Oneness.
It is so easy to say, “We are all one.” Actually, it is easy to repeat anything we’ve heard! But how do we actually see it? Whatever conclusion we come to, it is certain that this it may be refined.
So, how to see oneness?
We all have the potential of Buddha nature: awake – empty essence, cognisant nature and unconfined compassion. But this hasn’t manifest yet for all of us. When we all achieved Buddhahood, we will all be at one… “All be AT one!” Not all the same.
When we read about great teachers, every disciple realised what the master had taught, and went on to manifest in their own way. Examples of this are Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milapera, Gampopa, Karmapa, regents, Karmapa, regents…. and that is just the Karma Kagyu lineage.
It is said also that an enlightened being can manifest 100,000 emanations. Those could possibly be all one!
There are two other ways to look at this:
There is one, when there is zero: if we rest in emptiness (no ‘me’) then there is only other. And so we are at one with other. We can all do this by just listening!
The other aspect is the unity of the two truths, relative truth and ultimate truth. One is recognised by virtue of the other. The ultimate nature of everything is emptiness.
Many mention the word ‘oneness’ – “We are all one!” – and then proceed to take lumps out of one another 😉
Perhaps we could say, “We are all Zero!”
NB. Saying we are all the same, may blunt our aspiration when our natural temperament is not like others. Or it can put us under pressure to achieve something that isn’t possible, and thereby keeping us feel inadequate and guilty.
Conclusion: being at one, is being at peace with one’s self – one’s relative side.
BUDDHA IN THE MUD is a blog - a living book based on the Dzogchen teachings. Our teacher is life, and life is karma. We are all Buddhas in the mud of concepts. 
Hello Tony! I think what i’m about to say is relevant 😉
Reading this took me back to the early 80s when I was teaching young children, and there was a huge emphasis on what was called “multicultural education”. On one of the training courses I did, we were told to ensure that, when exposing the children to images as part of a topic on, for example Houses, we emphasised the similarities rather than differences. So when looking at housing in countries in, say, Africa, we should show pictures of urban areas where the children could see housing styles with which they were familiar, so that they felt the human race was all the same. We are all one because we all live in the same kinds of shelters…
This trend did not last, and soon moved to encouraging respect for difference – that yes, we may all be human and that is the unifying factor, but that we are all different. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the children’s story of Elmer the Elephant, but the theme of that is that we are loved because of our differences and not in spite of them.
Sorry – I’ve rambled. But I really appreciate the way in which you have tackled this touchy topic. I wonder how much guilt plays a part in the message of “We are all one”…a subtle pressure to gloss over past wrong doings and just join together in a group hug.
Daisy
Hello Daisy,
It would be wonderful to all hug and be at one with one another, but that could become a bit…sticky!:-) A sense of oneness can happen for a moment or two and then we separate, and that’s ok. We can dance and sing together in harmony, and that’s ok.
When someone want to be ‘oneness’ it feels a little smothering – they want me to be like them.
Of course this is on a relative level.
When we become enlightened,we can let can let one another know how it feels!…oh? If we were all one you should know how it feels already!!!:-)
Tony