A New View of Oneself with Buddhist Golden Rule
Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and accomplished meditators experience the unity of all living beings after examining it in several ways. I feel that the golden rule is a valuable tool for that realization by reflecting how it would feel if my specific action toward another were actually them doing that to me, how I would feel, and how I might approach my intended action differently. The other part of this higher preparation view is a deep understanding of how all sentient beings are suffering; seeing oneself as a part of that faceless mass of beings will present a new view of oneself. Then, the golden rule will definitely cause us to see, that from the viewpoint of compassion, the dilemma of harming another harms all because of interconnectivity. A premature and inappropriately simplistic view that we are all one should be instead used as an aphorism for the accomplished transformation after completing the preparation steps. It is only by the return from the complex preparation...