Our minds collaborate in the creation of the world

l'm re-re-reading a book about Buddhism that is wonderfully mind-blowing, Introduction to Emptiness by Guy Newland. Yes, that wasn't a typo in the previous sentence, I'm on my third reading of the book, each time with a different colored highlighter in my hand. 

So I may not completely understand what emptiness is all about in Buddhism, but I definitely have a colorful book on this subject.

I've shared links to six previous posts I've written about Introduction to Emptiness at the end of this post. If you aren't able to grasp all that Newland says in the passages below -- and I sure don't -- read those posts and some things likely will become clearer.

A basic notion is the distinction between ultimate and conventional truth. Here's how they are defined in an appendix to the book:

Conventional truth -- objects found by conventional minds that are not analyzing the ultimate nature of things. This includes everything that exists except emptiness. Nonexistents are not included.

Ultimate truth -- the object known by a mind discerning the final nature of things -- emptiness

So what is emptiness? Here's the definition, along with that for a related term, inherent existence.

Emptiness -- the sheer nonexistence of intrinsic nature. For example, the table's emptiness is the table's lack of existence by way of an intrinsic nature.

Intrinsic nature -- an essential nature whereby something comes to have an independent way of existing without being posited through the force of consciousness. The sheer absence of this is emptiness.

Here's challenging, though fascinating, passages relating to how the world is created by our minds, though it also exists in an objective fashion.

We usually suppose that the world is already and always fully real, independent of our minds, out there waiting to be revealed by the searchlight of consciousness. In fact, our minds are actually collaborating in the creation of the world, moment by moment.

This does not mean that hallucinated snakes have the same status as people and cars and tables. Snakes falsely imputed to be ropes do not in fact exist, while tables and people do exist because they have a valid, conventional existence. This is a vitally important distinction.

Suppose I very much want gold. I may see a rainbow and, affected by my desire for gold, think, "Over there I will find a pot of gold." This is rather in the nature of seeing a rope and, out of fear, believing it is a snake. There is no snake, no gold, in those places at all.

But there is a rope; there is a rainbow. These things exist conventionally. We can appropriately impute them, saying, "There it is." They function.

Another way to make this clear is to consider the case of dreams. The objects that appear to our minds in dreams, under the influence of sleep, are not able to perform the functions that they appear to have. A dream cup does not hold functioning water.; a dream gun does not shoot deadly bullets.

The water and the bullets that appear in the dream cannot quench or kill. The dream mind to which a gun appears is impaired by sleep and is not a conventionally valid consciousness. Likewise, if my eyes are bad and I see two moons in the sky over the earth, I have not thereby created a second moon.

...So we can recognize that this idea -- that things depend upon minds -- does not destroy conventional existence. At the same time, it is definitely not just another way of talking about what we already know. It does not leave our usual sense of the world unscathed. 

To take the snake example: When a person sees a rope and imagines a snake, there is no snake at all in the rope. But even when there actually is a snake and we perceive a snake, the snake as we perceive it is also completely absent. It is just as nonexistent as the rope-snake.

This is profound and important to reflect upon. As we perceive it, the snake is inherently existent. It appears to our minds as something objectively real, existing in and of itself. Such a snake does not at all exist right now -- and it never could exist.

Thus when we feel that Tsong-kha-pa's emphatic validation of conventional reality is pulling us too far in the direction of affirming the ordinary way that things appear, we can recall: snakes and ropes are equally devoid of the kind of snakes I perceive, believe in, and fear.

Tables are utterly devoid of the kind of table that I believe in. People exist, but people just as I now conceive of them have never and could never exist to the slightest degree.

Unlike some Buddhist systems, Tsong-kha-pa's Prasangika Madhyamaka system does assert that there is a fully functioning external world, a world that exists outside of our minds. However, in the same breath it emphasizes that this external world is utterly dependent upon consciousness.

For example, when a god, a human, and a ghost each look at a bowl of fluid, the god sees nectar, the human sees water, and the ghost sees a mixture of pus and blood. Each being correctly perceives the fluid in accordance with the constitution of her respective sense and mental faculties. 

We cannot talk about what is really in the bowl apart from the correct perspective of the various perceivers. 

...When I teach this, sometimes I point out the tiny spiders clinging to the corners of the room. We are present together with them, here and now. We each have healthy minds and sense faculties. Our perceptions of the immediate environment are both correct, and yet they are so radically different as to be mutually incomprehensible.

Which of us sees what is really there?

Or think about taking a dog for a walk. Going down the street together, there is only a partial overlap between the dog's valid perceptions and my valid perceptions. 

We living beings all inhabit functioning worlds that arise through the unimpaired operation of our respective mental and sensory faculties; these worlds are external to -- but never independent of -- our minds. Thus it is that the worlds of our experience intersect and overlap in astonishing ways, in infinitely complex patterns.

All of this would be completely impossible if in fact each thing actually existed objectively, out there on its own, by way of its independent and intrinsic nature.

Here's the links to my previous posts about Introduction to Emptiness.

