All this time our culture tends to blame an entity called the "devil" for our misfortunes or simply when everything doesn't go our way. That devil has different names in different cultures: Mara for Buddhism; Iblīs for Islam; Kali Yuga for Hinduism; and of course Satan for Christianity. Is there really such an entity? Perhaps yes, because different cultures from different parts of the world came up with this idea. But where is the devil?
In my childhood days I always wondered if this evil entity really exists. I remember my high school teacher's answer to this. He said that man is naturally good, so, why would a man commit such cruel acts? There is only one reason: There is Satan, the devil that tempts us to do evil. Then I asked myself: Why don't I sense this Satan? Then as I think of this question, as if knowing what I was thinking, my teacher said: Satan is invisible to us because he is like God or more like the angels. He is formerly the right hand of God; but in the thirst for power he betrayed God. Now he is trying to tempt people to join him in his struggle against God. Be careful he is always watching you to seize an opportunity to make you do evil things!
Back then I didn't know why, but I felt a strong sense of uneasiness. It feels like something is missing in this story. Despite that my life went on believing in what my teacher said. In the long years of blaming the devil for my urges to do bad things, suddenly one incident happened. One of my supposedly calm teachers went berserk in our class. Perhaps he got angry because our class scanned the test paper results way before he permitted us to do so. While he was shouting at us so intensely it felt strange because we never experienced this kind of outburst coming from him. We believe that he was supposed to be this patient and humorous teacher. However during that moment we see a different side to him. To me it feels like it is not a different side to him but it was a totally different person. Surprisingly, I was not overwhelmed by the anger of this teacher. Then I had this rhetorical question: Was he possessed by the devil? Maybe we did not see it coming but perhaps we too were possessed by the devil to generate an opportunity for the devil to come in to our teacher and create this "sinful" situation. It was a striking speculation for me at that time, because I knew how this so called devil worked. But after a few moments our teacher walk out the third party observation was blown away by a realization of what our current situation is. I suddenly feared what may happen next, so I totally forgot what I was thinking earlier.
My picture of the true nature of the devil is comes into form starting from there. That time I had a notion: the devil is not tempting us from the outside but it comes into us or possesses us to do what they called "sinful" deeds. But again it took me a few more years before I realize the true nature of the devil.
After I got into college I became this person who hates the world for it's corruption and violence. I realized how absurd the history of mankind is. Scan your history books and see how an ideology of a person killed more than 100 million people. We can see that when a person is given absolute power he becomes absolutely corrupt and violent.
Back then I viewed the world then as a web of wrong doings. The capitalist creating products that harms our health for the sake of profit. Presidents who put themselves into position just to gain more money and more influence, ignoring their real role of service for the country. The world bank who seems to be helping poor countries by lending money but ended up making them "poorer" by plunging them into debt and forever chaining them to the world bank. Wars that are supposedly a last resort to stop violence is frequently used for various political and religious reasons. All of this things done by those with power causes economic downfalls. This economic downfall plunges humans into poverty. This poverty causes families to crumble. In third world countries parents are force to go abroad just to support their family; other parents goes to work for so long that they can no longer take care of their children. Perhaps, the worst case is for people to do crimes in order to feed their family. All this pain and suffering in the world is caused by the way those in people organize the political and economic balance of the world. I don't how the system really works but so far it only brought about more poverty and did not lessen the wars. This only means that this so called action to balance the political and economic side of the world is a means of expansion of influence and income for those in power.
At the moment I saw all this I had a conclusion: There is no entity outside us called the devil, humans themselves are the one causing this madness. Humans themselves are the devils. This web of suffering and violence is caused nothing more by the innate behavior of humans: greed. At that time I began to hate the human race including myself for being such greedy creatures. I thought to myself perhaps humans will destroy themselves in a nuclear war if this greed cannot be stopped.
For me at that time life is like a nightmare because I believed that it is built in human nature to be the devil themselves. Fortunately, it only took me a while to wake up from this nightmare. As my life goes on I began to notice again the act of little compassion people are giving off to others. I did not notice all this when I was in my nightmare. Perhaps my pessimistic view of life blinded me from this. But as time goes by that rigid pessimism is little be little weakening. And the main wake up is an incident with my family. My family got in the quarrel about the issue of money which is very grave for us. At that moment I experienced a similar feeling with my teacher in high school. The third person perspective gave me this chance to see what is really happening. The issue here is all about the lack of money. Blaming and demands against each other sprout out of desperation to solve the situation.
The situation is really kind of strange and absurd because I know what they are all really feeling and thinking and yet none of their words sink in with that. It appears to me that they are not themselves. They are not able to know what they really feel and they just follow this instinctive impulse to defend the position they are in. It is quite strange but in that position dwells a false sense of self. And that artificial self, for some reason that does not want to lose. It craves for more arguing and fighting; more pain and suffering. This artificial self prolongs the fight or make it even worst to generate more separation and evoke more pain and suffering. Now I see it. That is why this argument is lasting so long because this artificial self needs arguments. I don't know where this came from but it seems like an entity inside them that goes into active mode whenever there is an opportunity to generate pain and suffering. And now it goes active and everyone is possessed by this. The need to be right, the need to hurt each other, the need to infect others with negativity, all of this is not in their nature. It is really strange because I have this knowing that artificial self is not really them. Deep inside me there is this knowing that my parents and siblings are not this kind of people. I have felt it. For the longest time that I was with my family I felt each of their genuine self. Then I realize there is a simple solution to this problem; make them realize what they truly feel. I had this intuition that if I just bring about a little light so that they can really see what each of them is feeling, their genuine self will emerge. Then this fight constructed by their artificial self will be dissolved and rendered meaningless by their genuine self.
Then out of the moment I shouted some words that shows directly how each person feels. Then suddenly a brief moment of silence comes. The feeling of heaviness goes away and it seems that they recognize the artificial self inside them. It's kind of funny. They make this face that seems to tell me: "What the heck was I doing?". Then suddenly after realizing what the real situation is, they began crying as if releasing all the tension brought about by the artificial self. Then I said to myself: "This is it. At last they are back to their genuine self." Then I began crying myself because of the relief I felt.
In that experience I had a realization. All human interactions are corrupted by this artificial sense of self. All arguments and misunderstandings comes from not recognizing this. Temptations and urges to do "bad" things comes from this artificial self. Whenever we get in a state of negativity we lose ourselves and that is the time we do this "bad" things. What happens when you lose yourself? Someone else takes over you that is not really you. Perhaps that is why when people do something bad, after that event they tell other that they were not themselves or the devil tempted them. Maybe there is a knowing deep inside them that the self that they are during the bad act was not really them, but some alien entity that took possession of them.
This realization made my doubts vanished. Everything made sense. The devil is not an invisible entity outside us. It is something built in the human psyche. Perhaps this psyche of humans live long before the concept of an evil entity was invented. It may be a long history on how this psyche was generated. But now that we have psychology we can clearly recognize that. Perhaps it is another personality that we created to cope with pain and suffering. Unfortunately this personality took over us and became a part of our sense of self. This artificial sense of self has grown to be a monster; for humans were not able to recognize for the longest time. Unknowingly, we activate this artificial self whenever we feel a sense of lack because we believe that it is the only way to cope with the pain and suffering that the sense of lack brought about. Since this artificial self's only role is to cope with suffering it generates more suffering in order to fulfill it's role more effectively. That is why something in humans looks for pain and suffering, its because of this artificial self, that lives only for that purpose. This self has grown so much in us that we believe that this is part of us; not knowing that this is like a split personality.
