When one witnesses another person committing a wrongdoing and then cheers them on or expresses delight in what they have done, such a person — in the language of the Dhamma — is one who engages in anumodanā of wrongdoing. Just as sharing in another’s merit brings merit in return, sharing in another’s wrongdoing brings demerit in proportion.
The Master Nun has taught, “beyond the demerit incurred, rejoicing in another’s wrongdoing also brings with it a great deal of additional kamma that will follow one through life.”
She also said, “Remember this: have you ever noticed how some people, when they make even the smallest and most trivial of mistakes — something that by rights ought not to amount to much at all — find themselves set upon and piled on by an entire crowd, as though the whole city is ready to tear them down?
That is the result of having piled in on the wrongdoing of others. When they make even the slightest misstep, people are instantly ready to descend upon them and overwhelm them entirely. Therefore, whoever has engaged in rejoicing in criticizing wrongdoing would do well to be prepared — and on the day a mistake is made and the crowd descends without mercy, do not place the blame on anyone else. For it is the fruit of one’s own doing.
March 1st, 2020
