The Christ-Buddha-Atman-Al-Insān al-Kāmil-Messiah-Zhenren-Tirthankara “suffers with,” or has com-passion on, all other beings, because it sees in others a reflection of its Self. Others become a mirror of its Self. What you do to others, you do to Me.

It looks out on the world, and all it sees is its true Self—everywhere it looks—in the poor and abused, the exploited, the hungry and cold, the sick, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the greedy, the prideful, the rich, who are also imprisoned in their egos, and are blind to who they really are.

It suffers with the 321 dead and 500+ victims of the Sri Lanka terrorist bombings, with their families and loved ones, and also with the perpetrators who have alienated themselves from Love and Humanity and Being and Life, not knowing what they do. They are oblivious, unconscious, spiritually dead to their very own Spirit.

It suffers with and for all of these, all of them, because it does not see a separation between it and “them.” “They” are One, and so no longer “they.” It is Self. It is Mwe. It is God. It is a deep relational identity, a unity of being, a oneness of Life, a nonduality of the essence of Reality, that undergirds all existence, all being, all manifestation.

This is Love itself, which knows no boundaries, no limits, no preconditions, no stipulations, no requirements, no borders, no divisions, no classes. It is a Love that is poured out eternally and in infinite quantity on each and every One who is part of the One, which is every One and every Thing.

This Love is continually poured out as anointing oil on the heads of each and All, because they are its Self, and there is nothing that could ever separate them from this Love, this Life, this One (Romans 8:38-39). They are the One, and will always be the One. How could the One ever not be One? It’s not possible.

We are One.

What are all those names? They are some of the seemingly analogous names or titles that have been used to refer to a “savior” or fully awakened or realized being in several of the major religious/spiritual traditions:

• Christ – Christianity
• Buddhahood/Tathagata/Arhat– Buddhism
• Atman/Jivanmukta – Hinduism
• Al-Insān al-Kāmil – Islam
• Messiah – Judaism
• Zhenren/Xian – Taoism
• Tirthankara/Arihant – Jainism

The photo at the top of the article is “Offerings poured over the Jain Lord Bahubali, the world’s largest monolithic statue.” Credit: Matthew Logelin.