This artificial self is not us, it is a dysfunction in us. A dysfunction that became a part of the collective human psyche and now everyone considers it as normal. But how can this be normal? Craving for pain and suffering is that really normal for humans? No, pain and suffering is a part of life; however, it is not innate for humans to crave for it. It is not in our nature to crave suffering we created that self of ours that wants it. This craving is artificial, generated by the monster we created. This is the so called devil. Ancient people already knows this. That is why there are a lot of teachings that points to the concept of avoiding or destroying this devil; for there is already a knowing back then that this devil is not natural. But now we can discover that this devil is within us.
“The heart of man is the place the devil dwells in; I feel sometimes a hell within myself”
-Thomas Browne, Sr.
The devil is in the human psyche. We can recognize and dissolve it by recognizing that we are not that devil but the one who is aware of that. With this we can stop creating suffering for ourselves. Let's stop creating hell here on earth and perhaps if we do that we can create heaven here on earth.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Reality as It is
Often we miss reality for what it is. Reality never tries to hide anything from anybody. Reality always speaks the truth; however, mental abstraction filters this reality. Through the process of abstraction, the mind reduces reality to a concept and often people confuse that concept for the thing itself. We will clarify this confusion in order to be aware of what is reality as it is.
What do you mean by "Reality as it is"?
We may classify reality into two: reality outside the mind, and reality inside the mind. The first one indicates reality that exists independently from the mind. The later indicates thoughts and concepts that describes or points to reality outside the mind. In other words reality inside the mind is how reality appears to us; while, reality outside the mind is how reality "is" in actuality. "Reality as it is" is referring to the "actual reality", which is the reality outside the mind.
Are you implying that my thoughts are different from what reality actually is?
Yes, reality inside the mind is a representation of the reality outside the mind or we could say that it's a small piece of reality. For example when you see an apple there will be two things in your mind: an image of an apple and the word "apple". This two things are not "the apple" but a representation of the actual apple. In other words the it's just a concept of the apple it cannot contain the true essence of the actual apple.
But thoughts seems to be the only thing that we can use to conceive reality?
Thoughts aids us in conceiving reality; however, it is not the only way of perceiving it. While you are eating an apple, you taste it's flavor through your taste buds. The juicy yet crunchy apple brings about a sweet and sour flavor into your mouth. Then now your mind interprets it as delicious. In the process of eating you are not thinking about the process we talked about. You are directly experiencing it. In this sense we could see the gap, in terms of vastness, of a thought about reality and the actual reality. For the word "delicious" cannot contain your taste experience of eating the apple neither your memory of its taste. It will take as long as the process I mentioned earlier just to describe it's taste. But even that cannot encompass your whole experience of eating it.
Are you a saying that we need to get rid of our thoughts to conceive this actual reality?
You don't need to get rid of thoughts, you just need to conceive reality beyond your thoughts. The main purpose of thoughts is to interpret reality. And the usual way to interpret reality is to relate it with a concept from the past. In the example we gave earlier. You arrive at the word "delicious" because of your past experiences of tasting food. We could say that when you eat something that is pleasant to your taste buds, it can be called delicious. Through your past experiences you set a standard to con notate what is delicious from what is not. There is nothing wrong with this process as long as you do not limit the apple to the concept delicious. It can be that when you are eating an apple, you give your attention so much to your thoughts or your concept of delicious, that you miss the whole experience of tasting it. You no longer really taste the apple. You are just consuming it. In this way you miss the actual taste of the apple all is left is the thought of it. This may seem irrelevant in your life but this "missing" of the actual reality starts the confusions and misunderstandings that is happening in our lives.
Going beyond thoughts? Is that possible?
Of course, I'm sure that every once in a while everyone experienced something that goes beyond thinking. For example when you go on vacation. You start sight seeing and you encounter this view that is so amazing that your thoughts seizes. All that you are doing at the moment is enjoying the view with your senses. Try to remember any kind of experience that causes the cessation of your thoughts. In this kind of experiences you have gone beyond thought. You perceived reality not by your past concept of a beautiful view but for its actual beauty right at that moment. In this way you see the true essence of things that cannot be fully contained in any descriptions or concepts. This essence of reality is what brings about the "awe" that is felt in that kind of experience.
What do you mean by the true essence?
The word "essence" comes from the ancient Greek phrase to ti ēn einai meaning "what it is for a thing to be". This statement means that "essence" is an attribute of a thing that lets it be, and without that attribute, the thing will lose its existence. You may ask: What attribute of a thing is so important that it's existence relies solely upon it?
Lets go back to the apple. What attribute of the apple is the most important? Is the substance of the apple it's essence? If the substance of the apple is the essence what part? The flesh, skin, or the seeds? Or is it the quality of the apple? Is the apple's color, taste, smell or texture what makes it an apple? Is the reason or cause of it's existence its essence? I would say that it goes beyond all of that, because the essence of the apple is the whole of it. And the "whole" apple cannot be contained by just saying words that refer to its cause, substance and quality. To put it simply the essence of a thing is it's totality. It's totality is also it's reality. So essence is synonymous to reality. In this sense we could say that the essence of a thing is it's actual reality.
So what is Reality then?
Reality is everything that is or everything that has a being. Reality can be clearly defined. But all of this definitions is only a concept that points to it. We can create concepts that best defines or describe reality but whatever we do it cannot be completely known by the human mind. For example: When you are looking at a flower you perceive it with your senses and say: "Oh, that's a flower." In that act, all we can know about the flower is it's name, it's color, it's shape, the sounds it makes, it's texture, it's odor, and it's taste. Do you think that "everything about the flower" is only limited with those things? A Botanist will strongly argue that there is more to that flower than what you perceive. But do you think the Botanist knows everything about the flower? Of course not, that is why botanist still studies them because they are aware that they can know more about it. Reality is so vast that even Botanists who devotes almost all of their lives to study plants, which is just part of reality, will concede to admit that there is more to know about it. Even the great scientist Einstein conceded to our limitation of knowing reality. In his dialogue:
“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.”
So it is very limiting to just equate reality for what we conceive it to be.
At best I would say that humans have successfully created ideas and concepts about reality. This concepts explain reality by generating principles out of it, or by just simply describing it. But all of this cannot contain the fullness of reality. In the level of mind we cannot know about this fullness of reality. In order to get a glimpse of it intellectually all we can do is to make ideas or concepts that points to it.
You mentioned the vastness of reality that is beyond human comprehension. Isn't there a possibility that we cannot really know or conceive of the actual reality?
Philosophers in the past have already thought of this problem. They say that we cannot be sure that what we perceive outside is what really "is" outside. This is coming from a premise: Perhaps our senses deceive us. This may be true; however, I would not say our senses are deceiving us, I would say that our senses are limited.
Science is slowly unraveling that our universe, by it's nature, is not really what it appears to be for us. The universe is said to be compose of vibrating matter. Reality then is like wave forms unlike our view which is solid and rigid. Our brain, through our sense, is said to just interpret this vibration. It forms for us a 3 dimensional spacial view of reality, which appears solid and rigid. What we thought to be so important and valuable, like diamonds, are just wave forms. It is no different from ordinary rocks. We could also say that there will be no distinction between your possessions and my possessions; for all our belongings and assets are not really different from each other. They are just vibrating wave forms that just happen to have different frequencies. If humans begins to perceive reality this way our current reality will crumble; however, this not actually true for us yet; for our sense perceptions cries out loud that this our world is solid and distinct. As a human being the rigid, solid and distinct world is our reality. The concept that things are just vibrating matter is meaningless before our senses because our senses is not yet capable of perceiving that truth firsthand, for it is limited.
If our senses are limited, would that mean than our sense experience is an illusion?
