A facet of Buddhist thought connects high schooler Kayleigh Yee positively to the people and the world around her.
There is a concept in Buddhism called “oneness” that has always been fascinating to me. The idea of oneness is that every living being in the world is connected to one another. I like to think of it as a cause and effect relationship; if something happens to one of us, we all feel the impact. For some, that impact will be large, for others, that impact will be minute, but nonetheless, we will all be impacted in a way.
For example, if my neighbor decides to plant a tree in their backyard, it will have a rather large impact on my life. it might provide some nice shade on a sunny day or it might block my view of the horizon. But that tree won’t just affect me, it will also impact everyone else by providing clean air for everyone to breathe in. Furthermore, if I really like my neighbor’s tree, I might be in a good mood which will affect my behavior towards others I encounter, which will then affect their behavior towards people they encounter, and so on and so forth.
And that is the main crux of oneness: Everything that we do will have a ripple effect on others. I think that regardless of personal religion, everyone can take the concept of oneness to heart. Knowing that what we do will have some sort of effect on everyone else can help us grow and develop into better people. In addition, it can also make us feel more connected to everyone. If I go through a positive or negative experience, there is likely someone else who is going through a similar experience since we are all connected to one another.
A lot of times, oneness encourages me to be a better person. If I can make one person’s day better, then I know that through oneness, that person might make another person’s day better, and so on. I think that oneness is a great way to encourage us all to do something positive, no matter how small, because a small action such as complimenting someone or a bigger action such as planting a tree can positively affect the world.
With a Perspective, I’m Kayleigh Yee.
Kayleigh Yee attends Independence High School in San Francisco. Her piece was produced with free curriculum from KQED’s Perspectives Youth Media Challenge.