The UltraMind Solution (84 page)

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A human being is part of a whole, called by us the “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical
illusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

—
Ideas and Opinions
,
ALBERT EINSTEIN, 1954

In 1986, I traveled to Nepal as part of an expedition to study the public health problems of a small village near the Tibetan border. Along the way I encountered a remarkable man who had faced grave threats to his life and his place in the world. He was a Tibetan doctor captured in 1959 during the Chinese invasion and sent to a Chinese gulag for twenty-two years. Interested in Tibetan medicine, I had asked our guides to introduce me to this Tibetan doctor. We waited outside his office.