If there was no movement of objects then time would have no meaning. Time is only observable through movement, and movement is only observable through time. It's the measurement of time that defines movement, and the recording of movement that defines time.
If there were no objects then space would have no meaning. The space between two objects can only be measured because those objects define the space. Without objects and only unbounded space with no references, measurements of distance have no meaning.
In the same way, if there were no experiences then a self would have no meaning. A self is only definable through experiences, and experiences are only definable through a self. Me as opposed to you, me as opposed to a tree, me as opposed to life, and me as opposed to death are only meaningful dichotomies when delineated by experience.
Time/Movement, Space/Objects, Self/Experience: All are inextricably bound to each other and therefore have no autonomous existence.
A self cannot be the instrument of experience because it has no independent existence outside of experience. A self cannot be the witness of experience because it cannot stand apart from experience to do the witnessing.
All of these truths can be verified by observation. If they remain simply as conceptions and are not investigated through observation the result is a life lived in a veil of illusion.
Yet, if these truths are verified what happens is not that they disappear but rather that in the midst of knowing that time, space, and self are not real it is also recognized that they are the very concepts through which life is lived. With their disappearance life itself would cease to be because it is through these three necessary illusions that life itself is known.
| Share |
No comments:
Post a Comment