Soulful Sundays: Union

“Integrity is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” — Mahatma Gandhi

We are all searching for something—every second of every day. No drive is more constant than the one that pushes us to seek. Often, it is so strong that we continue to look even after we have found. But what are we looking for exactly? Sometimes the answers can seem so tangible, yet they hide deeper meanings. Are we just craving a meal—or do we need sustenance? Do we seek the company of others for entertainment—or do we long for companionship? Do we pursue our careers for money—or do we wish to attain mastery? Ironically, many of our desires are actually just projections of our worst fears—the fear of discomfort, the fear of loneliness, the fear of incompetence, and ultimately, the fear of separation.

In the Taoist creation myth, all of existence was once contained within a single unity called the One. Division of this source energy into the Two created yin and yang, which further divided and created all other things. Genesis 1:1 gives us a similar story, with God in the place of the Tao, and earth and heaven in the place of yin and yang. Human beings are made in the likeness of the divine but are still distinct from it. It is in this apparent separation that a deep attraction to wholeness is born. Paradoxically, we are all part of the Creator, yet we seek Him just the same.

At the root of all desire is the fundamental longing for union. Desire is the force that brings us and our goals closer together. In its most sublime state, union with God creates heaven. Separation creates hell. While the Buddha did not posit a God or creation myth, he did believe in the reality of suffering and taught his followers a method of reducing it. His Eightfold Path was a prescription for unifying right thought, right speech, and right action. However, he believed that even attachment to the right things can create an obstacle. Only by letting go of our attachment to desire, not the desires themselves, can we free ourselves of suffering. The Buddha compared his teachings to a raft that brings us across the river to the promised land. After we arrive, there is no longer any need for the raft.

Through living with integrity, may our own noble desires help guide us to the union we seek. And may we realize that what we have been seeking was never actually separate from us.