people are apt to “botanize on their mothers’ graves,”
so to say, in order to become richer. Thus the distribution of wealth becomes unequal. While
some can amass wealth which cannot be spent in ten lives, others have to wallow in extreme
poverty with bare rags on their bodies.