top of page
Search
Writer's pictureDaniel Rodman

Innate Value and Deserving

We as human beings are innately valuable, we all have a precious heart, we all share in the Transcendent, and therefore we are all equal in this light. On the other hand, What we experience does not always look like equality. What I am talking about is not merely social or political injustice which may disenfranchise different groups, but rather the natural experiences of some people getting certain things while others not. If there is one job position to fill in a business, and 5 people think this is their dream job, but only one person gets it, then that is an example of natural inequality. The person who got the job may be more qualified, or had more rapport with the people hiring her. Either way there is a question about deserving and what determines who gets what.

In eastern religion the notion of karma determines why people receive what they do. It is because of their previous actions and their intentions whether good or bad that end up causing them to experience happiness or suffering, bounty or poverty. No doubt your actions and awareness in this life also determines what you experience, but it is understood that you are always in dialogue with your previous karma. In western religion there is a similar notion of reaping what you sow, though it is not our own actions that cause our fruition, but God's intentions for us, His plan to bring us through trial and triumph in order to bring us closer to him. Either way, whether the eastern or western perspective, what we do and our intentions behind them play a major role in determining what we deserve.

Besides the intervention of Divine outside forces, there is another factor that can change how this dynamic of deserving can play out. That is through benevolence. The more love and compassion in a social system the more everyone gets what they need and, even more, what fulfills them. It is one thing to receive enough food. But to receive food from a loving source with love is a higher level of sustenance. Currently our economic system works on a monetary system. One can dream of a future where everyone worked only for each other, a living organism of society that is aware of everyone's needs and fulfills them accordingly. Everyone does their part with love, and everyone receives whatever is loving to receive, from their most basic hierarchy of needs as well as common and special desires included, supported, and fulfilled. That is ultimately our destiny, as our hearts only grow from their natural radiance, and never wane, although it might feel that way. Each generation is more evolved than the next, since they start from the wisdom of the previous generations. Eventually we can be a great love symphony of a society.

Our innate value is immutable, and for that we are equal. Our deserving is in accord with our disposition, and is a part of our dance with life towards the evolution of our hearts. Therefore, our innate value and our deserving are not two intelligences but One, where one is our being as the seat of the Transcendent, and the other is our inevitable Pathway towards the Transcendent. It is The Transcendent within us bringing Itself back to Itself through the form and life of each one of us. May you come to know the difference between our innate value and our deserving, and may you know how they are held so tenderly in the radiance of the Transcendent.

14 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

The Three Levels of Meditation

There are three primary levels of depth in meditation practice. The first is total relaxation, meaning we have let go of all tension in...

The Teaching of Misperception

Our mental suffering arises primarily from misperception, misunderstanding, and ignorance. From that ignorance we attach neurotically to...

The Three Poisons

In Buddhism there is a fundamental teaching called the Three Poisons. These are the fundamental basis for all primary negative states of...

Comentarios


bottom of page