When we view the sun, we see it rising and setting and this determines day and night for us. This is true for us as beings confined here on earth; however, in space there is no day and night, and the sun does not really rise and set. That is the reality up there in space. In that perspective, the sun setting and rising, the arrival of day and night, all seems illusory; for now you see that the sun does not really move around the earth, and in space there is no such thing as day and night. All our statements that the sun is rising and night is coming becomes meaningless and false.
But can you really say that the cycle of day and night is an illusion? Is the process of sunset and sunrise not real? Of course it is real on our perspective because: we see it, we feel it, we experience it with all our senses. This is how we view it. This is reality for us. I would say that this experience is more real than our concept of the conditions in space; for this is our experiencing it directly and actually. On the other hand the concept of not having a night and day or the concept of the sun not really setting and rising at all are just scientific facts, we do not directly experience it yet. Our actual reality cannot pertain to a reality that we cannot fully perceive yet; however, this does not mean that the concept of a world composing of vibrating matter or other concepts that point to reality beyond our senses, are false. Perhaps that is concept is the actual reality. But it is not yet "our" actual reality; for our actual reality is limited to our senses and if there is a realm or a reality beyond our perception it is no yet actual for us; for our actual reality pertains to what we experience at the moment.
Take a dog for example. It's view of colors is said to be just black and white. Our view of colors is obviously is more sophisticated than a dog's. For example, when an instance happen that a dog is looking at the same tennis ball as you. The dog views the color of the tennis ball as shades of black and white, while you on the other hand, sees the color of the ball as yellow green. Would it be appropriate to say that the dog's perception of a black tennis ball is an illusion? I would say that the dog's perspective is limited not illusory. For the black tennis ball is the "dog's actual reality" and the yellow green tennis ball is "our actual reality". It may be an illusion in our perspective but for the dog it is real and actual. In this sense it's the same for us humans too. Even if higher beings exists that will claim that our reality is illusory, it will still remain real for us; for this is how we perceive our reality. Even though it may only be a limited perspective of the actual reality, it is our reality for now.
What is the point of knowing the "actual" reality if we cannot fully know it?
Even if the actual reality cannot be fully known, it does not mean that it is pointless to open up to it. For example: When you are taking a certain level of education, college perhaps, did you think it was pointless to study unless you will attain the highest level of education which is of a PhD? If yes, then here's another question: Ever since you where born did you ever think it was pointless to continue living if you will not live forever? My point is: You don't have to know everything. You try to learn something because you need it at that moment. Is this not always the case? To gain enough knowledge for what you need at the moment. Isn't this your purpose for learning?
Knowing just a part of actual reality is fine. The fact that humans are limited by their sense perceptions, is reality. And the fact that the human mind cannot comprehend all the workings of the universe is also reality. By denying this facts you are also denying the actual reality. I would say that it is our actual reality that we are limited. How we perceive, conceive, or experience things is actual and real; even if our perspective of a thing is limited. And only by accepting this fact that true progress can emerge; for knowing this, we would try to go beyond the normal human thought and perception. And perhaps we could successfully go beyond our current view of reality.
Then if we could not fully know the "actual" reality why don't we just trust our thoughts about it and not bother about what it actually is?
We could trust our thoughts about reality; however, often these thoughts are so obscured that it can be very harmful. In the long history of human thought, it has been fed a lot of destructive concepts that it corrupted the whole human psyche. Until now this corruption prevails. The "normal" for everybody in our time is cruel. More often than not, our attitude towards each other is either harsh or indifferent. Try observing people around you and see for yourself. See how identified humans are with their corrupted thoughts. They do not see the person anymore. All they see is their thoughts about you. A lot of misunderstandings occurred because of this.
Seeing "reality as it is "is not just a philosophical discussion but also an ethical one. Ethically speaking, it is fine to miss the actual reality of an apple but when it comes to relationships, ignoring just one actual aspect of the relationship can lead to it's destruction. Many couples divorce due to simple misunderstandings. For those people rely so much on their thoughts about the situation that they forget to really look at what really matters. For example an unfaithful partner. Do you think the act of infidelity of a partner can validate the destruction of the emotional state of their children? Of course not. Seeing it from an objective perspective its absurd to choose the destruction of your family just because of a personalized thought of "my partner cheated". This thought is just a tiny piece of what the family worked for all this years. The family that the person love so dearly is more important than his/her thoughts and emotional state. But because people are so immersed in their thoughts, they forget about the actual reality. This complications arise by just simply forgetting. That's how the "normal" family works.
But isn't this normal? The whole society acts this way.
Its true that it can be tolerable in the personal level; however, this problem of missing the actual reality also applies in the world system. For example in world war II, people was so obsessed with the concept of "freedom" that they killed for the name of "justice" and "equality". But equality and justice is just a concept. A concept pointing to a virtuous act of seeing others as the same level as you. But do you think the participants of the war really knows this? Or are they stuck up in the thought of "I'm fighting for freedom and equality all else is justified" that they forget the true essence of what they are fighting for.
These people indiscriminately kills, maybe their only condition is that they oppose our belief system. They reduce the person opposing them to a concept of a "non-believer". In this perspective they are no longer perceiving that person as a human but a mere thought or concept of a non-believer. This is why it's so easy to kill in the battle field, to them human beings are just concepts. A hindrance for you in pursuing your own thought of "fighting for justice and equality". So where is justice and equality now? Is reducing a fellow human to a concept or a thought, bring equality? Sometimes we get so engrossed in fighting that we forget what we are fighting for. We even oppose the very thing we are fighting for without even knowing it.
This madness emerged by a simple unawareness of the actual reality. The actual reality that wars are made to lead people to freedom, justice and equality. It's a simple deception game use by leaders to gain power. Using freedom, justice and equality as a banner to gather followers. But the heroes of war does not know that. They believe that war is the only way to solve things. They are unconscious that by just a simple shift in their perspective can save lives.
But wars brought about peace. There seems to be no other way to attain it given such circumstances.
I will concede to admit that during that time it is not possible to use an alternative way to solve the problems. But this is because almost all humans are not aware of this obscurity from actual reality. During that time it is impossible for people to realize this in a massive scale. However, this time it's different. After the world war II many things change. People are beginning to see the actual reality bit by bit. Spiritual teachers are rising. New groups that promote genuine change emerges. A new way to really establish true peace is emerging. Because in reality the old way (wars), did not really solve anything. It just contained the problem it did not address to it directly. The problem lies within the human psyche. Our blind eye obscured reality enough to create all this madness. Review human history and see the blindness of people. See how political leaders where blinded by their thirst for more territory and power. that they ended up destroying other nations. And ironically, lead to their own destruction. See how religious leaders where so engrossed in the thought of being authority that they killed a lot of what they called "heretics". All for the sake of maintaining their authority over believers. Is killing each other for the sake of a "thought" valid? Isn't this madness?
For this madness to exist their must be a dysfunction; not in the world or the system, but inside us, in the human psyche. The psychology of humans are so identified with thoughts and concept that they forget what actually and really matters. We must bring this madness into the light; for humanity might end up destroying itself. The quest for conceiving "reality as it is" is not anymore a optional or luxurious endeavor. For our survival is already threatened by this unawareness. This obscurity of reality must know be cleared up.
What is the cause of this obscurity?
A certain reality perceived now can be obscured by a mental representation of a previously perceived reality. In that way reality is immediately identified with a concept of the past, or is reduced to a word or a person's conception of the word. In other words people mistake the actual reality for their thoughts about reality.
Have you ever tried to look at a beautiful landscape without trying to associate any mental concept from it? Perceive it, feel its presence and have a knowing of what is happening at that very moment. Children are very good at this. Observe a child while he/she is looking at something. See how much of their attention is focused on that thing, as if they are seeing something magnificent. Do you think that magnificence is an illusion brought about by their innocence? Or are we so grown up that we blinded ourselves from this magnificence? Either way one thing is for sure, the child is seeing something that most of us don't.
