Yes, it could be a bit of a balancing act. When evil acts are perpetrated against our friends we could lament, and rage, and become too disgusted, too nauseated to eat. However in the Buddha’s first discourse we read of the flaws of not just confusion, and greed, but aversion as well. What, then, are we to do?
In a word: love. We are to love the victim, we are to love the villain, we are to love everyone. But how do we do that?
We begin by understanding that love is less of an emotion and more of an intention. We wish that all folks would be less victimized and perform much less villainy as well. Recognizing that every villain has been a victim (more than once if truth be told) we develop great compassion for each being; even Mara himself (if there is such a being).
Loving intention is the second fold of the eight-fold path. When combined with kindness of communication, conduct, and commerce loving-kindness (or Metta) constitutes fifty percent of the Buddha’s eight fold path.
Still plagued by disgust? Then I recommend contemplating the stress inherent to aversion, avarice, competition, and clinging. You could also benefit from contemplating the intersectionality of interdependence, impermanence, and no-self with the four bases of mindfulness which is the essence of the liberating view of reality: the first fold, of Buddha’s eight-fold path.
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