Nature, Reality, & Buddhism

[takso]

[takso]

Your Eyes Cannot See Your Own Eyes

The world we live in is dependent, whether we like it or not.  Our body is a machine that decodes information relentlessly until the very end of our life, without us even realising it.  To put it simply, there will be input and output processes involved, which reflect the nature of dependent things.

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In Buddhism, the mind is the precursor to all things.  Without the mind, there is no existence; that is what it signifies.  If we can neutralise the mind's senses one day, all phenomena will fade away.  At this point, the realm of suffering that was once insurmountable is over.

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The cause of all phenomena is now clear to you.  Our mind is the cause, let's face it.  Your mental faculties need to be fed well for everything to turn out well.  This task won't be easy to execute, as our mind is like a wild monkey, always flying around.  The only available tool to manage our minds is meditation.

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It's time to wake up, and now is the time!  You are right next to the beautiful world, waiting for you.  Don't miss out on this amazing chance.  Moreover, it's a fact that you only live once, YOLO.  

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The results (phenomena) differ from person to person when observing the same thing.

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No Mind, No Existence

René Descartes' well-known statement, “I think, therefore I am,” states that the act of thinking confirms our existence.  Descartes concludes that his existence is certain due to his thinking, but in what form?  His body is perceived through his senses, but they have previously been unreliable.  So, Descartes establishes that one's indivisible knowledge is that of being a thinker. His primary activity revolves around thinking, and his power comes from his essence.  In a nutshell, what I thought I was seeing with my eyes is only interpreted by the judgmental faculties in my mind.

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Let's take a look at the following phrases:

For the Master, I am a Servant,

For the Teacher, I am a Student,

For the Buddha, I am Empty.

 

Frankly, the I, you, or us (five khandhas) are closely associated with the process of becoming in the domains of existence.  The mind and body would evolve depending on the conditional phenomena, just as ice, water, and steam appear ephemeral about the orientation of H2O properties.  Eventually, the phenomenon exists as this or that, depending on the observers.  It’s like describing the same elephant by different blind people, namely, a blind person can tell that an elephant looks like a tree trunk; another blind person would describe an elephant as a snake.

 

In light of that, who am I truly?  A simple answer would be: “I am what I am”.  The applicable principle: “If you think this is who I am, then I am”, and “If you know this is what I am, then I am”.  The phenomena that happen are very much linked to the consciousness that perceives them.  However, a fully awake state of mind does not need labels, colours, names, perceptions, conceptions, stereotypes, etc.  In other words, all things and matters would be perceived with the highest degree of equanimity without hesitation.

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The Conundrum of Existence

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What exists is defined as what may be known to the mind, or else it does not exist.  Conventionally, things can exist within the limits of the mind as untruth or fact.  For example, in a room, there are two individuals, namely Individual A (Mind A) and Individual B (Mind B).  Suppose that Person A holds a bullet, and that bullet is hidden from Person B. In that case, the bullet exists in the room since it is already known to Individual A (Mind A).  However, the bullet does not exist in the room if you were to pose the question to Individual B (Mind B).  In the end, it is the mind that is responsible for the phenomena or existence, and things are not intrinsic and do not exist without the consciousness that perceives them.

For general comprehension, there are two sides to the truth, namely conventional truth and ultimate truth.  Before expressing one’s viewpoint, it is imperative to side with the truth, respectively.  For example, we agree that there exists a duality or a multiplicity of circumstances within a conventional perspective.  Hence, nibbāna is a phenomenon because we speak, as a subject, on the other side of the object or matter.  In other words, the subject reflects upon the object or matter, namely, a phenomenon occurs.  At the same time, we could also agree on the lack of duality or multiplicity of circumstances from an ultimate point of view.  In such a case, nibbāna is not a phenomenon and thus does not exist.  This is due to the lack of a subject that would reflect on the object or matter.
 

At the end, your observation and conclusion will always be yours, and my observation and conclusion will always be mine.  Dependent nature has no consistent results of observation and conclusion.  This is the real essence of conventional reality, i.e., there is no distinction between right and wrong; it's just a matter of perspective.  Therefore, there are no absolutes; it means the best of the best isn’t necessarily the best.  Like the Chinese saying, “Beyond mountain/mountains there is/are mountain/mountains” or “There is always a mountain higher than this one (一山还有一山高)”. 