You may ask why is the child seeing this. The main difference of a child and a adult is the level of mental concepts stored in their mind. Because the child is new to this world, he/she has a very few preconceptions about reality, so his view of reality is less filtered than most of adults. Adults usually don't look at things that intensely anymore because they are quick to judge by reducing reality to a name and an image, a thought or a concept. Unlike children who is slow to judge reality, adults do not really see things anymore.
Is judging reality wrong? It's innate for a human to judge.
Judgment is basically forming a conclusion or an opinion. This act is not really the problem as long as you are open to more; however this not the case for most of us, we get so tangled up by previously made judgment
that we close ourselves to changes that occurs in the actual reality. Preconceptions
arises when you start to judge that what is happening now is supposed to be the same as what I think it is. This very preconception will compel you to make another judgment and this judgment will create another preconception. It is a viscous cycle that leads you to blindness to the actual reality. Your whole world now is just be a bundle of thoughts and concepts, not anymore what it really is.
But are preconceptions really the cause of obscurity of reality? Are they not helpful in knowing and understanding reality?
There is nothing wrong with the concepts themselves. The problem is the act of reducing the current reality with a past concept of it. Thus, almost ignoring what is reality in this moment. For example: There is a saying that my first impression is also my last impression. This saying is grounded on the preconception that a person is always equal to one's first image or concept of him or her. But by nature reality changes with time. As the Buddha would point out: the only thing that is permanent in this material world is impermanence. So, equating someone to one's first image is depriving him or her a chance to change from your viewpoint. Denying change as a part of reality is a bias which is very harmful. But even with all of this, having a first impression is not a problem. As long as you can be open to make new impressions.
Thus, the problem does not lie in our preconceptions. Preconceptions are there to give you a better understanding of reality. The problem lies in the act of identifying your preconceptions with your current reality. This is the error in knowledge. And this is the main reason why their are so many biases and confusions.
Are you implying that the actual reality depends solely on the now and has nothing to do with the past?
Yes, for the past is no longer actual. It no longer exist outside mind. All past concepts is real only in the mind and never real in actuality. You cannot experience the past except by thinking about it in the now. But people tend to chose the past, which is just a phantom, over the now, which is more real and the only thing that is actually real.
But conceiving the past is also important how can we function without it?
It is of course needed to function as a human. Memory is a useful and wonderful thing when used properly. But the actual reality should be prioritized over the past concept of reality. For knowing the actual reality will surely lead you to a better action than by just acting according to the phantom of the past.
If I just do actions in prioritizing the actual reality, how about progress which is entailed in the future?
All you need to know and do is given in the now. The actual reality contains the results of the past and the potential future. So if you truly see the actual reality you don't need to worry about the future or mourn about the past. So if this actual reality contains the potency of the future that means progress arises by conceiving the actual reality. For when you project yourself in the future it is based on the potentiality of the actual reality. Progress can only be attained by recognizing the potentiality of the actual reality and not by deluding yourself to a future image and just hoping that someday you will achieve it. True progress comes from recognizing the current situation for what it is and taking the step according to what is needed at the moment.
Goals can still be set but now it comes from a more powerful source, the potency of reality, not anymore from a unrealistic projection of a future. With this, goals will be more realistic, attainable and necessary for it will address the "real" needs of the moment not some needs that are based on corrupted thoughts.
What do you mean by "The actual reality contains the results of the past and the potential future."?
It simply means that all past and future is contained in the now. The past can never be remembered except through the now. The same is true for the future. In other words past and future has no actual form in the moment except through the anchor of the now. The form that the past takes is the results that it brought about in the now; while, the future takes the form as the potency of the moment. This is the most effective way of viewing the past and the future for with this, your priority will be the now, which is the actual reality.
You seem to advocate the prioritizing of the now. Is it really that important? The whole world seems to care only for what you accomplished and how big your goals are.
Are those people at peace with their lives? Will they ever attain peace? People keep working and working to accomplish their "big" goals and dreams without even stopping for a moment. They have no time to ask themselves: "Is this what I really need or want". They are always anxious about everything as if there life would leave the behind. Worrying about what the future might hold. Regretting the past for not getting enough out of it. These are our thoughts about their life. Perhaps the only time that they are happy is when they contemplate on their accomplishments. But all of that are illusory.
As I have said earlier, past and future is nothing more than an image in the mind. Without the anchor of the now in can never actually be. But people disregard the now, which is the only way to see the actual reality. And if actual reality is obscured many problems arises. As we mentioned earlier broken families, miserable individuals, wars all emerged from this obscurity. If prioritizing the past and future is really the "sane" way of living then why is human history so insane. Even if humans have lived like that, maybe for thousands of years, the condition seems to get worse by the minute. There really is a dysfunction here, and it can only be revealed if we set our eyes to the actual reality.
What is the way to conceiving this actual reality?
I guess its pretty simple. Perceive reality as it is, without trying to label or judge it. Just observe. Conceive it without the filter of past thoughts. The best way to do this is to always have the knowing that every label or concept in your mind pertaining to a certain reality are not reality itself. They are all just pointing to reality. Eckhart Tolle, one of the most profound spiritual teachers of our time, proposed a kind of practice.
"Instead of saying: 'That is a tree.' Say: 'That is called a tree.' "
Practicing this will always remind you that concepts and words are only pointers to what really is. That is why Eckhart Tolle added the word "called" into the sentence in order to prevent you from immediately identifying your preconceptions for the thing itself.
Another is to practice being aware. Every time you remember bring your attention out of thinking and see what is actual happening right here and now. Ask yourself what are you thinking right now? Try to be aware of the distinction between your thoughts about the situation and the situation itself. What are the things that are occurring around you and inside you? Try to be aware of the things outside and inside of you. As Eckhart Tolle would put it. Be the witnessing presence to everything that is taking place.
Another important mindset is knowing the fact that reality has so much more to offer to you and accept the fact that all your previous preconceptions maybe seen as irrelevant sometime in the future. In other words, be open-minded. This open mindset will lessen your ego and open you up more to new things.
There are a lot of practice recommended by different spirtual teachers today that anchors you to the magnifence and vastness of reality. I recommend that you find or make the practice which most suit you. As long as it can get you beyond thought go for it.
With all that, the most important thing to be remined about is that your thoughts are not the actual reality. Know that actual reality is vaster than your thoughts. In order for you to concieve the actual reality, you just need to know what actual reality is not. All you need to do is to know that your thoughts are not reality but just a representation of it. With that, the actual reality will reveal itself to you.
What do you mean by "Reality as it is"?
We may classify reality into two: reality outside the mind, and reality inside the mind. The first one indicates reality that exists independently from the mind. The later indicates thoughts and concepts that describes or points to reality outside the mind. In other words reality inside the mind is how reality appears to us; while, reality outside the mind is how reality "is" in actuality. "Reality as it is" is referring to the "actual reality", which is the reality outside the mind.
Are you implying that my thoughts are different from what reality actually is?
Yes, reality inside the mind is a representation of the reality outside the mind or we could say that it's a small piece of reality. For example when you see an apple there will be two things in your mind: an image of an apple and the word "apple". This two things are not "the apple" but a representation of the actual apple. In other words the it's just a concept of the apple it cannot contain the true essence of the actual apple.
But thoughts seems to be the only thing that we can use to conceive reality?
