"The world as seen by discrimination is like seeing one's own image reflected in a mirror, or one's shadow, or the moon reflected in water, or an echo heard in a valley." ~The Buddha
The Buddha often likens the world to an illusion, a mirage, a magic trick, a bubble, a reflection, but what is the message that the Buddha is conveying when he does so? Clearly the Buddha is challenging our very base conceptions, but is it only meant to make us think, or is there some logic behind his claims? Is the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe, the people we love all not real? For me the answer is yes, but with an asterisk.
First, there are some aspects of the world we just know that is real and there are some aspects of the world we just know that is not real. The irony is that the aspects that we know is real, is in fact an illusion, and the part that we believe is impossible, is in fact real. For example, we think our selves, our lives, the things we see and touch are real, but in fact those are the mirages, whereas the invisible things like karma are real. So how is everything we see and touch an illusion? In our lives, there are some important things in our lives- our possessions and our relationships. To Buddha, our possessions are not real in both the actual and metaphorical sense. Things we see in the world are not real, not because they don't exist, they are not real because like people they also don't have a self. They are mere byproducts of our senses. Just as color blindness causes some people to not distinguish certain colors, our senses causes us to see the world one way, which is not the "true" way. A very simple to understand example is money. Money today has no intrinsic value, other than the value we put in it as a means of means of transaction. If you were stranded on a deserted island would you rather have $1,000,000 or a fishing pole? Once our perceptions change, the things we recognize changes.
Some might say, isn't everything based on perception? The answer is no. Universal truths are not based on perception, they are true regardless of your beliefs. One universal truth is that life is suffering, as long as one is ensnared in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, they will have to endure the sufferings of sickness, old age and death, it is independent of perceptions.
For some, it is easier to accept that their possessions are not real, but it is impossible to view their family, friends and loved ones the same way. This is natural and understandable. But in the purest Buddhist sense, that is exactly what one must do. What this means is that an enlightened being will view no difference between their mother and a stranger, as in they will have equal unqualified compassion for both. Remember the Buddha himself left his wife and son to pursue enlightenment and then teach the world. There was a story in the Dhammapada of a wealthy but miserly man who died and was reborn as a beggar. One day the beggar wandered into his old house, where then he was cast out to the rubbish heap. The Buddha passing by the house upon seeing the beggar informed the son that the beggar was his dead father. If one understands that any stranger could have been a mother, father, son, daughter, wife, husband, in a prior life than how would they treat that person? Would they not help if needed?
Therefore, the illusion of this world that the Buddha speaks of is the one where people view the unessential things like money and possessions as essential, and view the essential things like wisdom and religion as unessential. Furthermore, the illusion of this world is one where people believe that they are "a self" and this life is "their life" when in reality life and self are impermanent, and the ignorant are like a hamster running its wheel.
Still for some the idea that the world is unreal is just too difficult to accept. But take for example a dream. When you are in a dream, the people things and people you see seem very real to you. Our world is like a dream, except rather than being asleep, we are in a state of ignorance that can only be awaken with wisdom.
"My teaching is based upon recognition that the objective world, like a vision, is a manifestation of the mind itself; it teaches the cessation of ignorance and desire" ~The Buddha, The Lankavatara Sutra
The Buddha often likens the world to an illusion, a mirage, a magic trick, a bubble, a reflection, but what is the message that the Buddha is conveying when he does so? Clearly the Buddha is challenging our very base conceptions, but is it only meant to make us think, or is there some logic behind his claims? Is the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the air we breathe, the people we love all not real? For me the answer is yes, but with an asterisk.
First, there are some aspects of the world we just know that is real and there are some aspects of the world we just know that is not real. The irony is that the aspects that we know is real, is in fact an illusion, and the part that we believe is impossible, is in fact real. For example, we think our selves, our lives, the things we see and touch are real, but in fact those are the mirages, whereas the invisible things like karma are real. So how is everything we see and touch an illusion? In our lives, there are some important things in our lives- our possessions and our relationships. To Buddha, our possessions are not real in both the actual and metaphorical sense. Things we see in the world are not real, not because they don't exist, they are not real because like people they also don't have a self. They are mere byproducts of our senses. Just as color blindness causes some people to not distinguish certain colors, our senses causes us to see the world one way, which is not the "true" way. A very simple to understand example is money. Money today has no intrinsic value, other than the value we put in it as a means of means of transaction. If you were stranded on a deserted island would you rather have $1,000,000 or a fishing pole? Once our perceptions change, the things we recognize changes.
Some might say, isn't everything based on perception? The answer is no. Universal truths are not based on perception, they are true regardless of your beliefs. One universal truth is that life is suffering, as long as one is ensnared in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, they will have to endure the sufferings of sickness, old age and death, it is independent of perceptions.
For some, it is easier to accept that their possessions are not real, but it is impossible to view their family, friends and loved ones the same way. This is natural and understandable. But in the purest Buddhist sense, that is exactly what one must do. What this means is that an enlightened being will view no difference between their mother and a stranger, as in they will have equal unqualified compassion for both. Remember the Buddha himself left his wife and son to pursue enlightenment and then teach the world. There was a story in the Dhammapada of a wealthy but miserly man who died and was reborn as a beggar. One day the beggar wandered into his old house, where then he was cast out to the rubbish heap. The Buddha passing by the house upon seeing the beggar informed the son that the beggar was his dead father. If one understands that any stranger could have been a mother, father, son, daughter, wife, husband, in a prior life than how would they treat that person? Would they not help if needed?
Therefore, the illusion of this world that the Buddha speaks of is the one where people view the unessential things like money and possessions as essential, and view the essential things like wisdom and religion as unessential. Furthermore, the illusion of this world is one where people believe that they are "a self" and this life is "their life" when in reality life and self are impermanent, and the ignorant are like a hamster running its wheel.
Still for some the idea that the world is unreal is just too difficult to accept. But take for example a dream. When you are in a dream, the people things and people you see seem very real to you. Our world is like a dream, except rather than being asleep, we are in a state of ignorance that can only be awaken with wisdom.
"My teaching is based upon recognition that the objective world, like a vision, is a manifestation of the mind itself; it teaches the cessation of ignorance and desire" ~The Buddha, The Lankavatara Sutra