The world has indeed become one, but nations and cultures of the world are still at variance with each other, each adamantly maintaining its own position. Geographical, racial, social and psychological barriers are hard to come down. Yet, people are in contact with each other and must live together. There must be a unifying factor or force to show the way to harmonious relationship. One of the ways, perhaps, is to reassess the nature and function of metaphysics. So as we are in the last decade of the 20th century and will soon enter the 21st century, it might be a good idea to review the metaphysical foundations of East and West. The metaphysical foundations are important clues to understanding cultural differences. Heretofore, the concept of metaphysics has been understood in the traditional sense of substance, object, subject, world, space, time, etc. and many have been turned away from it because of its technical language and consequences. In this essay, I argue for a novel type of metaphysics: an organic metaphysics. The ideas, indeed elements, of organic metaphysics are seen abundantly in Chinese and Buddhist thought. Some of these are the concept of change, yin-yang phenomenon, non-action, non-being, vacuity, humanity, constant mean, wheel of life, emptiness, Buddha-nature, non-self and compassion. The true understanding of these must inevitably lodge in an organic metaphysics since these terms simply defy ordinary logic and sensibility. One of the great assets of an organic metaphysics is that it helps one to overcome dichotomizing one's experience and the world. This habit of dichotomization in perception is so ingrained that it will take a huge effort and time to resolve it. One bright note here is that meditative discipline, a contribution of the East, is picking up steadily in the West. Similar efforts must be promoted to benefit both the realms of man and nature.