Thoughts aids us in conceiving reality; however, it is not the only way of perceiving it. While you are eating an apple, you taste it's flavor through your taste buds. The juicy yet crunchy apple brings about a sweet and sour flavor into your mouth. Then now your mind interprets it as delicious. In the process of eating you are not thinking about the process we talked about. You are directly experiencing it. In this sense we could see the gap, in terms of vastness, of a thought about reality and the actual reality. For the word "delicious" cannot contain your taste experience of eating the apple neither your memory of its taste. It will take as long as the process I mentioned earlier just to describe it's taste. But even that cannot encompass your whole experience of eating it.
Are you a saying that we need to get rid of our thoughts to conceive this actual reality?
You don't need to get rid of thoughts, you just need to conceive reality beyond your thoughts. The main purpose of thoughts is to interpret reality. And the usual way to interpret reality is to relate it with a concept from the past. In the example we gave earlier. You arrive at the word "delicious" because of your past experiences of tasting food. We could say that when you eat something that is pleasant to your taste buds, it can be called delicious. Through your past experiences you set a standard to con notate what is delicious from what is not. There is nothing wrong with this process as long as you do not limit the apple to the concept delicious. It can be that when you are eating an apple, you give your attention so much to your thoughts or your concept of delicious, that you miss the whole experience of tasting it. You no longer really taste the apple. You are just consuming it. In this way you miss the actual taste of the apple all is left is the thought of it. This may seem irrelevant in your life but this "missing" of the actual reality starts the confusions and misunderstandings that is happening in our lives.
Going beyond thoughts? Is that possible?
Of course, I'm sure that every once in a while everyone experienced something that goes beyond thinking. For example when you go on vacation. You start sight seeing and you encounter this view that is so amazing that your thoughts seizes. All that you are doing at the moment is enjoying the view with your senses. Try to remember any kind of experience that causes the cessation of your thoughts. In this kind of experiences you have gone beyond thought. You perceived reality not by your past concept of a beautiful view but for its actual beauty right at that moment. In this way you see the true essence of things that cannot be fully contained in any descriptions or concepts. This essence of reality is what brings about the "awe" that is felt in that kind of experience.
What do you mean by the true essence?
The word "essence" comes from the ancient Greek phrase to ti ēn einai meaning "what it is for a thing to be". This statement means that "essence" is an attribute of a thing that lets it be, and without that attribute, the thing will lose its existence. You may ask: What attribute of a thing is so important that it's existence relies solely upon it?
Lets go back to the apple. What attribute of the apple is the most important? Is the substance of the apple it's essence? If the substance of the apple is the essence what part? The flesh, skin, or the seeds? Or is it the quality of the apple? Is the apple's color, taste, smell or texture what makes it an apple? Is the reason or cause of it's existence its essence? I would say that it goes beyond all of that, because the essence of the apple is the whole of it. And the "whole" apple cannot be contained by just saying words that refer to its cause, substance and quality. To put it simply the essence of a thing is it's totality. It's totality is also it's reality. So essence is synonymous to reality. In this sense we could say that the essence of a thing is it's actual reality.
So what is Reality then?
Reality is everything that is or everything that has a being. Reality can be clearly defined. But all of this definitions is only a concept that points to it. We can create concepts that best defines or describe reality but whatever we do it cannot be completely known by the human mind. For example: When you are looking at a flower you perceive it with your senses and say: "Oh, that's a flower." In that act, all we can know about the flower is it's name, it's color, it's shape, the sounds it makes, it's texture, it's odor, and it's taste. Do you think that "everything about the flower" is only limited with those things? A Botanist will strongly argue that there is more to that flower than what you perceive. But do you think the Botanist knows everything about the flower? Of course not, that is why botanist still studies them because they are aware that they can know more about it. Reality is so vast that even Botanists who devotes almost all of their lives to study plants, which is just part of reality, will concede to admit that there is more to know about it. Even the great scientist Einstein conceded to our limitation of knowing reality. In his dialogue:
“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.”
So it is very limiting to just equate reality for what we conceive it to be.
At best I would say that humans have successfully created ideas and concepts about reality. This concepts explain reality by generating principles out of it, or by just simply describing it. But all of this cannot contain the fullness of reality. In the level of mind we cannot know about this fullness of reality. In order to get a glimpse of it intellectually all we can do is to make ideas or concepts that points to it.
You mentioned the vastness of reality that is beyond human comprehension. Isn't there a possibility that we cannot really know or conceive of the actual reality?
Philosophers in the past have already thought of this problem. They say that we cannot be sure that what we perceive outside is what really "is" outside. This is coming from a premise: Perhaps our senses deceive us. This may be true; however, I would not say our senses are deceiving us, I would say that our senses are limited.
Science is slowly unraveling that our universe, by it's nature, is not really what it appears to be for us. The universe is said to be compose of vibrating matter. Reality then is like wave forms unlike our view which is solid and rigid. Our brain, through our sense, is said to just interpret this vibration. It forms for us a 3 dimensional spacial view of reality, which appears solid and rigid. What we thought to be so important and valuable, like diamonds, are just wave forms. It is no different from ordinary rocks. We could also say that there will be no distinction between your possessions and my possessions; for all our belongings and assets are not really different from each other. They are just vibrating wave forms that just happen to have different frequencies. If humans begins to perceive reality this way our current reality will crumble; however, this not actually true for us yet; for our sense perceptions cries out loud that this our world is solid and distinct. As a human being the rigid, solid and distinct world is our reality. The concept that things are just vibrating matter is meaningless before our senses because our senses is not yet capable of perceiving that truth firsthand, for it is limited.
If our senses are limited, would that mean than our sense experience is an illusion?
When we view the sun, we see it rising and setting and this determines day and night for us. This is true for us as beings confined here on earth; however, in space there is no day and night, and the sun does not really rise and set. That is the reality up there in space. In that perspective, the sun setting and rising, the arrival of day and night, all seems illusory; for now you see that the sun does not really move around the earth, and in space there is no such thing as day and night. All our statements that the sun is rising and night is coming becomes meaningless and false.
But can you really say that the cycle of day and night is an illusion? Is the process of sunset and sunrise not real? Of course it is real on our perspective because: we see it, we feel it, we experience it with all our senses. This is how we view it. This is reality for us. I would say that this experience is more real than our concept of the conditions in space; for this is our experiencing it directly and actually. On the other hand the concept of not having a night and day or the concept of the sun not really setting and rising at all are just scientific facts, we do not directly experience it yet. Our actual reality cannot pertain to a reality that we cannot fully perceive yet; however, this does not mean that the concept of a world composing of vibrating matter or other concepts that point to reality beyond our senses, are false. Perhaps that is concept is the actual reality. But it is not yet "our" actual reality; for our actual reality is limited to our senses and if there is a realm or a reality beyond our perception it is no yet actual for us; for our actual reality pertains to what we experience at the moment.
Take a dog for example. It's view of colors is said to be just black and white. Our view of colors is obviously is more sophisticated than a dog's. For example, when an instance happen that a dog is looking at the same tennis ball as you. The dog views the color of the tennis ball as shades of black and white, while you on the other hand, sees the color of the ball as yellow green. Would it be appropriate to say that the dog's perception of a black tennis ball is an illusion? I would say that the dog's perspective is limited not illusory. For the black tennis ball is the "dog's actual reality" and the yellow green tennis ball is "our actual reality". It may be an illusion in our perspective but for the dog it is real and actual. In this sense it's the same for us humans too. Even if higher beings exists that will claim that our reality is illusory, it will still remain real for us; for this is how we perceive our reality. Even though it may only be a limited perspective of the actual reality, it is our reality for now.
What is the point of knowing the "actual" reality if we cannot fully know it?
