The war on the military battle-field or in the streets of the foreign city, where it is now usually fought, is no different in kind from the war being waged constantly within the individual human mind. There may be a difference of degree but essentially they are one and the same thing. The individual human mind has amassed a wealth of evidence to support the notion that it is an important separate identity and, put very simply, that sense of being a separate identity is the first step to murder. From the idea of my self comes all the rest of it--my self-esteem, my values, my family, my tribe, my nation, my culture, my beliefs, my rights, and so forth--and thus the foundations are laid from which one views the whole of the world. One may view that world positively or negatively, or sentimentally or coldly, depending upon the nature of the personal foundation; but whichever way one views the world, it is a personal viewpoint born out of all the accumulated memories and interpretations of one's own experiences and responses both good and bad. This notion of individuality is bound to bring about conflict with others, conflict in varying degrees and with varying forms, from our minor domestic disputes to the full-blown military campaign. If we don't transform society--which is equally where we work or where we live--then who will do it? Who will transform society? Who or what will bring about the end of our conflicts both internal and external? Or is conflict the eternal human condition and nothing will change it? The great organised efforts of the past have all failed whether those efforts have been made in the religious, in the political or in the philosophical arena. They have all failed. Man is still fighting man, still hiding in his own corner of the world trying to stay safe, still self-protective and defensive, perhaps angry at some things, guilty about some things, fearful about some things, puzzled about some things. That is the life of man, generally. Either he is doing what he can to make his own corner more comfortable and secure or he is waiting for something better than all this--whether through good fortune, blind chance or fate--or he is just waiting for the peaceful oblivion of death. There are so many ways of escaping from this mess of the world, so many distractions. You and I are society. Whatever relationship we have with one another here right now, that is the relationship we have with the rest of the world. To me that is quite obvious and I wonder if you see it too? Whatever relationship we have with each other--whatever is the essential quality of that--the same quality must also be in our relationships with other people, from the closest life partner to the remotest stranger. And outside of our relationships with other people, there is no society. Society is our relationship. So society is here today between you and I--whoever you are and whoever I am. Is it possible for us to look together at some of these questions? That's the whole import of these books.
The war on the military battle-field or in the streets of the foreign city, where it is now usually fought, is no different in kind from the war being waged constantly within the individual human mind. There may be a difference of degree but essentially they are one and the same thing. The individual human mind has amassed a wealth of evidence to support the notion that it is an important separate identity and, put very simply, that sense of being a separate identity is the first step to murder. From the idea of my self comes all the rest of it--my self-esteem, my values, my family, my tribe, my nation, my culture, my beliefs, my rights, and so forth--and thus the foundations are laid from which one views the whole of the world. One may view that world positively or negatively, or sentimentally or coldly, depending upon the nature of the personal foundation; but whichever way one views the world, it is a personal viewpoint born out of all the accumulated memories and interpretations of one's own experiences and responses both good and bad. This notion of individuality is bound to bring about conflict with others, conflict in varying degrees and with varying forms, from our minor domestic disputes to the full-blown military campaign. If we don't transform society--which is equally where we work or where we live--then who will do it? Who will transform society? Who or what will bring about the end of our conflicts both internal and external? Or is conflict the eternal human condition and nothing will change it? The great organised efforts of the past have all failed whether those efforts have been made in the religious, in the political or in the philosophical arena. They have all failed. Man is still fighting man, still hiding in his own corner of the world trying to stay safe, still self-protective and defensive, perhaps angry at some things, guilty about some things, fearful about some things, puzzled about some things. That is the life of man, generally. Either he is doing what he can to make his own corner more comfortable and secure or he is waiting for something better than all this--whether through good fortune, blind chance or fate--or he is just waiting for the peaceful oblivion of death. There are so many ways of escaping from this mess of the world, so many distractions. You and I are society. Whatever relationship we have with one another here right now, that is the relationship we have with the rest of the world. To me that is quite obvious and I wonder if you see it too? Whatever relationship we have with each other--whatever is the essential quality of that--the same quality must also be in our relationships with other people, from the closest life partner to the remotest stranger. And outside of our relationships with other people, there is no society. Society is our relationship. So society is here today between you and I--whoever you are and whoever I am. Is it possible for us to look together at some of these questions? That's the whole import of these books.