earth as my witness

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. 

I will meet you there.

~ Rumi

How do you know that you’re right?

There is the “right” of righteousness, of being aligned with what is good.  This engenders feelings of superiority, of wanting to assert one’s moral authority.

There is the “right” of knowing, of being aligned with what is true.  This engenders feelings of humility, of wanting to serve what is true.

The first flatters the ego but is often blind to its own self-indulgence.  This is why righteousness can turn violent.  My race, religion, politics, beliefs, etc. being the “right” ones, justify my imposing them on you.

The second empowers in a different sense.  There is no need to impose the truth on anyone or anything because it is between you and the world, a fit that requires no external validation.  There is peace, and a kind of grace.

To be right in the moral sense belongs to the sphere of good and evil and is relative to one’s particular dogma, culture or creed.  To be right in the knowing sense is beyond good and evil, yet is the real touchstone of one's humanity.