Speaking of the insights which would empower humanity to transcend fear, pain and suffering, few are more important than anicca (impermanence), anatta (selflessness) and dukkha (suffering) which are the Pali words derived from Sanskrit, the language Siddhartha (Buddha) spoke. These are among the deepest Truths of human existence.
Everything in the material world is transitory and we should avoid deriving our identity from those “forms,” including the physical body and all human institutions. Our ego-centered false self is not our True identity. And finally, all activities associated with the world of form, when we are seeking pleasure for example, are ultimately unsatisfying.
The American worldview has most of us believing that the pursuit of plenty, pleasure and power will lead to the optimal experience possible in our lifetimes. That belief has been shaken of late as myriad problems threaten to overwhelm our American hubris. “It’s a reckoning that has stirred debate about health policy, inequality and partisan politics, but also extends beyond it, touching on history, values and national identity. And for some, the severity of the crisis—and the slow disjointed government reaction to a danger warned about for months—have also upended their conception of the country, shattering the already battered idea of American exceptionalism, if not turning it on its head.”[i]
Nothing short of a radical shift in our worldview to Simple Reality will offer Americans the possibility of creating a truly sustainable community. And, of course, the entire Global Village will have to choose to make that paradigm shift together.
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Supplemental Reading: Buddhism, The ABC’s of Simple Reality, Vol 1
#68 Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha
[i] Schuessler, Jennifer. “Reconciling the Pandemic With the Nation’s Self-Image.” The New York Times. April 29, 2020, p. A9.