[takso]

Let Go vs. Give Up

Buddhists believe that letting go is a good starting point for spiritual liberation.  To ease suffering, a fervent Buddhist must accept the importance of letting go of things or issues.  Unfortunately, some Buddhist followers who are not well-educated often feel uncertain about letting go and giving up.

 

To be honest, giving up is usually a response, but letting go is a conscious choice. Similarly, “not to hope” is called pure disengagement, while “abandoning hope” is about the disengagement that comes after entanglement.  Their subtle distinction is confined to the moment when they engage in gripping activities.

 

In Buddhism, dukkha is associated with suffering (enduring), and letting go is the opposite of it.  To succeed in letting go, it is crucial to practise vipassanā meditation whenever possible.  This meditation is primarily focused on the typical thought process of relinquishing perceptiveness in real-life realities.

 

It can be practised by microscopically and macroscopically observing things or events; that is, the mind would enter into full observation without identifying the stream of thought (the subtle mental consciousness).  Eventually, the mental consciousness would attain full mindfulness through pure awareness. 

 

In this way, one would be liberated spiritually by not succumbing to any conditional circumstances.  With a great deal of sustained and continuous effort over several life cycles, it is possible to liberate the mental consciousness.  Ultimately, there is a complete lack of circumstances, and it’s like being in balance, that is, nibbāna.

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Dependent Origination
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The phrase “cause and effect” is becoming somewhat of a cliché in today’s society.  Often, people blame “kamma” for any failures or deviations from the plan.  In Buddhism, kamma is described as a volitional activity, while vipaka refers to its later outcome.  This means that there is a deliberate action that provokes a powerful reaction.  To better understand kamma-vipaka, it is necessary to study the mind as it is a forerunner of all states. 

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Generally speaking, kamma (actions) result in consequences, with positive actions leading to positive outcomes and negative actions leading to negative outcomes, both now and in the future.  The idea of kamma is essentially a component of dependent origination, specifically how volitional actions impact future experiences.  To gain a better understanding of how our actions have ripple effects on the surroundings and beyond, let’s investigate the mechanism of dependent origination.

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In Buddhism, Dependent Origination is referred to as a principle of interrelated causality.  It explicates that all phenomenal existences are products of the proper combination of causes and conditions.  Each of the causes would need other causes to be present together with their respective conditions.  Let’s look at these causal relationships:

 

Equanimity (E0) leads to stability.  Stability leads to aggregation.  Aggregation leads to agitation.  Agitation leads to information.  Information leads to knowledge.  Knowledge leads to representation.  Representation leads to memory.  Memory leads to compulsion.  Compulsion leads to ignorance.  Ignorance leads to blindness.  Blindness leads to disorientation.  Disorientation leads to confusion.  Confusion leads to irrationality.  Irrationality leads to impulse.  Impulse leads to sparkling.  Sparkling leads to inkling.  Inkling leads to volition.  Volition leads to awareness.  Awareness leads to consciousness.  Consciousness leads to manas.  Manas leads to mind and body.  Mind and body lead to sensation.  Sensation leads to six sense bases.  Six sense bases lead to conductivity.  Conductivity leads to contact.  Contact leads to stimulation.  Stimulation leads to feeling.  Feeling leads to experience.  Experience leads to craving.  Craving leads to grasping.  Grasping leads to clinging.  Clinging leads to unsettling.  Unsettling leads to becoming.  Becoming leads to creation.  Creation leads to birth.  Birth leads to energising.  Energising leads to mobility.  Mobility leads to hauling.  Hauling leads to aging.  Aging leads to draining.  Draining leads to death.  Death leads to fragility.  Fragility leads to segregation.  Segregation leads to diffusion.  Diffusion leads to discomposure.  Discomposure leads to adjustment.  Adjustment leads to alignment.  Alignment leads to equanimity (E1).

 

In a dependent nature, everything is a matrix of everything, and all things or matters co-arise interdependently.  As such, it is essential to view Dependent Origination from a correct perspective that does not construct narratives out of a series of linear events. It’s important to emphasise that any of the causes would necessitate the presence of other causes and their respective conditions.  Therefore, Dependent Origination can never be deciphered as that kind of an eye for an eye justice because one cause is never enough to bring about an effect.  In conventional reality, all things will co-exist interdependently across a complex web of existence.