Fourteenth blog: Abu Yazid Al-Bistami

It's incredibly interesting to look at religions and see how much they overlap, because in reality they all do. The specific stories may contradict one another, but a central part of all the religions we've discussed so far is the concept of unity.

Be in a realm where neither good nor evil exists. Both of them belong to the world of created beings; in the presence of Unity there is neither command nor prohibition.

Now I can positive this isn't the first I've heard that neither good nor evil exists, and on a personal note I wish more people believed in that. What bothers my about people so much is their own self-righteousness, without realizing another person's perspective. Everything is relative, absolutely everything, and as a country especially, we don't seem to recognize that. We state they are evil and off we go to kill hundreds of thousands, which splits families and creates more grudges and yet no one has the capacity to empathize. Which I think is a huge failure, where it occurs I'm not so sure, whether it's a matter of the churches, schools, or neighbors or any manner of socialization factors, empathy is what will save the world, if only more people could understand and employ it. I believe that is what he was referring to when he said that "A single atom of the sweetness of wisdom in a man's heart is better than a thousand pavilions in Paradise." When one understands the sufferings and reasoning of others you achieve true wisdom and that wisdom is better than anything, for the world or for yourself.

"This thing we tell of can never be found by seeking, yet only seekers find it." Reminds me of the importance of meditation to Buddhism. They also hold that the truth cannot be found unless sought, yet it is inside of yourself, and something incredibly difficult to achieve. It's an interesting thought which is clearly a popular one, that people need to be able to slow down and contemplate and think, which is something that's been lost in the hustle-bustle society we live in now.