Caught in the Cycle of Self Concern

Bob Thurman is a Buddhist scholar and teacher who holds an anonymously endowed chair at Columbia and does great work, IMO, from that seat.

He recently opened a talk at the TED conference with this quote from Albert Einstein:

"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."

Bob's speech at TED calls us to remember what it is we know and do that is the antidote to the messes in this world caused by greed and self interest in pursuit of rampant desire. It's worth the 20 minutes it'll take to listen to its entirety.

Here's a piece of art that also speaks beautifully revealing the specific Net of Indra made of organizations worldwide working for peace, proper stewardship, social justice. Don't forget to zoom in when you get there.