Is it Beneficial to be For or Against?

Sometimes I find myself opposed to the idea of separation – the idea of individuation and classification. Lao Tzu wrote that “when people see some things as good, other things become bad” and I agree wholeheartedly. The duality arises from the perception. However, to oppose the idea of separation is to oppose life itself. If I say that classification is bad, I am in fact classifying in the very same statement!

We should not see things as good or bad, but simply as they are. This includes our own actions, the actions of others, and all of our experiences in general. For sometime I fell into the trap of thinking of judgment as bad. Judgment is merely a mental occupation that can be learned from and grown out of. By classifying judgment as bad, you are in fact perpetuating judgment.

Our need to classify only complicates our existence, it diminishes our ability to perceive the truth in a given situation.

There is nothing wrong with this, it is necessary in fact. All contrast is necessary! How can I know what it is to be happy if I have never felt sad?

Contrast provides the benchmark from which all experience derives. Our perception of the contrast creates our experience. When good is contrasted with bad, I understand both. Without the contrast I understand neither – without contrast neither exist!

What would your life be like without contrast? You simply would not be able to differentiate. Contrast is education, it provides the stimulus to advance and grow. It allows us to understand two sides of the same coin. Upon understanding both sides, we can realize the unity beneath.

Contrast is not dangerous, but believing too strongly in contrast can inhibit full understanding.