“Every true theorist is a kind of tamed metaphysicist.” - Albert Einstein
“The more I learn of physics, the more I am drawn to metaphysics.” - Albert Einstein
If you don’t understand the fundamental nature of reality, you will come to very bad conclusions about politics. This is the situation we find ourselves in today.
Dzogchen Teacher James Low, in his book Simply Being, describes how most modern people are contaminated by “modernism,” which he describes as:
“…the complex body of concepts and attitudes that evolved out of the “European Enlightenment.” This includes the notions that all beings are born equal, the people are entitled to freedom and the pursuit of pleasure, that a prime source of suffering is the abuse of power by others, that a worthwhile goal or purpose in life is self-fulfillment, that people should be valued for their individual effort, at that this life is the prime focus of our concern.”
Low contrasts this value-system with that of the Dzogchen masters who wrote the texts found in his book:
“They believe that in terms of our relative context, all beings are not born equal, because beings are born into a world with different karmas, with different potentials, and with different contexts for experience. They believe that the pursuit of pleasure in a self-indulgent, self-centered way is not at all the true purpose of life.”
The European “Enlightenment” was born out of a concept-bound, pathological-rationality, that lacked the inner experience of the True Nature of Reality. This has led to the hyper-polarized, factional conflict we see in modern societies.
The enlightenment of the Dzogchen masters came from a radical, internal, empirical investigation into the nature of the self, which led to a direct inner experience of the True Nature of Reality.
When Longchenpa wrote “it is the ordinary, confused mind, that perceives sensory appearances to be something other than oneself,” he was writing about the mind that gave birth to the European “Enlightenment” and modern culture, the kind of mind that most of us have.
However, in a strange twist of fate, the outwardly focused, rational European mind, by probing physical reality to its absolute limits, would eventually come to the same conclusions as the Dzogchen masters:
“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”
-Albert Einstein
The illusion of self, time, causality, and even reality itself, was seen directly by Einstein and the pioneers of quantum physics.
“Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real. If quantum mechanics hasnt profoundly shocked you, you haven’t understood it yet.” - Niels Bohr
“Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” -Albert Einstein
When we understand the True Nature of Reality, we come to very different conclusions about politics. Instead of viewing history through the collectivist lens of group struggle, one sees humanity as a whole and realizes, as Thoreau said: “the government that governs least, governs best.”
Please consider the following quotes on governance by the awakened Taoist sage, Lao Tzu:
“People are hard to govern. The rulers interfere with too much. That is why people are hard to govern.”
“The more laws and restrictions there are,
The poorer people become.
The sharper men's weapons,
The more trouble in the land.
The more ingenious and clever men are,
The more strange things happen.
The more rules and regulations,
The more thieves and robbers.
Therefore the sage says:
I take no action and people are reformed.
I enjoy peace and people become honest.
I do nothing and people become rich.
I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.”
“Can you care for the people and rule the country and not be cunning?”
“Good leaders reach solutions, and then stop. They do not dare to rely on force.”
“He who treasures his body as much as the world can care for the world.”
“If princes and kings could follow it (Tao), all things would by themselves abide, Heaven and Earth would unite and sweet dew would fall. People would by themselves find harmony, without being commanded.”
“As soon as rules were made, names were given. There are already many names. One must know when it is enough.”