Even if the actual reality cannot be fully known, it does not mean that it is pointless to open up to it. For example: When you are taking a certain level of education, college perhaps, did you think it was pointless to study unless you will attain the highest level of education which is of a PhD? If yes, then here's another question: Ever since you where born did you ever think it was pointless to continue living if you will not live forever? My point is: You don't have to know everything. You try to learn something because you need it at that moment. Is this not always the case? To gain enough knowledge for what you need at the moment. Isn't this your purpose for learning?
Knowing just a part of actual reality is fine. The fact that humans are limited by their sense perceptions, is reality. And the fact that the human mind cannot comprehend all the workings of the universe is also reality. By denying this facts you are also denying the actual reality. I would say that it is our actual reality that we are limited. How we perceive, conceive, or experience things is actual and real; even if our perspective of a thing is limited. And only by accepting this fact that true progress can emerge; for knowing this, we would try to go beyond the normal human thought and perception. And perhaps we could successfully go beyond our current view of reality.
Then if we could not fully know the "actual" reality why don't we just trust our thoughts about it and not bother about what it actually is?
We could trust our thoughts about reality; however, often these thoughts are so obscured that it can be very harmful. In the long history of human thought, it has been fed a lot of destructive concepts that it corrupted the whole human psyche. Until now this corruption prevails. The "normal" for everybody in our time is cruel. More often than not, our attitude towards each other is either harsh or indifferent. Try observing people around you and see for yourself. See how identified humans are with their corrupted thoughts. They do not see the person anymore. All they see is their thoughts about you. A lot of misunderstandings occurred because of this.
Seeing "reality as it is "is not just a philosophical discussion but also an ethical one. Ethically speaking, it is fine to miss the actual reality of an apple but when it comes to relationships, ignoring just one actual aspect of the relationship can lead to it's destruction. Many couples divorce due to simple misunderstandings. For those people rely so much on their thoughts about the situation that they forget to really look at what really matters. For example an unfaithful partner. Do you think the act of infidelity of a partner can validate the destruction of the emotional state of their children? Of course not. Seeing it from an objective perspective its absurd to choose the destruction of your family just because of a personalized thought of "my partner cheated". This thought is just a tiny piece of what the family worked for all this years. The family that the person love so dearly is more important than his/her thoughts and emotional state. But because people are so immersed in their thoughts, they forget about the actual reality. This complications arise by just simply forgetting. That's how the "normal" family works.
But isn't this normal? The whole society acts this way.
Its true that it can be tolerable in the personal level; however, this problem of missing the actual reality also applies in the world system. For example in world war II, people was so obsessed with the concept of "freedom" that they killed for the name of "justice" and "equality". But equality and justice is just a concept. A concept pointing to a virtuous act of seeing others as the same level as you. But do you think the participants of the war really knows this? Or are they stuck up in the thought of "I'm fighting for freedom and equality all else is justified" that they forget the true essence of what they are fighting for.
These people indiscriminately kills, maybe their only condition is that they oppose our belief system. They reduce the person opposing them to a concept of a "non-believer". In this perspective they are no longer perceiving that person as a human but a mere thought or concept of a non-believer. This is why it's so easy to kill in the battle field, to them human beings are just concepts. A hindrance for you in pursuing your own thought of "fighting for justice and equality". So where is justice and equality now? Is reducing a fellow human to a concept or a thought, bring equality? Sometimes we get so engrossed in fighting that we forget what we are fighting for. We even oppose the very thing we are fighting for without even knowing it.
This madness emerged by a simple unawareness of the actual reality. The actual reality that wars are made to lead people to freedom, justice and equality. It's a simple deception game use by leaders to gain power. Using freedom, justice and equality as a banner to gather followers. But the heroes of war does not know that. They believe that war is the only way to solve things. They are unconscious that by just a simple shift in their perspective can save lives.
But wars brought about peace. There seems to be no other way to attain it given such circumstances.
I will concede to admit that during that time it is not possible to use an alternative way to solve the problems. But this is because almost all humans are not aware of this obscurity from actual reality. During that time it is impossible for people to realize this in a massive scale. However, this time it's different. After the world war II many things change. People are beginning to see the actual reality bit by bit. Spiritual teachers are rising. New groups that promote genuine change emerges. A new way to really establish true peace is emerging. Because in reality the old way (wars), did not really solve anything. It just contained the problem it did not address to it directly. The problem lies within the human psyche. Our blind eye obscured reality enough to create all this madness. Review human history and see the blindness of people. See how political leaders where blinded by their thirst for more territory and power. that they ended up destroying other nations. And ironically, lead to their own destruction. See how religious leaders where so engrossed in the thought of being authority that they killed a lot of what they called "heretics". All for the sake of maintaining their authority over believers. Is killing each other for the sake of a "thought" valid? Isn't this madness?
For this madness to exist their must be a dysfunction; not in the world or the system, but inside us, in the human psyche. The psychology of humans are so identified with thoughts and concept that they forget what actually and really matters. We must bring this madness into the light; for humanity might end up destroying itself. The quest for conceiving "reality as it is" is not anymore a optional or luxurious endeavor. For our survival is already threatened by this unawareness. This obscurity of reality must know be cleared up.
What is the cause of this obscurity?
A certain reality perceived now can be obscured by a mental representation of a previously perceived reality. In that way reality is immediately identified with a concept of the past, or is reduced to a word or a person's conception of the word. In other words people mistake the actual reality for their thoughts about reality.
Have you ever tried to look at a beautiful landscape without trying to associate any mental concept from it? Perceive it, feel its presence and have a knowing of what is happening at that very moment. Children are very good at this. Observe a child while he/she is looking at something. See how much of their attention is focused on that thing, as if they are seeing something magnificent. Do you think that magnificence is an illusion brought about by their innocence? Or are we so grown up that we blinded ourselves from this magnificence? Either way one thing is for sure, the child is seeing something that most of us don't.
You may ask why is the child seeing this. The main difference of a child and a adult is the level of mental concepts stored in their mind. Because the child is new to this world, he/she has a very few preconceptions about reality, so his view of reality is less filtered than most of adults. Adults usually don't look at things that intensely anymore because they are quick to judge by reducing reality to a name and an image, a thought or a concept. Unlike children who is slow to judge reality, adults do not really see things anymore.
Is judging reality wrong? It's innate for a human to judge.
Judgment is basically forming a conclusion or an opinion. This act is not really the problem as long as you are open to more; however this not the case for most of us, we get so tangled up by previously made judgment
that we close ourselves to changes that occurs in the actual reality. Preconceptions arises when you start to judge that what is happening now is supposed to be the same as what I think it is. This very preconception will compel you to make another judgment and this judgment will create another preconception. It is a viscous cycle that leads you to blindness to the actual reality. Your whole world now is just be a bundle of thoughts and concepts, not anymore what it really is.But are preconceptions really the cause of obscurity of reality? Are they not helpful in knowing and understanding reality?
There is nothing wrong with the concepts themselves. The problem is the act of reducing the current reality with a past concept of it. Thus, almost ignoring what is reality in this moment. For example: There is a saying that my first impression is also my last impression. This saying is grounded on the preconception that a person is always equal to one's first image or concept of him or her. But by nature reality changes with time. As the Buddha would point out: the only thing that is permanent in this material world is impermanence. So, equating someone to one's first image is depriving him or her a chance to change from your viewpoint. Denying change as a part of reality is a bias which is very harmful. But even with all of this, having a first impression is not a problem. As long as you can be open to make new impressions.
Thus, the problem does not lie in our preconceptions. Preconceptions are there to give you a better understanding of reality. The problem lies in the act of identifying your preconceptions with your current reality. This is the error in knowledge. And this is the main reason why their are so many biases and confusions.
Are you implying that the actual reality depends solely on the now and has nothing to do with the past?
