WE CAN BUILD A deep spiritual practice based, not on dogmas or beliefs in things we can’t verify, but entirely on evidence. To say the the Earth is a great being is not just an idea; each of us can see this for ourselves. Each of us can see that the Earth has the qualities of endurance, stability, and inclusiveness. We can observe the Earth embracing everyone and everything without discrimination. When we say that the Earth has given birth to many great beings, including buddhas, bodhisattvas, and saints, we are not exaggerating. The Buddha, Jesus Christ, Moses, and Mohammed are all children of the Earth. How can we describe the Earth as mere matter when she has given birth to so many great beings?

When we say the Earth has created life, we know it’s only possible because she contains within herself the whole cosmos. Just as the Earth is not only the Earth, so too are we not only human. We have the Earth and the whole cosmos within us. We are made of the sun. We are made of stars. Touching this true nature of reality, we can transcend the dualistic view that the cosmos is something greater than ourselves or different from ourselves. Getting deeply in touch with the phenomenal realm, the historical dimension, we can realize our true nature of no-birth and no-death. We can transcend all fear and touch eternity.

Every advance in our understanding of ourselves, our nature, and our place in the cosmos, deepens our reverence and love. To understand and to love are two fundamental desires. Understanding has some kind of connection with love. Understanding can take us in the direction of love. When we understand and become aware of the great harmony, elegance, and beauty of the cosmos, we may feel great admiration and love. This is the most basic kind of religious feeling: it is based on evidence and our own experience. Humanity needs a kind of spirituality that we can all practice together. Dogmatism and fanaticism have been the cause of great separation and war. Misunderstanding and irreverence have been the cause of enormous injustice and destruction. In the twenty-first century it should be possible for us to come together and offer ourselves the kind of religion that can help unite all peoples and all nations, and remove all separation and discrimination. If existing religions and philosophies, as well as science, can make an effort to go in this direction, it will be possible to establish a cosmic religion based not on myth, belief, or dogma, but on evidence and the insight of interbeing. And that would be a giant leap for humankind.