A friend recently confessed to me that he feels scared about the idea of merging into the “Oneness.”
I admit – for me too – this conjures up pictures of being assimilated into the Borg.
I assured him that merging into the Oneness is probably far different than he imagines. But what do I know!
What is this Oneness that is spoken of in many spiritual traditions? I haven’t seen this term used frequently in Buddhism – at least not in the traditions that I’ve studied.
Does this Oneness imply an absence of individuation? Is it the same as emptiness? Is it the same as non-dual pure awareness? I’m beginning to suspect this might be the case. I’ve been reading a proof of Be Love Now, a new book by Raam Das due for an early November release. Raam Das speaks frequently about the Oneness connecting it with love, emptiness, God, and/or awareness at different points in the book.
Of course, all these words are attempting to capture something that is “beyond words, beyond thought, beyond description.” Yet, we need pointers to guide us along the way.
Sunday Reflection: A Net of Brilliant Jewels
For our reflection this week, I’ve chosen this description of the universe offered by the Buddha, which is a metaphor for emptiness and interdependence.
“If everything is impermanent, then everything is what we call “empty” which means lacking in any lasting, stable, and inherent existence; and all things, when seen and understood in their true relation, are not independent but interdependent with all other things. The Buddha compared the universe to a vast net woven of a countless variety of brilliant jewels, each one with a countless number of facets. Each jewel reflects in itself every other jewel in the net and is, in fact, one with every other jewel.”
“Physicists have introduced us to the world of the quantum particle, a world astonishingly like that described by Buddha in his image of the glittering net that unfolds across the universe. Just like the jewels in the net, all particles exist potentially as different combinations of other particles.”
- from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche
What are your thoughts about this view of the universe? What is your understanding of the Oneness?
Stay tuned: I will be posting a review of Be Love Now on November 10th
You might also like:
- Sunday Reflection: A Letter from the World of Emptiness
- Sunday Reflection: Like a Flash of Lightning in the Sky
If you liked this post, please share the link with others. Thanks so much! Sandra
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As I understand it, the oneness is us always us and we are always one, but we are not the oneness. It is us, in us, but as individual souls we always exist in that state. So instead of we are God, it’s God is us. Almost the same. No big deal anyway. Either or is fine with me.
Hi Ali,
Thanks for sharing your insight. It sparkled something in my own understanding. Thanks so much.
In a later chapter, Ram Dass does say explicitly that “Oneness” is emptiness. This I can understand. However, he seems to add a Buddhist spin to his knowledge of Hinduism.
Sandra,
I see oneness as our connection to other. While we are all unique individuals, there is also something which bring us together, too. That which we share. Something deeper than how we look on the outside, it’s those things that we all hold close to our heart (love, caring, respect, etc). While I think that not everyone portrays these the same way – deep within us – these are things that we all want (again, whether we outwardly show that or not). And in that … oneness.
Maybe I’m way off base, too. (grin) I’ll take that for now, though…and let it rest in my soul to the connections I have with all other souls in this amazing world…
Thanks, Sandra, for making me think more deeply about this.
Lance,
This is a beautiful take on Oneness. I too think the emphasis is on commonality and not on submersion. :) Thank you so much!
When I think of oneness I think of a system and system of systems of people and their worlds, and how they are connected, interconnected, and cyclical.
I think of the impact and the butterfly effect of little tiny things.
I think of how nature wants us to be our best and play to our strengths.
I think of how our unique strengths helps us compete and collaborate more effectively in a Darwin world.
I see oneness as a dynamic, unfolding, evolving, and ever-changing landscape, which continuously provides a backdrop for personal growth and unique contribution.
J. D.
You words are stunning. I was stirred by this in particular: “oneness as a dynamic, unfolding, evolving, and ever-changing landscape, which continuously provides a backdrop for personal growth and unique contribution.” Thank you!
Hi Sandra,
I love that you are speaking about oneness. Oneness is realized when the belief in a separate self falls away. It cannot be conceptualized, or even spoken about directly, as you said, as it is beyond the mind.
Oneness isn’t an idea. It is the absolute truth that is realized when we see through our identification as a person. One form of self-inquiry is, “Who am I?,” suggested by Sri Ramana Maharshi and others. When we ask this question with penetrating awareness and a pure intention to know the answer, we can ultimately realize that the inherent truth of forms that appear is that nothing is separate from anything else. The essence of everything is love, although this word doesn’t even capture it.
When people are afraid of oneness, they are hanging on to their identity as a person. If that fear is met, it is seen as just a temporary arising and is not real. I would ask, who is it that is feeling afraid.
Spiritual teachers sometimes say, “I am nothing and I am everything.” I am nothing means that in truth who I am is formless essence, and I am everything is the ultimate realization that essence infuses all forms.
Here is a poem by a 1st century master that describes this beautifully:
Watching the moon
at dawn,
solitary, mid-sky,
I knew myself completely:
no part left out.
Love,
Gail
What a profound understanding you have, Gail! This is such a lovely, deep, and clear explanation. I won’t say more than that because what you have written is complete and worthy of contemplation in itself. These precious interactions with you and others who are commenting is showing me how all the great spiritual teachings are pointing in the same direction. Nowhere and everywhere!
Thank you so much!
The way I respond to the concept of Oneness is to believe that everything is connected to and part of everything else. Each expression and example of being, consciousness, shape, form, function and boundary is invisibly (until we learn to see it) linked in union. The expression of individuality is both an avenue of exploration AND an illusion – a cloud of unknowing to allow us sanity until we grow enough to perceive through and beyond the cloud. I guess it’s also important to reiterate that Emptiness is not the same as an absence of things (nothingness). It’s space, the fully coalesced all, without the differentiated components of “stuff”. And the fact that it’s all one, while appearing not to be, can be or at least ought to be a source of joy and amusement.
Brilliant, Mike. It’s absolutely agree that emptiness is not nothingness but more akin to fullness and potentiality. And yes on the joy and amusement. Really appreciate your deep insight. Thanks so much.
i like that view because it states that in order for someone to fit in he must be in harmony with the universe and that’s true
Farouk, You’ve caught the essential point so beautifully. Thank you.
Hi Sandra,
I think of oneness like the ocean..each individual particle makes the whole..a vast wholeness that one cannot fathom because one cannot ‘see’ the entirety..I am empty of self but I am full of being and vitality…
Hi Joy,
An ocean is another beautiful metaphor for wholeness and interconnectedness – thank you for introducing it here. I love this: “I am empty of self but I am full of being and vitality…” All the best to you.