deeper and deeper into delusion by their desires, they create bad karma and much misery for themselves. With so many people like this, suffering, turbulence, and woe in the world will continue. On the other hand, when we look from the Buddhist perspective, we soon realize that one is many, and many are one? The basic nature of everything is entirely complete and fulfilled. All things are created in the same way, and all things partake of the same underlying reality. When a leader from a small country like Luxembourg or Singapore visits a large country like France or the United States, he is treated with the same respect that a leader from a large country would be accorded. When nations want to get along with one another, it does not matter if one nation is large or small or whether it has a large population or not. Each has intrinsic worth. Each is valuable. This is true equality, because there is no difference between one and many. The rain forests in Brazil have largely been protected through the efforts of the United Nations and other organizations. Those forests are part of Brazil, but since they profoundly affect the climate and health of our entire planet, they really are a concern for all of us in the world. In the news, we often hear about large political demonstrations involving thousands of people. Sometimes these demonstrations can become quite heated and emotional, but at the single word of a respected leader, they usually dissipate almost immediately. In contrast, a cruel dictator with thousands of troops on his side can be overthrown if the will of the people is strong. The one cannot be separated from the many, nor the many from the one. The "four little dragons" (Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore) of Asia are examples of nations with
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