THE PROBLEM OF EVIL IN BIBLICAL AND GREEK PATRISTICS AND IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF BUDDHISM MAHAYANA. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The article is a kind of continuation of the topic raised in the previous publ ication and is devoted to a comparative analysis of the doctrine of the origin and essence of evil in the biblical tradition and Greek patristics and in the philosophy of Buddhism, from the Dhammapada era to the formation of Tsongkhapa Gelugpa tradition, as well as in the schools of Madhyamaka and yogacaras of Mahayana Buddhism. The author examines the theology of evil in the Old Testament and New Testament t raditions, as well as the solution to this problem in Greek patristics, which formed the basis of the ponerology of the Orthodox Church. The author also pays atten-tion to the study of the development of the doctrine of evil in early Buddhism, using the exa m-ple of the Dhammapada, and the philosophical schools of Mahayana Buddhism – Madhyamaka and Yogachara. It turns out that in both religious traditions evil is considered as an ontological and moral category, the opposite of good.