In Buddhism, ultimate reality is an absence, not a presence
Emptiness is ultimate reality: nothing, including us, has an intrinsic nature
How consciousness is related to Buddhist "emptiness"
Buddhism: the illusion of life is believing in a fixed reality
Religious belief: a delusion about an elephant in the house
Why Buddhism doesn't believe in self-realization

Comments

[Sunyata]

Emptiness has always been such a confusing term for the Western mind in the context of Buddhist expression.

“In his book on the Heart Sutra the Dalai Lama calls emptiness "the true nature of things and events," but in the same passage he warns us "to avoid the misapprehension that emptiness is an absolute reality or an independent truth." In other words, emptiness is not some kind of heaven or separate realm apart from this world and its woes.

The Heart Sutra says, "all phenomena in their own-being are empty." It doesn't say "all phenomena are empty." This distinction is vital. "Own-being" means separate independent existence. The passage means that nothing we see or hear (or are) stands alone; everything is a tentative expression of one seamless, ever-changing landscape. So though no individual person or thing has any permanent, fixed identity, everything taken together is what Thich Nhat Hanh calls "interbeing." This term embraces the positive aspect of emptiness as it is lived and acted by a person of wisdom -- with its sense of connection, compassion and love. Think of the Dalai Lama himself and the kind of person he is -- generous, humble, smiling and laughing -- and we can see that a mere intellectual reading of emptiness fails to get at its practical joyous quality in spiritual life. So emptiness has two aspects, one negative and the other quite positive.”

Huff Post

[Dungeness]

@ The water and the bullets that appear in the dream cannot quench
@ or kill.The dream mind to which a gun appears is impaired by sleep
@ and is not a conventionally valid consciousness.

By what touchstone can you assert a mind is not impaired
though? A dreamer may confirm the glass of water he
tastes is cool, he feels its liquidity, and it quenches his thirst.
The body killed by a dream bullet lies lifeless with no pulse.
A dream crowd gathers and attests "Yep, it's water alright
and yes, that poor bloke is dead. By the way, shall I call
the coroner to certify COD?"

But on waking from a dream, the glass is missing and so is
the corpse. Now where did the witnesses disappear... They
were existent only at the dream's level of reality. Mystics
say after waking once more, the physical level's reality, no
matter how solidly "conventional" we declare it, disappears
as well. It fades away just like the Cheshire Cat. But for the
mystic who reaches totality of consciousness, the Cat's still
there... grin and all.

[Sonia]

But for the
mystic who reaches totality of consciousness, the Cat's still
there... grin and all.

Posted by: Dungeness | June 05, 2020 at 07:53 AM

Deep thoughts. 🤔

Simultaneously aware of reality on all levels.

Simplifying put, the purpose to human life: to become aware of the difference between dreams and reality.

[Georgy Porgy]

One wonders which non-religious brand of Buddhist atheism this is? Please enlighten me.

Is it from the Tibetan Buddhism that forbids homosexuality?

I read on history.com that Buddha was considered an extraordinary man, not a god, but was ‘enlightened’. This all sounds quite familiar to me. Might the Buddha simply be what RSsb consider a guru or saint?

Buddhists believe in reincarnation. Well blow me down sideways , you gonna have to square that with the atheist cos far as I know no atheists on this place believes you going come back to life.

It says all Buddhists believe in 5 moral precepts which prohibit:
- killing living things
- taking what is not given
- sexual misconduct
- lying
- using drugs or alcohol
Where have we seen this before?

All v strange to me sounds an awful lot like rssb, but apparently Buddhism is ok with the atheists whereas rssb is v silly.

V silly indeed.

[Sonia]

@Georgy

GSD has a lot of statues of the Buddha. I was told his family was Buddhist—extended family I guess.

Either way, Buddhism is profound in that it appeals to both those who believe in some sort of spiritual existence in nature and those who don’t.

It’s a philosophy. Humans like to philosophize...

I’m taking an anger management course, BTW. But don’t test me, I just started it. 😂

[Jen]

"We living beings all inhabit functioning worlds that arise through the unimpaired operation of our respective mental and sensory faculties; these worlds are external to -- but never independent of -- our minds. Thus it is that the worlds of our experience intersect and overlap in astonishing ways, in infinitely complex patterns."

The five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Then there is a sixth sense which is called extrasensory perception (ESP). Mostly people are very logical but some people can feel the energies of others even through the words that they are reading. They know if a remark is kind or helpful and also if a remark is cunning and spiteful. This is why some people react because this sixth sense triggers us to respond even when we know we should simply let it go. Usually very logical types will simply ignore but the over sensitive type of person will lash out when triggered because of what they felt. If we could only practice the expression... to each their own...

