The One Misunderstanding Behind All Universal, Worldly, and Personal Problems.
Every universal, worldly, and personal problem experienced by human beings — conflict, fear, anxiety, greed, injustice, violence, war, depression, and despair — shares a single root.
Not dozens of roots.
Not thousands.
One.
This root is not political.
Not economic.
Not cultural.
Not technological.
It is a misunderstanding about who and what we are.
Until this misunderstanding is recognized, problems will continue to reappear in new forms, even when old ones seem solved.
Problems Are Not Ultimately External
A person can become wealthy.
They can move to another country.
They can change careers, relationships, governments, or environments.
Yet the same fundamental struggles often return.
Why?
Because problems do not originate in places, systems, or other people.
They originate in misperception.
Specifically:
The belief that I exist as a separate, independent self.
The belief that others exist as separate, independent selves.
The belief that the world exists independently from me.
This belief feels obvious.
But it has almost never been examined.
What Would a Separate Self Require?
For something to truly exist as a separate self, it must be:
A singular, unified thing
Self-created
Independent of other things and conditions
Let’s test this honestly.
Can a Person Be Found as a Singular Entity?
A body contains:
Organs
Cells
Molecules
Atoms
Which one is the person?
The brain?
The heart?
One cell?
No single unit can be isolated.
The mind contains:
Thoughts
Emotions
Sensations
Memories
All changing.
Which moment is “me”?
No singular entity appears.
Can a Person Create Themselves?
No one creates themselves.
Every person depends on:
Parents
Food
Water
Air
Sunlight
Culture
Language
Nothing arises by its own power.
Can a Person Exist Without Labels?
Before words such as:
“Human”
“Person”
“Me”
“My body”
What exists?
Color
Shape
Sensation
Movement
Sound
The labels come afterward.
They arise in the mind.
They do not come from the body itself.
So the person exists conventionally through labeling — not inherently as a separate self.
The Same Is True for Everything
A tree is not a singular entity.
It is:
Roots
Trunk
Branches
Leaves
Cells
Molecules
Which one is the tree?
“Tree” is a label placed on parts.
A mountain.
A river.
A planet.
All are collections of parts, labeled as one thing.
Nowhere can an independently existing object be found.
Only interdependent processes.
The Same Is True for Awareness
Many people feel:
“I am the awareness behind experience.”
Let’s look.
There is:
Seeing — of something
Hearing — of something
Thinking — of something
Sensing — of something
Have you ever encountered awareness without any object?
No.
Awareness and experience always arise together.
So awareness is not an independent observer.
It is also dependently arising.
What This Reveals
No separate self can be found.
No separate others can be found.
No separate world can be found.
There are experiences.
There are appearances.
There is unfolding.
But no independent entities.
This is what traditions have called:
Emptiness
Dependent arising
Nonduality
Not meaning nothing exists.
But meaning nothing exists independently.
Why This Single Misunderstanding Creates All Problems
If I believe I am a separate self:
I must protect myself.
I must secure resources.
I must defend identity.
I must compete.
Groups form.
“We” versus “them.”
From this arise:
Greed
Fear
Racism
Exploitation
Violence
War
Not because humans are evil.
But because humans are operating from a false model of reality.
What Happens When the Misunderstanding Ends
If no separate self can be found:
Who is the enemy?
If no separate essence exists:
Who is fundamentally “other”?
Harming another no longer makes sense.
Compassion stops being an ideal.
It becomes natural.
Cooperation becomes natural.
Care becomes natural.
Differences Do Not Mean Separation
Skin color.
Language.
Culture.
Personality.
Body shape.
These are appearances.
Not separate essences.
They are reality expressing itself in different forms.
Like waves on one ocean.
No wave owns its shape.
No wave is separate from water.
Why This Belongs at the Center of Education
Children learn:
Math.
Science.
History.
But rarely learn:
To examine what a self actually is.
Once this simple investigation becomes part of education:
Future wars lose their cause.
Future exploitation loses its logic.
Future large-scale suffering loses its foundation.
A Simple Experiment
Right now:
Notice color.
Notice sound.
Notice sensation.
Notice thought.
Look for a separate “me.”
Look for a separate “world.”
Only experience appears.
This is not belief.
This is observation.
The Deeper Conclusion
All universal, worldly, and personal problems arise from one misunderstanding:
Believing in separate existence.
When this belief dissolves, problems do not need to be “managed.”
They stop being produced.
In that sense, problems truly belong in museums:
As artifacts of a time when humanity did not yet understand itself.
When the illusion of separation ends, suffering ends at its root.
Not someday.
Now.
