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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 25

wants to survive and thrive. That’s The teaching of non-self is transient, ever-changing, and a part
part of the way we are built, and I difficult to understand and seems of the ocean, but is still real—we
don’t believe Buddhism asks us to contradictory if we are told to can point to and see it.
stop these kinds of thoughts from love all sentient beings. Who do
occurring. But everyone (except for we love if ultimately all humans Even though we are impermanent
psychopaths) also cares for those are just only five aggregates? and interconnected, we still are
around them. We care about our unique centers of perception and
parents, children and friends. When The teaching of non-self denies a feeling—we love, we hurt, and
we see people suffering from flood particular understanding of self. we suffer. There is no escaping
or famine, our heart goes out to It denies that selves are eternal, those existential realities. Just as
them. That’s the way we are built, unchanging, and separate from the we wish solace and comfort from
too. This natural tendency to care world. It does not deny we have others in our moments of suffering,
for families and friends and be relatively persistent personalities we should want to solace and
extended to a more general care for and individualities. While I have comfort others in their moments
all beings. a sense of historical continuity—I of suffering. The teaching of non-
am in some ways the same person self does not free us from the
The Confucian philosopher I was when I was two-years old—I importance of being humane.
Mencius said we are born with the was then and still am my parent’s
seeds of moral goodness, but that son—in other ways I am quite Buddhism teaches that human
circumstances determine whether different from who I was at age beings are by nature good. How
those seeds will grow and bear two. All the atoms that made up my can we explain the great suffering
fruit, or wither and die. As rational, body at age two are gone, replaced humans have caused other
social beings we have an interest by entirely new atoms. My beliefs, humans in the course of history?
in a harmonious society in which tastes, preferences, and abilities
everyone has the opportunity to now are quite different from what Being born with Buddha-nature
flourish, and in which we live in they were at age two. And so much doesn’t mean being born good but
balance with our fragile ecosystems. of what I now believe is not “my being born with the potential to be
This means that while we care own,” but something I’ve absorbed good. We are born with the capacity
about ourselves and those dearest from parents, teachers, friends, to be rational, care about and love
to us, we also have to develop colleagues, the media, and my others, and understand what is
compassion and lovingkindness interactions with world. There is no fair and just. But we are also born
towards everyone. “me” separate from culture, society, with the capacity for anger, hatred,
and experience. jealousy, cruelty, envy, competition,
Even under the best of and dominance. Building a good
circumstances self-cherishing I like to think of us as being like life means cultivating our better
thoughts continue to arise, but we whirlpools in the ocean. The water qualities and finding ways to bring
can acquire the ability to attain in the whirlpool is different from our harmful qualities under control.
some distance from them and gain moment to moment, and yet the This is not an easy task, and we
a sense of perspective about them. whirlpool continues to exist as a shouldn’t be surprised when we
We can learn to discern whether pattern. Additionally, the whirlpool and others fail to do so perfectly. In
continuing to indulge them leads to is not separate from the ocean. You addition, many people born with
greater happiness or harm. When cannot say the whirlpool is “here” the capacity to become bodhisattvas
we discern that self-cherishing and the ocean is “there.” Finally, the may grow up with emotionally or
thoughts are harmful if pursued, whirlpool exists only for a while—it morally incapacitated parents, or in
we can just let them be without is born out of the ocean and returns a variety of adverse environments
becoming attached to them. to the ocean. So yes, the whirlpool is that deny them the basics for