Reading Highlight

Consciousness can be very extraordinary; we can experience love and compassion. But sometimes we can be a little bit lost, especially when our consciousness becomes aware of itself and develops the sense of a separate self. This is the experience that there is “me” and then there is the world “out there.” Then we develop the sense that I am separate from everybody and everything else. In Buddhist teachings, this experience is often described as the primordial delusion. When we experience that we are separate from everything else, we determine that there are things that are good for us. We naturally develop an attraction, a desire, and a grasping toward whatever we perceive those good things to be. These things give us comfort and security. Then we also determine that there are things that are not so good for us. These are things that usually present a challenge or a threat to us. We naturally develop an aversion, perhaps anger or feelings of being challenged or even repulsed by them. Sometimes we act out of those experiences of aversion and anger, and these acts can cause harm and inflict pain on others.