Can We Violate “The Three Gates”?

Are there times to ignore the Three Gates?

Is it True? Is it Kind? Is it Useful?

These are the Three Gates of speech and action suggested by many teachers and traditions worthy of respect. And in fact, those who do not respect them are broadcasting that they are willing to lie and be cruel to accomplish their aims, which are not checked for ‘usefulness’. I can’t think of a single negative behavior that passes the Gates…

But are there positive behaviors that DON’T pass them? I think so.

There are terrible contexts in life where the best possible actions are not “positive” in other contexts.

1. Is it True? War, Sun Tsu says, is the art of deception. Telling ‘the truth” to someone who would use it to kill your people would be unfortunate in the extreme. In a war, one has to define “us” and “them” in ways that make it possible to do terrible things. At times, only what is “useful” would be relevant. The corruption of truth and kindness is one reason combat should be the LAST option, when all else has failed. The person who chooses this profession should aspire to being of extraordinary character, because the stresses involved are extreme.
2. Is it Kind? There can be differences between short and long-term kindness. If you have to perform battlefield surgery on someone to save their life, it can be extremely cruel…short term. Telling someone their beloved has cheated on them can save them years of pain..but will hurt like hell, and might…