This Too, Will Pass ~ WHO ARE YOU?
MANY PROBLEMS stem
from the fact that we do not know who we really are;
we have an identity problem, and it is the greatest
of them all, as it causes us to feel lost, confused,
alone and alienated from the rest of existence, and
in turn leads to fear, tension, irritability, aggression
and violence.
The problems we face today are not accidental;
like everything else, they come from causes, which
can be traced, and solutions to them found, though
this, of course, might not be easy. It's easier to
say: "It's not my problem; it's the responsibility
of the authorities, of the government. I don't care!"
And this apathy, indifference and thoughtlessness
are responsible for the continuation and growth of
the problems. If we say or think: "This is not
my country; I wasn't born here, and I'm not going
to stay here forever, therefore I have no responsibility
towards it," we’re only expressing small-mindedness
and ignorance. Yes, maybe we were not born here—wherever
here might be—you and I, and it is sure we're
not going to stay here forever, because we're going
to die—and probably sooner than we expect!—but
we are living here now, as members of the community,
are we not? Ponder on this for a moment, and see what
it means. Action should be undertaken through understanding,
not through greed, fear, or compulsion by others.
Today, it is possible, through the wonderful
technology we have developed (and, hopefully, will
learn to control), to eliminate most of the problems
facing us. Many diseases have been defeated, and we
shall, in time, find cures for others, including the
scourges of cancer and AIDS. Education is now within
the reach of most people. We have the technical means
to transform deserts into farmlands, to farm and harvest
the sea much more systematically and viably than at
present, and on a renewable basis, and so banish the
spectre of famine. By cloud-seeding—which, granted,
is still in its experimental stage —we can bring
rain to drought-stricken areas. The population-explosion
and the problems that arise from it, are not without
solutions. With foresight and careful management,
there would be enough of the world's bounty for everyone.
Actually, what is lacking is not food, money, fuel,
housing, etc., but Wisdom. It has been cast out, rejected,
shunted aside and overwhelmed by Egoism, that part
of our mind which makes us cry so loudly: "I,
Me, Mine", and brings us into conflict with other
fragments of life that think and feel the same way,
and makes us try to dominate others, not seeing that,
while we do have an individual self to take care of,
it is part of the greater self, or the communal WE.
Had it not been for our blindness and egoism, which
caused countless mass-murders and destruction known
as war (and there are always numerous such gross stupidities
raging in different parts of the world, with some
ending and others starting all the time), we would
have reached the stars long ago. However, it is not
outer-space we need to conquer and control, but inner-space:
ignorance, selfishness, egoism.
There is little possibility of you and I
leaving our Earth and going into Space in this lifetime,
and we may not be among the ranks of scientists, technicians,
writers, statesmen, philanthropists and philosophers
striving to improve things, but we need not feel left
out of their efforts and advances, for we are of the
same society, the same world. The dangers we face
are surely very great, and we shouldn't pretend otherwise,
even though the threat of Communism has disappeared
and become a spent force. We are still living on the
edge of a volcano that may erupt anytime, and this
one—Religious Fundamentalism and Fanaticism—is
potentially far more dangerous than the Communist
threat ever was, for Communists had a vital interest
in avoiding all-out war, by reason of their materialistic
philosophy and belief in this world only; were they
to lose 'this world', they would lose everything.
Religious nuts, on the contrary, are quite willing
to sacrifice 'this world'—which they consider
'unreal'—in hope of the 'next world', where
they believe they will go if they die for their religion;
so they have little to lose and everything to gain.
However, although this danger is increasing, we should
not let it paralyse us with fear; the future is not
completely black, by any means, and it is heart-warming
to see that, in spite of the disagreements and antagonisms
between the great powers, there is still exchange
of vital medical, scientific and cultural information,
and hope of further improved relations; we are not
completely isolated from each other, and the more
contact we have, the less prejudice and intolerance
there will be.
