The emotional effect within social discrimination

The Buddha taught that one of the sources of suffering is our failure to remember that we are all One. This separation of "me" from "you", "them" and/or "it" keeps us bound to the blind sense-mind of ego. Nowhere is this more apparent in modern society than in instances of social discrimination.

No one of us is better or worse than any other because behaviour does not define a person. The person defines the person and that "person" - that material living form - is always perfect. It starts perfect, it ends perfect and in the middle, well, it's perfect.

It is only the layers and layers of random social rule, as well as our own willingness to buy into that social norm and the degree to which we do so that separates us, not only from our true Nature, but also from one another and ourselves. When we see "another" as "other" -- as opposed to "another One" we get lost in the web of discriminative ego. This, at least from a spiritual viewpoint, is where prejudice is born

From a social point of view, this is also where prejudice is born. Prejudice and discrimination is about citing differences and exploiting those differences out of fear or anger or disdain or any other of a number of motivations.

It is also through the fantasy perception and use of differences that self-prejudice is born. Self-prejudice? - Indeed -- that little twinge you feel when you see Bob drive up the street in his Bentley while you're locking up the your battered ford fiesta, or that tendency you have to turn your boss into your mother when responding to his demands as you might hers at the age of 8 - that's self-prejudice.

Whichever tack you take, prejudice and discrimination are born of the discriminating mind - the blind mind-sense of ego. When we see "other" we tend to see either surplus or lack in that other, whether that "other" is in reference to another or to ourselves.

When we come to a place of seeing self-control, then discrimination and, with it, prejudice dissolves.

Try this - it's a little skill that I learned from my time though therapy. When you are interacting with people today, make an effort to pay attention to your perceptions of them. What are you seeing? Who are you seeing? Make a mental note of that, then set it aside and remind yourself that you are looking into the eyes of human being. If that's a bit too airy-fairy for you, then remind yourself that, in both essence and real meaning, you are looking at a version of yourself.

Instead of pushing back against race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, annoying, sticky, rude, cruel, soft, hard, bitchy or beautiful, blend with it. Bring that person into yourself and see them for who and what they truly are just another human being trying to do the best they can with the tools they have available to them.

What do you think?