Yes, for the past is no longer actual. It no longer exist outside mind. All past concepts is real only in the mind and never real in actuality. You cannot experience the past except by thinking about it in the now. But people tend to chose the past, which is just a phantom, over the now, which is more real and the only thing that is actually real.
But conceiving the past is also important how can we function without it?
It is of course needed to function as a human. Memory is a useful and wonderful thing when used properly. But the actual reality should be prioritized over the past concept of reality. For knowing the actual reality will surely lead you to a better action than by just acting according to the phantom of the past.
If I just do actions in prioritizing the actual reality, how about progress which is entailed in the future?
All you need to know and do is given in the now. The actual reality contains the results of the past and the potential future. So if you truly see the actual reality you don't need to worry about the future or mourn about the past. So if this actual reality contains the potency of the future that means progress arises by conceiving the actual reality. For when you project yourself in the future it is based on the potentiality of the actual reality. Progress can only be attained by recognizing the potentiality of the actual reality and not by deluding yourself to a future image and just hoping that someday you will achieve it. True progress comes from recognizing the current situation for what it is and taking the step according to what is needed at the moment.
Goals can still be set but now it comes from a more powerful source, the potency of reality, not anymore from a unrealistic projection of a future. With this, goals will be more realistic, attainable and necessary for it will address the "real" needs of the moment not some needs that are based on corrupted thoughts.
What do you mean by "The actual reality contains the results of the past and the potential future."?
It simply means that all past and future is contained in the now. The past can never be remembered except through the now. The same is true for the future. In other words past and future has no actual form in the moment except through the anchor of the now. The form that the past takes is the results that it brought about in the now; while, the future takes the form as the potency of the moment. This is the most effective way of viewing the past and the future for with this, your priority will be the now, which is the actual reality.
You seem to advocate the prioritizing of the now. Is it really that important? The whole world seems to care only for what you accomplished and how big your goals are.
Are those people at peace with their lives? Will they ever attain peace? People keep working and working to accomplish their "big" goals and dreams without even stopping for a moment. They have no time to ask themselves: "Is this what I really need or want". They are always anxious about everything as if there life would leave the behind. Worrying about what the future might hold. Regretting the past for not getting enough out of it. These are our thoughts about their life. Perhaps the only time that they are happy is when they contemplate on their accomplishments. But all of that are illusory.
As I have said earlier, past and future is nothing more than an image in the mind. Without the anchor of the now in can never actually be. But people disregard the now, which is the only way to see the actual reality. And if actual reality is obscured many problems arises. As we mentioned earlier broken families, miserable individuals, wars all emerged from this obscurity. If prioritizing the past and future is really the "sane" way of living then why is human history so insane. Even if humans have lived like that, maybe for thousands of years, the condition seems to get worse by the minute. There really is a dysfunction here, and it can only be revealed if we set our eyes to the actual reality.
What is the way to conceiving this actual reality?
I guess its pretty simple. Perceive reality as it is, without trying to label or judge it. Just observe. Conceive it without the filter of past thoughts. The best way to do this is to always have the knowing that every label or concept in your mind pertaining to a certain reality are not reality itself. They are all just pointing to reality. Eckhart Tolle, one of the most profound spiritual teachers of our time, proposed a kind of practice.
"Instead of saying: 'That is a tree.' Say: 'That is called a tree.' "
Practicing this will always remind you that concepts and words are only pointers to what really is. That is why Eckhart Tolle added the word "called" into the sentence in order to prevent you from immediately identifying your preconceptions for the thing itself.
Another is to practice being aware. Every time you remember bring your attention out of thinking and see what is actual happening right here and now. Ask yourself what are you thinking right now? Try to be aware of the distinction between your thoughts about the situation and the situation itself. What are the things that are occurring around you and inside you? Try to be aware of the things outside and inside of you. As Eckhart Tolle would put it. Be the witnessing presence to everything that is taking place.
Another important mindset is knowing the fact that reality has so much more to offer to you and accept the fact that all your previous preconceptions maybe seen as irrelevant sometime in the future. In other words, be open-minded. This open mindset will lessen your ego and open you up more to new things.
There are a lot of practice recommended by different spirtual teachers today that anchors you to the magnifence and vastness of reality. I recommend that you find or make the practice which most suit you. As long as it can get you beyond thought go for it.
With all that, the most important thing to be remined about is that your thoughts are not the actual reality. Know that actual reality is vaster than your thoughts. In order for you to concieve the actual reality, you just need to know what actual reality is not. All you need to do is to know that your thoughts are not reality but just a representation of it. With that, the actual reality will reveal itself to you.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The "Open Book Philosophy of Life"
During my late grade school days, I sometimes ask myself: "How does this world works?", "Is my consciousness somehow connected to other people around me?" Unfortunately, the conventional type of education did not give me a direct answer to that. So, I was forced to answer this questions by myself; through the fragmented insights I got from my experiences. That time I did not know that this practice will be one of the things that will largely affect my way of thinking.
As my life goes on I almost forgot those questions. At times, it creeps in again but I would just ward it off; saying things like: "This questions will only give me a headache." or "People around me are showing no interest at all in these things, so better not think about it." But after many years of dormancy, the situation forced me to this type of questions again. It was during high school; I started to be bothered by the fact that people tend to have different opinions for the same kind of knowledge. And I'm even more bothered that they are fighting desperately to defend the validity of their own opinions. That time, I often ask myself: How could such a thing happen? Why do people fight over these things?
I was studying in a catholic school back then. So I kind of lead myself to believe that Catholicism as a belief system is all that ever is. But I stumbled in something that would crush that. My eldest brother converted himself to a different sect of Christianity, called the Church of Christ or "Iglesia Ni Kristo." The teachings of the Church made a lot of sense to me during that time. It totally trampled upon what I believe to be the "Catholic teachings". At that time I was convinced that the Catholic teachings is flawed and I felt a need to be in a new Church. That almost lead me to a decision to come into what they said to the "True Church"; but something stopped me. There was a voice inside of me saying "You're not seeing everything yet." Then my doubts crept in. That moment I began to rethink my decision. Then suddenly I realized, perhaps this is some kind of trap. The promise of the "True Church" along with some seemingly valid and heavy criticisms against my current belief system is indeed captivating; however, something did not feel right. What's the people's intention in that Church? Why are they recruiting new members with suspicious enthusiasm? It wasn't clear to me then but I know that this was another trap. Yes, just another trap. This is not the first time I encountered this feeling. Many have successfully trapped me. In a sense that they lead me to believe their stories and premises even though something seems to be wrong with it. It was just a gut feeling back then. That time I did not realized that what I was trapped in is a belief system. A system that was conditioned in my mind ever since I was a kid.
That time I had a realization: It's not the content of their stories that cage me but the belief system that operates around me. A system that wants to limit everything. I remembered many adults were saying to me: "This is the right thing and the only thing that is right." "This is the only way to salvation." "This the path that you should take." All of that sounds very limiting. As if the person, saying this, intends you to be trapped in a box he/she is currently at. It doesn't matter what the box contains as long as you join the party.
All that madness lead me to realize that it's not really about the validity of opinions, standpoints, or teachings. It's about convincing other people to believe in their particular standpoint and condemning those who do not. No matter what the content is, people want you to believe what they believe. And it seems that the want to convince a person to believe their beliefs is prioritized over the intention of sharing the true beauty and essence of the content they want to impart.
