The philosophical foundations laid and conclusions drawn in Jiaya’s political philosophy are not deductions from its ontology. They are derived from observations of reality: the historical, material, and social conditions that have shaped humanity and brought us to where we are in the present; patterns of flourishing and fragmentation that have accumulated across civilizations, cultures, and millennia.

Jiayan political philosophy and ontology are not inextricably linked but they are linked just the same. If I were to put it succinctly, one can affirm its political philosophy without accepting its metaphysical claims but the politico-economic aspects necessarily follow from the ontology. When one accepts the interdependent nature of reality, the dichotomy between skillful and unskillful acts (those which contribute to flourishing and those which actively diminish it) becomes apparent. One may choose to act unskillfully of course, but to do so ultimately hurts the possibility for one’s own flourishing within the relational web.

Jiaya’s ontology is inferred from lived human experience. These are not baseless claims conjured out of the ether. Quite the opposite. The structure of reality, which I refer to as Ji to avoid giving any one tradition preeminence, is revealed through history: systems built on domination, extraction, and the denial of interdependence tend toward fragmentation and collapse, while those that reflect relational truth tend toward greater stability, dignity, and flourishing. The coherent and reconciliatory nature is gleaned from these patterns, not imposed upon them.

Within the broader Jiayan framework, philosophy and cosmology are mutually reinforcing. Each leads credibility to the other. A reader who finds the cosmology unconvincing, even though its conclusions are drawn from human relations, is not excluded from the political dimension. I would be remiss not to point out, of course, that one of the main reasons I formulated Jiaya was to address the crisis of meaning in the modern West and there’s no doubt in my mind that a drop in spirituality has played a part in that. I believe that one who accepts both aspects — the cosmology and the philosophy — will be spiritually invigorated while gaining a practical set of tools to work with in the process.