Existence is like a vast ocean of constant change, of worlds coming into being and dissolving. We may call this eternal process the Stream of Being. Like drops of water in an ocean, we are separate but also the ocean itself. As individual beings we are transitory; but as Stream of Being, we are everlasting.
Death, or non-existence, cannot be experienced. Therefore, when we close our eyes for good in one time and space we open them in another; but we can have no knowledge of any previous existence, since life can only be lived as if for the first time. The end of life is only a return to the conditions that existed before conception.
When those you love must leave you, tell them that you will always be together. As we are not just parts of the Stream but the whole Stream itself, this is true.
Stamping out our individuality is as harmful as ignoring our commonality. Know that whatever is different from you makes you who you are; and know, too, that you cannot hate the other when you see that the other is you.
The study of right and wrong is an individual and collective human endeavor. This fact gives each of us the most important responsibility there is. The good life is not good because it is easy and comfortable; rather, it is good because it contributes to the development of justice, compassion, joy, reason, knowledge, good health; as well as physical and intellectual richness.
The three imperatives:
1 Be kind. Avoid all forms of cruelty.
2 Be industrious. Avoid laziness. 3
3 Study, learn, teach.
Peace
