Unreal: Conflicts of Interest
We
are all connected. We literally aren't separate people.
If
you look closely at your skin, the membrane “separating” you from
the rest of the world, you'll see it is more like a cloud than a
seal. Could you look through a powerful microscope such as an
electron microscope, you would see molecules and atoms of yourself
shooting off in all directions by the billions. At the same time,
elements of the external world are being sucked through your skin
continuously. If I were sitting across the room from you, we'd be
exchanging body parts by the thousands every second.
Billions of
cells with thousands of other people's DNA are in your body as you read this.
You inhale
the air other people exhale even when you're separated by miles. You
eat other life forms – plants and animals – which then morph into
you.
A surprisingly large
portion of your innards consists of other life forms. “You” include
all sorts of bacteria - “them.” Are they just along for the
ride, or are you just a vehicle which spreads them so they prosper?
Neither and both. You and they are mixed so completely that any distinction you draw
between the two yous, between you and the rest of us, between you and
the rest of existence, is on a fundamental level an arbitrary
convention.
Yes, we
appear different. We (mostly) have different faces, fingerprints,
DNA, and dreams. Our nervous systems perceive each other as
separate.
But those
are just appearances.
In both the scientific and the spiritual senses, we're all connected. We're clouds of atoms
and energy fields intermingling in fantastically complex
combinations. The atoms and energy (Spirit?) change forms, but according to modern physics, none of it is lost. One moment it's me, the next it's you. It's always somewhere. It's everywhere.
We are One. Eternally.
So why is
there so much conflict in the world? Why are we constantly at odds
with one another? Why don't we respect our planet? Why do we create
so much misery?
We bounce
off each other, leaving physical dents and loose, damaged, disconnected spirits, because we don't see that our true interests dovetail
with those of other people.
It's in
all our interests to live in harmony. The robber who “gains” at
our expense gains only the wrath of the police. More importantly, he kills a piece of his own soul. What goes around comes around. You sow what you reap. The thug who “enjoys” tormenting other
people believes this is the way of the world, so he lives in constant fear that the same will happen to him. People who pollute not only destroy nature for the rest of us, they
deprive themselves of the spiritual nourishment of nature.
Contrary
to popular opinion, it is not the ultimate goal of Zen practitioners to “become
one with the universe.” Christians don't fundamentally want to commune with the
Divine. Muslims and Jews don't want to submit to Divine Law. Hindus don't
want to connect with past incarnations of themselves.
Zen
practitioners already are one with the universe. They want to
realize this fact fully and act accordingly.
God already dwells in
Christians as in all people, whether they accept Him or not. Christians' need is to be
mentally, spiritually, existentially present to His Presence, and act accordingly.
Divine law
already acts on Jews and Muslims as on all of us whether we realize it or not. There's no
escaping the laws Allah or Yahweh or whatever you want to call the Divine has created: natural laws. All Muslims, Jews and the rest of us need to do is recognize Divine sovereignty and act accordingly.
Past
creatures – people – have disintegrated. Their elements were
scattered. Plants used them for nourishment, after which people used
the plants for nourishment. Other elements of the "departed" evaporated
into the air, only to be breathed in by animals and people and made part of our
bodies. So Hindu reincarnation is real. We become worm food, the
worms become bird food, the birds ...
We are all
connected.
Let's
recognize this fact, as the world's religions admonish us to do.
Then let's act accordingly. Easier said than done, but imagine the consequences.
great insights - thank you for sharing!
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