Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.
Shunryu SuzukiRead
The cause of freedom is identified with the destinies of humanity, and in whatever part of the world it gains ground by and by, it will be a common gain to all those who desire it.
Interpretation
Freedom is a universal pursuit that benefits all of humanity regardless of geography.
This quote emphasizes that the pursuit of freedom is intrinsically linked to the fate of all human beings. When freedom is achieved in any part of the world, it reverberates positively for every person who yearns for liberty, creating a collective advancement for humanity as a whole.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for human rights.
Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.
But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all, the poorest of all beggars, the most impudent of all offenders, yea the very fiend himself— that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I myself am the enemy who must be loved— what then?
Man lives consciously for himself, but is an unconscious instrument in the attainment of the historic, universal, aims of humanity.
Hell is a half-filled auditorium.
My understanding of my faith is that - through a Christian framework - part of what we are called to do is to lay down our own self-interests, after the model of divinity that comes into this world in the form of Christ and lays down his life. And in order to do that, you have to care about something or someone more than yourself.
Premature as the question may be, it is hardly possible not to wonder whether we will find any answer to our deepest questions, any signs of the workings of an interested God, in a final theory. I think that we will not.
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