Existence cannot be truly understood in pieces; it is an indivisible totality of all existing matter, energy, and space.
The Uni-verse is a single entity. It is a vast collective entity where everything (planets, stars, you, and me) is "turned" or combined into one. Diverse, separate things rolled together into a single, unified whole.
In Zen, the "Uni" (One) isn't a number (like 1 vs. 2); it represents non-duality (advaita in Hinduism). Zen teaches that this separation is a mental construct. You are not in the universe; you are a "turning" of the universe. Just as a wave is not separate from the ocean, you are a temporary shape the "One" is taking (“Ik Omkar” in Sikhism).
If the universe is a single entity "turned into one," then you cannot move a single pebble without affecting the whole. This is the Zen concept of interconnectedness.
Paradoxically, Zen teaches that because the universe is a single, unified "One," it is also empty (Sunyata).
It is "empty" of separate parts.
If you try to find a "thing" that exists all by itself, independent of everything else, you won't find it. Everything depends on everything else to exist.
The cloud hides in a dewdrop. Fire is hidden in wood. Every leaf, grain of sand in the desert is the Sun.
Here’s a Zen-inspired exercise designed to collapse the distance between "you" and "the universe."
The "Single Entity" Shift :
Pick a Sound: Close your eyes for a moment and find a single, steady sound in your environment. It could be the hum of a refrigerator, a distant car, or even your own breathing.
Stop Labeling: Usually, your brain says, "I (the subject) am hearing a noise (the object)." This creates two separate things. Stop calling it "noise" or "car." Just experience the raw vibration.
Find the Border: Ask yourself: Where does the sound end and my hearing begin?
If you look closely, you can’t find a physical "line" where the vibration of the air stops and your awareness starts.
The sound and the listener are turned into one single event.
The Realization: In that moment, there is no "you" and "the world." There is only Hearing. You are not observing the universe; you are the place where the universe is currently "turning" into sound.
When you stop "turning away" from the present moment to think about the past or future, you become the Universe in its original sense: a single entity, rolling forward. This is the shift from "doing" to "being" the whole.
This is why Zen masters often say: "When the bell rings, there is no bell and no 'I', there is only the ringing."
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