The world-wide response to disasters in
various parts of the world will hopefully result in
people becoming less suspicious and hostile, and realize
that we cannot live shut off in isolation. The Buddha's
Teachings on hate only being overcome by love, are
still valid today, although its results might not
be immediately apparent. Many intractable cases would
respond more to understanding and love than to force.
To experience the joys of crossing barriers
we must first remember the wonders that human-beings
have achieved throughout the ages, and things that,
only 50 years ago or less, people might have scoffed
at if someone had told them of, but which we now accept
and take for granted as everyday facts. Secondly,
we must see the need for improvement, and not wish
things to remain as they are, which would mean stagnation.
Thirdly, with our feet firmly on the ground in the
present, we must have a vision of how things might
be in the future, and of the part we could play in
bringing them into being.
It is imperative to see ourselves as part
of the community; if we do not, cannot or will not,
we shall continue to feel cut off, isolated, and left
behind, like fish stranded on the beach by the ebbing
tide. We can all see the disasters that have ensued
by the division of humanity into ever-smaller groups;
but now that improved communications have made the
world more open, let us see what will happen if we
scrap some of our mental barriers and identify with
Humanity as a whole. Actually, we already do this,
and far more than we realize, as it is mostly done
unconsciously. By means of things we use daily, we
are in contact with people all over the world; our
lives overflow with things made by people of other
nations and races. It would be foolish to say: "I
will not use this-or-that because it was made by people
of another race or nationality", wouldn’t
it?
We all have names, but who are our names
for? They are like fashion-clothes, which people wear
more for others—so others may see them wearing
them and be impressed—than for themselves; women
use make-up for the same reason. If we lived all alone,
like Robinson Crusoe on his desert island, we would
not worry about the latest fashions, being content
to clothe ourselves in the most-practical way possible.
Likewise, what need would there be for names if there
was nobody to use them? We would think of ourselves
as "I," "me," or maybe "you"—as
when I sometimes say to myself: "Oh, you silly
man!" So, our names are more for others than
for ourselves, which means that there is, in everyone,
at least a recognition of the existence of others,
that we do not live alone in this world; and this
belies the antisocial attitude of many of us. Man
is a gregarious animal by nature, and there are very
few of us who would like to live—or who could
live—alone for long. We need others. Isn't this
worthy of some thought and consideration?
If called upon to tell your life-story without
mentioning anyone else, you would be able to say almost
nothing, for your life is made up—like a tapestry—of
innumerable threads that are 'not-you'; our lives
are not simply 'ours', but in fact, mostly 'not-ours'.
Anyone—and anything—that we meet, who
crosses our path, or impinges upon us in any way,
becomes part of our experience, or what we think of
as 'our life'. In reality, therefore, there is no
such thing as 'my life', but an extremely rich and
varied composition of so many things. Look how it
happens: just by reading or hearing these words I
am writing, people are taking me into their lives
and adopting me; I become part of them, and they,
in an equally subtle way, become part of me. There
is very little about us that is really ‘us.’
Even our minds—the innermost part
of us—are not ours, as we think other people’s
thoughts, and are swayed, influenced, and controlled
by others. You don’t believe this? You think
your mind is yours, and that you are in control? Well,
let’s try a little experiment. I will say—or
write—one word, but before I say it, I want
you to get ready—with your finger on the button,
so to speak—and try to prevent the image of
the thing I mention from coming into your mind. Are
you ready? The word—it can be anything at all—is:
banana. Did you succeed in blocking a picture of a
yellow fruit from coming into your mind? Of course
you didn’t; it is an automatic response, isn’t
it?
Our identity is intimately bound up with
and inseparable from the rest of Existence; it is
impossible to conceive of a separate, independent
existence. Consequently, we can understand ourselves
only in context, only in relation to other aspects
of Life. Only by seeing ourselves as part of things
might we discover who we are:
Not
Me, not You, but
WE! |
