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Well, my view is that the universe is invariably interconnected. We are bound to the outcomes arising from cause and effect. However, we are also capable of free will, but are generally bound by the choices we make.
We are a sum of our choices, and we are often unable to dictate the conditions surrounding these choices. We do have the power to influence this to some degree, however.
By taking personal responsibility, by seeing through delusion, by overcoming emotional attachment, we can become powerful beings who are prepared to respond to what comes before us in the universe.
Consequently, I do not see the universe as being or being conducted by a deity. I see the universe as a dynamic material reality populated by sentient beings with the capacity to make their own choices within this universe. However, it is the emotional attachment to this material reality that can lead us to delusion and can cloud our thinking.
We must come to terms with the fact that our existence is temporary and ever-changing. Is this something we should long for and grasp after throughout our entire lives?
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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