Then I wondered why are people like this? It took a lot of years before I came up with an answer. I was still trapped. Trapped in a cage of interplay between aversion and indifference to this kind of behavior. Times came that I too played this madness. I argued about the existence of God many times. For a long time, I did not notice that I was also into this madness. But later there came a moment that I notice that I too am immersed in this madness. One moment when I was about to argue about the existence of God, I felt a sense of "wrongness". The same feeling I'm having when I was in the verge of being trapped. Then it came to me: I was defending myself. Not the idea of God's existence. I was fighting for my need to be right and superior. My urge to convince is not for God's sake but my sake. That's it! I did not care at all about defending my idea. All I cared about is proving the person wrong. And in this process I feel somewhat superior. That was the madness! Perhaps, this is the reason why people are desperately trying to defend or impose their beliefs on others. They want to feel superior or at the very least; feel that they are right. There is some kind of insecurity engraved in people and because of that we often forget the beauty and essentials of what we believe in. Aren't we supposed to share our beliefs because we want to impart it's greatness and beauty? Perhaps we forgot because of our insecurity.
All that insight made me decide to get out of this cage and explore the teachings as they are. Prioritizing the essence of the belief over my own ego. But how is this possible? The idea of an "open-mind" came to me. I attempted to attain this "open mind". I began first by dropping my attachments for my personal standpoints. I accepted that they could be right for me now; but it can be proven wrong at any given moment or another idea clearer than mine may arise. That step really helped me. But perhaps the greatest "opener" insight I realized that time is that: "In every kind of idea or belief there is some kind of truth". This insight brought me to a new level of openness that paved way to new insights and realizations.
But even with that steps, it's still not clear to me what an open mind is really like. My experience during my days in college, perhaps brought about the answer to this question. Back then there was this friend of mine whom I often talk to. We occasionally go to topics concerning: God, morality, religion, spirituality and existential ideas. Then one day this friend of mine made a remark: "You're mind is like an open book, you just accept about everything given to you and make a sense out of it." It would seem that he used the term "Open Book" as a metaphor to an "open mind". I really liked the term because it resonates to the concept of a passive and unbiased way of getting and giving knowledge. The book lets itself be written on. Its like fully listening and fully engrossing itself to the giver of knowledge. Also the book gives knowledge to anyone who seeks it. From this beautiful metaphor, I created a name for my philosophy in life: The Open Book Philosophy. Like the book one should receive knowledge as open as possible, and be there to give knowledge at the right time and at the right moment. All of this characteristics summarize what an open mind is all about.
This way of thinking or philosophy helped me gather a lot of insights from my experiences, including the ideas and experiences of others. In the process of gathering, I realized that there are many dimensions to knowing reality. Different people tend to have different views on reality. My aim is to see the connection of all these views and if time permits discover a dimension that unites all that views.
As my life goes on I almost forgot those questions. At times, it creeps in again but I would just ward it off; saying things like: "This questions will only give me a headache." or "People around me are showing no interest at all in these things, so better not think about it." But after many years of dormancy, the situation forced me to this type of questions again. It was during high school; I started to be bothered by the fact that people tend to have different opinions for the same kind of knowledge. And I'm even more bothered that they are fighting desperately to defend the validity of their own opinions. That time, I often ask myself: How could such a thing happen? Why do people fight over these things?
I was studying in a catholic school back then. So I kind of lead myself to believe that Catholicism as a belief system is all that ever is. But I stumbled in something that would crush that. My eldest brother converted himself to a different sect of Christianity, called the Church of Christ or "Iglesia Ni Kristo." The teachings of the Church made a lot of sense to me during that time. It totally trampled upon what I believe to be the "Catholic teachings". At that time I was convinced that the Catholic teachings is flawed and I felt a need to be in a new Church. That almost lead me to a decision to come into what they said to the "True Church"; but something stopped me. There was a voice inside of me saying "You're not seeing everything yet." Then my doubts crept in. That moment I began to rethink my decision. Then suddenly I realized, perhaps this is some kind of trap. The promise of the "True Church" along with some seemingly valid and heavy criticisms against my current belief system is indeed captivating; however, something did not feel right. What's the people's intention in that Church? Why are they recruiting new members with suspicious enthusiasm? It wasn't clear to me then but I know that this was another trap. Yes, just another trap. This is not the first time I encountered this feeling. Many have successfully trapped me. In a sense that they lead me to believe their stories and premises even though something seems to be wrong with it. It was just a gut feeling back then. That time I did not realized that what I was trapped in is a belief system. A system that was conditioned in my mind ever since I was a kid.
That time I had a realization: It's not the content of their stories that cage me but the belief system that operates around me. A system that wants to limit everything. I remembered many adults were saying to me: "This is the right thing and the only thing that is right." "This is the only way to salvation." "This the path that you should take." All of that sounds very limiting. As if the person, saying this, intends you to be trapped in a box he/she is currently at. It doesn't matter what the box contains as long as you join the party.
All that madness lead me to realize that it's not really about the validity of opinions, standpoints, or teachings. It's about convincing other people to believe in their particular standpoint and condemning those who do not. No matter what the content is, people want you to believe what they believe. And it seems that the want to convince a person to believe their beliefs is prioritized over the intention of sharing the true beauty and essence of the content they want to impart.
Then I wondered why are people like this? It took a lot of years before I came up with an answer. I was still trapped. Trapped in a cage of interplay between aversion and indifference to this kind of behavior. Times came that I too played this madness. I argued about the existence of God many times. For a long time, I did not notice that I was also into this madness. But later there came a moment that I notice that I too am immersed in this madness. One moment when I was about to argue about the existence of God, I felt a sense of "wrongness". The same feeling I'm having when I was in the verge of being trapped. Then it came to me: I was defending myself. Not the idea of God's existence. I was fighting for my need to be right and superior. My urge to convince is not for God's sake but my sake. That's it! I did not care at all about defending my idea. All I cared about is proving the person wrong. And in this process I feel somewhat superior. That was the madness! Perhaps, this is the reason why people are desperately trying to defend or impose their beliefs on others. They want to feel superior or at the very least; feel that they are right. There is some kind of insecurity engraved in people and because of that we often forget the beauty and essentials of what we believe in. Aren't we supposed to share our beliefs because we want to impart it's greatness and beauty? Perhaps we forgot because of our insecurity.
All that insight made me decide to get out of this cage and explore the teachings as they are. Prioritizing the essence of the belief over my own ego. But how is this possible? The idea of an "open-mind" came to me. I attempted to attain this "open mind". I began first by dropping my attachments for my personal standpoints. I accepted that they could be right for me now; but it can be proven wrong at any given moment or another idea clearer than mine may arise. That step really helped me. But perhaps the greatest "opener" insight I realized that time is that: "In every kind of idea or belief there is some kind of truth". This insight brought me to a new level of openness that paved way to new insights and realizations.
But even with that steps, it's still not clear to me what an open mind is really like. My experience during my days in college, perhaps brought about the answer to this question. Back then there was this friend of mine whom I often talk to. We occasionally go to topics concerning: God, morality, religion, spirituality and existential ideas. Then one day this friend of mine made a remark: "You're mind is like an open book, you just accept about everything given to you and make a sense out of it." It would seem that he used the term "Open Book" as a metaphor to an "open mind". I really liked the term because it resonates to the concept of a passive and unbiased way of getting and giving knowledge. The book lets itself be written on. Its like fully listening and fully engrossing itself to the giver of knowledge. Also the book gives knowledge to anyone who seeks it. From this beautiful metaphor, I created a name for my philosophy in life: The Open Book Philosophy. Like the book one should receive knowledge as open as possible, and be there to give knowledge at the right time and at the right moment. All of this characteristics summarize what an open mind is all about.
This way of thinking or philosophy helped me gather a lot of insights from my experiences, including the ideas and experiences of others. In the process of gathering, I realized that there are many dimensions to knowing reality. Different people tend to have different views on reality. My aim is to see the connection of all these views and if time permits discover a dimension that unites all that views.
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