See God or Buddha through Unity

Wong Weng Hon

Introduction 

I have been equating God with Buddha repeatedly in the previous articles appearing in the  past editions of the Deer Park. The equation is asserted not on the basis of dogmatic belief but on the basis of the communal Truth of intrinsic bipolarization of the phenomenal world and the Absolute Reality. The stark message is that man and the Absolute are interrelated whether one believes or disbelieves in religion. This the communal message of all world’s religions. The currently imperiled world is saved if this communal Truth of Wisdom is discovered.

The interfaith-understanding should be constructed on the basis of this communal Truth of Wisdom of Unity or Non-duality. Unity or Non-duality is the Process Reality of dynamic process becoming (sanāta dharma; process reality). Process Reality is perennial wisdom. Perennial wisdom is synonymous Buddhist wisdom of Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). Emptiness is universal Unity or holistic or organic co-existence.  Religion is about discovering this Truth of Emptiness which depicts the ultimate Reality of the world. The following syllogism verifies God-Buddha equation. This is not mere intellectual exercise but the unveiling of ultimate Truth of universal Unity.

Logical reasoning through syllogism argument is presented as follows  :

Syllogism 1:

Premise 1 : God is the eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality
Premise 2 : Buddha is the eternal Truth of Unity or Non-duality
Conclusion : Therefore, God equals Buddha philosophically

 Syllogism 2:

Premise 1 :  Buddha is Anattā
Premise 2 :  God is Anattā
Concusion :  God equals Buddha philosophically

Communal Truth

From the aforementioned argument, God is defined as the Unity of Existence and Buddha is also the  Unity of Existence. Buddha is the essence of Emptiness. Unity of Existence  is the unity of contigent conditions.  Unity of contigent conditions is Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). Hence, God equals Emptiness and Buddha also equals Emptiness. In conclusion, God and Buddha are philosophically equal. Furthermore,   God is the ultimate Truth of  Process Reality of dynamic process becoming. Buddha is also the ultimate Truth of Process Reality of dynamic process becoming.  Since God and Buddha equal Anattā, therefore, they are philosophically  equal. The search for this communal Truth of God and Buddha is socially significant as this discovery of communal Truth promotes and fosters inter-faith understanding. Interfaith understanding bridges the widening fissures between all religions. Religions are susposed to integrate or unite the world. Unfortunately, it occurs conversely. This is the root of current global crises, especially the global crises of financial meltdown, imbalanced eco-systems,  wars, extremism and sectarianism.  Different religions have fractured and split the world at the levels of the community, society, nation and world. Disunity oppose the will of God or the Dharma of Process Reality. It is ignorance which impedes the religious wisdom of knowing the relationship between multiplicity and Unity.

Conflicts

 For instance, if the Israelis and Palestinians truly understand that  they are actually the creatures of the same God, they would have not battled against one another so fiercely. According to Process Reality, creatures are conditioned phenomena co-created by the world and God. The world is phenomenal multiplicity; God is the principle of Unity.  All men are borthers and all women are sisters. Would you make an onslaught  on your brother if he has stolen a part of your treasure or possession? Man makes mistake here and there. Currently, they become abnormally rampant. The faces are being disfigured here and there. Buddhistly put, conditioned phenomena are disunited and right path of life is derailed. Man becoming increasingly perverse . What have happened in the wallstreet and Middle East are mirrors.  Many people and even many nations make mistakes in the past as well as in the present .

 For instance, China is so angry towards Taiwan as the latter does not  seek unification. However,  no one should fix a national problem through military conflict. No one in this world would agree that China would repossess Taiwan through force. Civilized China has to resort to Hong Kong’s way of  diplomatic repossession of Taiwan. China’s repossession of Hong Kong from the British through soft diplomatic negotiations is highly commendable. The Middle  East conflict should be fixed through soft diplomatic road map for peace. No conflict in the world can be resolved through military confrontation and devastation.

Non-violence

That all creatures or conditioned phenomena  are the children of God means that the multiplicity are the integral parts of the organic whole. The organic whole is God.  God  forbids all forms of killings as they are onslaughts on His own creatures. Creatures are contigent or conditioned phenomena . Creatures are parts of cosmic Unity.  If we destroy the parts, we destroy the Unity.  All parts belong to the Unity or the whole. Unity or the whole is God or Buddha .   Whoever makes an onslaught on any creature or conditioned phenomenon (multiplicity) is making an onslaught on God or the whole (Unity). When apart of the whole or totality is destroyed, it is said that mould of God has collapsed. This is the right vision of God in terms of multiplicity-Unity relationship. Even racial discrimination is an onslaught on world-God relationship (phenomenon-principle interpenetration).

