One of the things about which I am most passionate is true freedom, real freedom—(the) freedom from controlling conditioning and ideology, religious, political, or personal. I am angry about the way the world is run by big business, that money is more valuable than people and life. That money is the ultimate motivation, supported by the individualist credo.
It makes me very angry when people are sacrificed for profit, for the ignorance, selfishness, and personal shortcomings of those in power. I truly feel hate sometimes for those who put profits over people.
I can say, though, that I am thinking more and more about the Buddhist idea that says to hate what people do, not the people themselves. This is not an easy idea to swallow, let alone practice. But I think it helps to remember that, deep down, we are all the same, we all want the same things, and the reasons people do “evil” things are ignorance, weakness, fear, and arrogance, and all that comes from these things. And as none of these things are about reality, but illusion, they are not about who the person really is, but rather who they are, their conditioned and illusory self.
There are reasons why people do what they do. There are reasons why people are “bad” or “evil.” And I cannot think of one reason that would escape the realm of ignorance, assumption, greed, credulity, cowardice, fear, and weakness.
I want to fight against those who oppress and manipulate and hurt people for reasons that are simply wrong—childish, selfish, and unenlightened. I want to fight for true freedom, not the charade, the surface level “freedom” of the USA.
To me, the big question is this: do you want to be a part of the problem or the solution? I want to be a part of the solution. You are, at all times, on one side or the other. And I think that one’s base-level understanding of life will dictate on which side one is most of the time.
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From my personal notes, 4/10/00
