It requires
the entire universe for a single blade of grass to grow. Without
the universe no Sun. Without the Sun no Earth. Without Earth no
water. Without the sun, earth and water no blade of grass can
grow. So it is with each and every part of this universe. Every
individual thing exists because of the entire universe. Every
individual thing is at once individual and universal at the same
time. It is all one. A single organism. From this single body
we call the universe many conscious beings derive. Though many
conscious beings derive there remains a singularity in the oneness
of the body and existence. This is called Universal Mind. Nothing
has any real existence separate from the whole.
We mistakenly
perceive the universe as existing separate from ourselves. Intuitively
however, we know this is not true. We know because our very existence
depends on the universe itself. This is a physical fact we cannot
escape. Like the blade of grass it takes the entire universe for
one human being to grow. The universe around us is the self within.
The perceived is the same as the perceiver. The eye is the object
seen. The ear the sound heard. That which is seeing is what is
being seen. You cannot separate the observer from the observed.
That which is aware of the universe is the universe itself. Through
one many become aware and through many one is aware. This is the
heart and soul of Zen.
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