Common identity
If you and I find common ground as human beings,
we will communicate on a basic level.
If I say, "I am a monk,"or "I am a Buddhist," these are,
in comparison to my nature as a human being, temporary.
To be human is basic, the foundation from which we all arise.
You are born as a human being,
and cannot change that until death.
All else --
whether you are educated or uneducated,
young or old, rich or poor --
is secondary.
-- Dalai Lama