[Sonia]

I really need to figure out a way to start summarizing these articles because I’m sure a lot of people don’t click on links. I read a lot and understand what I’m reading but when I try to paraphrase or summarize, I find myself copying just about everything. I suck at summarizing. Maybe I should take a course on that too for Brian’s sake. 😂

Anyway, this article is AMAZING! ‘Everything is Energy, Everything is One, Everything is Possible’
https://www.turnerpublishing.com/blog/detail/everything-is-energy-everything-is-one-everything-is-possible/

(Just like the one posted yesterday—
‘The Hippies Were Right: It's All about Vibrations, Man!’) https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-hippies-were-right-its-all-about-vibrations-man/

Here are a few excerpts from Everything is Energy, Everything is One, Everything is Possible:

“Science has proved that matter is 99.999999999999 percent empty space. That’s twelve nines after the decimal point! If you enlarge the nucleus of an atom to the size of a pinhead, the first electron would be at a distance of 160 feet. In between, there is only empty space. That means that the book you are reading now, the chair you sit on, the house you live in, the earth you live on, that so-called solid reality consists for the most part of empty space. If there is so much empty space, what is left in terms of solid matter? A quick calculation shows us that the solid part of an atom is only 0.000000000001 percent of the whole atom’s mass. It is inconceivable that solid objects should consist of so little solid matter. And in fact even this “solid” matter is not solid.”

“Not only do the atom and solid matter consist mainly of empty space, it is the same in outer space. There are as many stars in the Universe as there are grains of sand on the beaches of the earth combined. These are almost infinitely large numbers, but in between them 99.999999999999 percent of the space is empty.”

“Not only do particles consist of energy, but so does the space between. This is the so-called zero-point energy. Therefore it is true: Everything consists of energy.”

“If the so-called solid particles of an atom take up 0.000000000001 percent of its volume, and the remaining space is fi lled with zero-point energy, we could say that matter is totally penetrated with energy. And we immediately see that this is old news. Science has recently “discovered” what ancient cultures have known all along—that energy penetrates matter. Everything comes from this energy and returns to it. It is the source of all life. Each culture has given its own name to it. Therefore it is called “The energy with a thousand names.”

********
My thoughts—

So, it seems emptiness/oneness of everything is understandable when you consider that everything—energy and solid matter are all made up of empty space with an teeny tiny fraction of “solid matter” which technically isn’t even solid.

If everything is empty space and if there’s nothing substantially separating us then we’re essentially one, or “One” if you want to make it seem more spiritual.

[Sonia]

Mostly people are very logical but some people can feel the energies of others even through the words that they are reading. They know if a remark is kind or helpful and also if a remark is cunning and spiteful. This is why some people react because this sixth sense triggers us to respond even when we know we should simply let it go. Usually very logical types will simply ignore but the over sensitive type of person will lash out when triggered because of what they felt. If we could only practice the expression... to each their own...

Posted by: Jen | June 05, 2020 at 03:53 PM

Hi Zen Jen! How are you?

Yes, I think our reactions are largely programmed during our younger years while our personality is being formed. The environment in which one is raised has a tremendous impact on the development of one’s coping mechanisms. We all develop coping mechanisms one way or the other. Some coping mechanisms are very helpful and empowering. And some are destructive and primarily reactionary. One has to learn healthier ways to channel negative emotions.

I grew up in constant screaming matches with my brother. We were both so young and didn’t have the right guidance for handling negative emotions.

I think constant anger and fear contribute exacerbate emotional sensitivity and contribute to emotional disregulation. Instead of your emotions staying within a socially acceptable range like gentle waves in the ocean, they start going from gentle waves to hurricanes and tsunamis.

Buddhism is great. It’s non-judgemental and really helps to create more “safe space” between one and their perceived threat. With more space you have more time to think about alternative ways of handling stressful situations.

I don’t view the mental and emotional as the same anymore. It seems more helpful to approach them differently even though they work together.

Anyhoo! 🦘

[Jen]

Hi Sonia, you say "I don’t view the mental and emotional as the same anymore. It seems more helpful to approach them differently even though they work together."

I can sense the positivity in your comment, which is great. Keep up the good work. I've been watching on youtube the many protest marches which are quite mind blowing. There seems to be quite a change happening, lets hope it stays positive. Change is in the air!

[Georgy Porgy]

There are other courses you might wanna take instead, i.e. the man-hater, strict-papa or bro-asshole course. But I’m no expert.

I think ppl blame others too much. Oh my family messed me up etc etc boo hoo . Even if it’s true which is a ‘big if’ cos it takes two to tango, how does it help to keep blaming them? everyone’s family fks you up in the sense that they shape a large part of you for better or worse - but how much of you they are allowed to shape also depends on you. No one is perfect.

The good thing about being an adult is you don’t have too put up with it. If you feel it’s becoming too negative, put outa your mind and move on for your own peace of mind. Why over analyze? But if you are fighting with a family member who has your best interests at heart, but just happens to disagree with you - there you need to be more careful. Is your own judgement sounds cod if not, it’s got nothing to do with them.

Still If it’s not working, drop it or them on the head and be done with it. Blood may be thicker than water but you also choose how much of your own blood you willing too donate or put up with.

Of course if you are fighting with everyone, and you have the slightest bit of self-awareness, then the question must be is it really all just ‘them’?