Individuality

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

In one of the great satires of religious superstition, a reluctant messiah is becoming exasperated by all the people following him around: “You don’t need to follow me. You don’t need to follow anybody! You’ve got to think for yourselves! You’re all individuals!” The crowd surrounding him shouts back: “Yes. We’re all individuals!” He raises his voice: “You’re all different!”, and the crowd roars in response, “Yes, we’re all different”. Then, in a short pause, a defiant voice can be heard: “I’m’ not!”

The scene is both funny and clever. The crowd deny their individuality by asserting it; the solitary rebel asserts his individuality be denying it.

The irony is that, in fact, the more we think for ourselves, the more deeply we reflect on our mind and life, the less of an individual we become, rather than the more. As meditators we return again and again to the truth that all sentient beings are our companions in birth, old age, sickness and death; that all beings share the desire to be happy and the aversion to suffering. By doing so, we dissolve the barriers that divide us from others.

The less we identify with this particular body and these passing mental states the less we will seek meaning and purpose in the ways we are different from others.

The less we measure the value of our life by the ways in which we differ from others, the better our mental health.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.