ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 26, 2022
It is debated whether the Buddha really said, “Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.” Whether those words can be truly attributed to the Buddha or not, I have been sitting with them for about two weeks. I’m not too sure exactly how to read them, but if I were to make a rather uneducated guess, I think those words are suggesting that the concept of “one” requires there to be “two.” One has no meaning without there being two. Unity begins with separateness that merges, consolidating into one. Without there first being two unique things, there can never be oneness. Maybe I’m just writing nonsense. It’s always possible, a real possibility! In the end, my takeaway is actually hope. In a world where there is so much division, so much Us against Them, I am beginning to see how such separation is nothing more than the necessary ingredient for unity. We cannot desire unity without first experiencing polarization. Instead of throwing up my hands in belief that everything is lost, maybe I should see how we are in fact sitting in a place where unity is truly possible. In Mark, Jesus spoke of how two would become one. No longer will there be two, but one. Yet there first had to be two. Right?
Whether it be rubbish or opportunity, O God, I pray that hope is never lost. Unity and harmony appear to be your dream, and though we might believe it to be an improbable possibility, it is only possible because there remain pieces to be unified. Amen.
