Uniqueness

Beyond superiority and inferiority

Every human being is unique. There is no question of anybody superior or anybody inferior. Yes, people are different.

Let me remind you of one thing; otherwise you will misunderstand me. I am not saying that everybody is equal. Nobody is superior, nobody is inferior, but nobody is equal either. People are simply unique, incomparable. You are you, I am I. I have to contribute my potential to life, you have to contribute your potential to life. I have to discover my own being, you have to discover your own being.

When inferiority disappears, all feeling of superiority also disappears. They live together, they cannot be separated. The man who feels superior is still feeling inferior somewhere. The man who feels inferior wants to feel superior somewhere. They come in a pair; they are always there together; they cannot be separated.

It happened... A very proud man, a warrior, a samurai, came to see a Zen master. The samurai was very famous, well known all over the country, But looking at the master, looking at the beauty of the master and the grace of the moment, he suddenly felt inferior. Maybe he had come with an unconscious desire to prove his superiority. He said to the master "Why am I feeling inferior? Just a moment ago, everything was okay. As I entered into your court suddenly I felt inferior. I have never felt like that. My hands are shaking. I am a warrior, I have faced death many times, and I have never felt any fear--why am I feeling frightened?"

The master said, "You wait. When everybody has gone, I will answer." People continued coming to visit the master, and the man was getting tired, more and more tired. By the evening the room was empty, there was nobody, and the samurai said, "Now, can you answer it?" And the master said, "Now, come outside."

A full moon night--the moon was just rising on the horizon... And he said, "Look at these trees, this tree high in the sky and this small tree. They both have existed by the side of my window for years, and there has never been any problem. The smaller tree has never said, 'Why do I feel inferior before you?' to the big tree. How is it possible? This tree is small, and that tree is big, and I have never heard any whisper."

The samurai said, "Because they can't compare."

The master said, "Then you need not ask me; you know the answer."

Comparison brings inferiority, superiority. When you don't compare, all inferiority, all superiority, disappear. Then you are, you are simply there. A small bush or a big high tree--it doesn't matter; you are yourself. You are needed. A grass leaf is needed as much as the biggest star. Without the grass leaf God will be less than he is. The sound of the cuckoo is needed as much as any Buddha; the world will be less, will be less rich if the cuckoo disappears.

Just look around. All is needed, and everything fits together. It is an organic unity: nobody is higher and nobody is lower, nobody superior, nobody inferior. Everybody is incomparably unique.