Multiplicity and Unity

 Process Monotheism  describes the God concept   in terms of this multiplicity-unity relationship. Upanisads or Vedānta  describe Brahman-concept in terms of this multiplicity-Unity relationship.  Buddhism also describes Buddha concept in terms of  this multiplicity-Unity relationship (phenomenon and principle interpenetration).  All human beings are contained in the Unity of God or Buddha.The cosmic Unity contains all human beings in which believers and non-believers are included.  Injuring any human being is equivalent to injuring the Face of God or  the totality of the Buddha. God or Buddha is the universal set and all human beings are elements contained in the  universal set. Human beings are food for God or Buddha and God or Buddha is food for human beings. The relationship is non-dual and reciprocal. It is a  symbiotic relationship.

 Hence, a suicide killer killing enemies and innocents has committed a heinous sin. He destroys the parts of the whole. Destruction of the parts is the destruction of the whole. The whole  is God. The parts are children of God.  The killer  will be severely be retributed in the hell fire upon demise. A suicide killer is certainly not  a martyr. It is heinous sinner. Obviously,  religion has been abused in politics ,terrorism and extreminism.

Nail and Body

Philosophically put, an attack on a part is an attack on its unity or the whole. If a finger nail is pulled off, the entire body will feel the intense pain. Metaphorically put,  Man is the shell and God is the kernel of a coconut. The coconut metaphorically represents the reciprocally bipolar relationship between man and God.  They are inseparable. The coconut is organic . Ontologically put, God is also organic. All living beings or non-living beings are parts of the organic whole of the universe which is God. If we can discern this organic relationship between all human beings and God, compassion naturally ensues from this organic wisdom. Buddhistly put,  organic wisdom is the wisdom of Emptiness.  

True or False  Martyr

Only a Saint or Apostle who dies  in the process of the defense of the  God (Truth; Ḥaqq) is a martyr. The greatest holy war for man is to defeat one’s self or ego. Killing or violent attack is a promotion and fostering of self-centric ego. A killer is a great sinner who will be  burnt in hell fires upon demise. Thus, suicide attack is a perversion of belief in God. Any form of terrorism or extreminism is a perversion of God (Truth; Ḥaqq).  Religion illuminates the world so as to eliminate the darkness of religious ignorance or blindness.

Universal Self

The great Indian Sage of 20th century C.E, Sri Ramana Mahashi (1879-1950) expounded the universality of religions thus :

The (universal) Self alone exists
and  the Self alone is real
Verily the Self alone is
the world , the Truth and God

If one can only realize at heart
what one’s True Nature is
one will find  that it is infinite
Wisdom, Truth, and Bliss without beginning and end

 Please contemplate on the Truth that the cosmic Self is the Real, the world, the Truth and God. This is a very profound Truth. This  concise and comprehensive definition of universal or cosmic Self  of Sri Ramana Maharshi corresponds with Buddhist Chan or Zen masters’ declaration that  the mind, the sentient beings and the Buddha are all identical without any distinction. Zen is the cosmic Self , the Truth , the Spirit and the Buddha.  Monotheistically put, this is the immanence of God. The aforementioned Hindu poem affirms that only  the universal Self is the ultimate Reality. This ultimate Reality is the only Truth. God is this ultimate Reality.

Conclusion

 If you still find God or Buddha abstruse , permit me to share the spirit of God or Buddha with you: Anyone  uniting and working collectively and harmoniously with others with selfless love for the common  good is living in the spirit, truth and life  of God or Buddha. Any selfless bodily action, verbal action or mental action  uniting a group, small or big for a common good  is living in the spirit, truth and life of God or Buddha. Unity through one’s unifying heart is the spirit, truth and life of God or Buddha.  As long as the flow of unity among people is harmonious and unimpeded, this is the  spirit, truth and life of God or Buddha. This spirit, truth and life of God or Buddha can only be supported by ethics and wisdom. Unity is the spirit , principle and life God or Buddha. Unity is the quintessence  of Dharma.