Connected

Beneath all the delusions, wrong views, and afflicted emotions, there is natural perfection. The Fourth Noble Truth is about how we unveil that perfect nature, which leads to “entering the path of empty and peaceful selflessness.”

Selflessness means to give up the illusion of a separate self. It requires what Vasubandhu called a “revolution at the base.” Through this revolution, we stop thinking of ourselves as separate, independent, and permanent, and begin to recognize instead interdependence and equality. We are all connected.

When we recognize that the suffering and happiness of others is also our happiness and suffering, that is the solution.

—TN, The Dharma Handbook