In a discussion with a friend who was struggling with his return to Germany after over ten years of volunteer work in Africa and Asia he said to me that according to Buddhism it doesn’t matter where a person chooses to live, that what is important is that one observe.
I am not an expert on Buddhism but I have made my way in life a contemplative way. After some time reflecting on this I realized that what does not matter is not what he said. What does not matter is the ” I ” that is making decisions. By giving it importance we cause it to matter. We have come to make decisions in life in terms of what the ” I ” wants. As well a contemplative way is not as much about observing as seeing. The seeing requires that we take the time to observe. This includes observing the workings of the ” I “.
A way of conceiving the consciousness rooted in ” I ” is that it has arisen out of the belief that I am a universal man or woman only in my individuality according to my fiction of personal divinity. This is a view that seems to be profoundly rooted in the collective thinking of human.
A consequence of the ” I ” consciousness is that the world is being organized, divided and fragmented as a result of this individual perception rooted in the personal fictions that arise out of this way of seeing. The reality is that existence is beyond this perception. One can only perceive the real sense of the truth of existence by considering the organism in its real place which is in its interconnectedness with the rest of life and the universe.
In Buddhism as in other contemplative ways one experiences a shift in perceiving from the consideration of a particular man in so far as I am different than all other men to a place of perceiving that I am more alike other men.
In experiencing a shift in this way we as well find ourselves coming to a place of existing in order to live instead of living in order to exist. By giving the ” I ” importance we are living in order to exist and much of our living becomes about a search for meaning that is part of the assumed fiction and we in turn experience the anxiety, fear and doubt that are part of the limitations of this perception.
In seeing from a more holistic consciousness we see that life life is a gift and as we attend to this gift and this truth in full awareness it unfolds and we unfold and evolve along with it as an inseparable part of it.
