O_O
This post is going to be just me writing down my thoughts in regards to exploring what knowledge I've recently refined. I personally think systematically structuring and organizing these thoughts is a very important task. Firstly, doing this helps refine and fortify my memory of the information, secondly I want to share it as well.
So what does the word impermanence mean? A state or fact only lasting for a limited period of time. This is a prominent word in Buddhism for articulating the metaphysical component of reality. If we consider this to be a consistent feature that dictates the quality of reality, then such a quality must also be noticeable within human consciousness. Since this would be the case, human consciousness in the western sense, depends upon the reliable and static configuration of personality. This is not something that is ever subject to significant change within the normal western cultural context. Perhaps though as we age, are neurons are subject to inevitable deterioration. Considering this as the case, it can then be understandable that significant personality shifts do take place and certain people may become barely recognizable. But another rather helpful feature of the Buddhist ideology is that of anatman or non-self. This is also something that sits side by side with the concept of impermanence. So since in Buddhism the claim is made that nothing lasts, the concept of a static soul or self is then no longer an applicable concept. Now to elaborate upon this further, the entirety of abstractly defining concepts or encapsulating something into a 'conceptual thing' also is not a valid logical operation within Buddhism. Since this is the case, Buddha arrived at the conclusion that the Self or Soul was not something that was part of reality.
Next I want to state the four noble truths concept that Buddha discovered about reality. The first is just the idea of suffering. The second is that craving or grasping for things creates suffering. The third is that there is a cessation to suffering. The fourth is carving or developing a path to walk that continually leads your away from suffering. Now I wanted to explain and talk about this simile that I found to be a very helpful way to envision and understand these 4 noble truths. Imagine you are dropped off on a planet that is nothing but water. Being a human being, you are designed for land. So the moment you land upon the surface of this water planet you do not get to comfortably stand or have any familiar motions that your accustom to, you instead have to swim to breathe. So the first truth is just suffering, in imagining this situation, wouldn't it be perpetually unpleasant to have to swim just to breathe? So in this example this illustrates the first truth rather well I believe. Of course seeing how that is the case in respect to human beings within the natural context that our bodies have evolved to survive within, it becomes a bit harder to see how that suffering is the climate in which we live within. So now unto the second truth! That craving is the cause of suffering. So in this simile, I cheated a bit by sliding in craving into the first truth. You of course crave for oxygen in which you need in a pool of water! Its just that the first and second truths are very close to the same definition. This unfortunate semantic blemish can we better understood as occurring when I refer to thinking and the cause of thinking. When trying to explain that, don't you quickly find yourself trapped in an endless cause and effect circle? Suffering can be thought of a the minds way of alerting itself that it is not receiving a sufficient quantity of pleasure or contentment. So when referring to the fact that suffering is a natural state of consciousness for humans, that is nothing more than referring to the 'cause' of the cause and effect chain of metaphysical consciousness. Or just that suffering is a natural perpetual feature of being a conscious being. Suffering is the natural alert frequency of the mind to instigate other portions or features of the body to then be focused upon and used by the mind. So back to the simile, the second truth, you are craving oxygen to breathe on this water planet! So what then would constantly be the source of the alarm bells within the mind to ring out suffering? Your craving for oxygen! This is a bit of a silly simile but it seems very easy to grasp how it works. It is obvious that you indeed need oxygen to then breathe, so what then is the cause for your alarm bells going off? The fact that you need to breathe! So the craving of the mind for the mandatory substance of oxygen then becomes the primary motivating fuel supplying the alarm bells of the mind. Now to the third truth! The third truth is there is a cessation of suffering. So in the simile a great way to end the alarm bells of the mind would be some nice land in which one can rest their body! A nice escape from the constant and endless swimming and floating oneself would be a very excellent thing indeed! Now finally the fourth truth and conclusion, the path to the end of suffering. Back to the simile, just imagine on this water planet we would find a nice peace of land that was quite long and mysterious. Wouldn't such a piece of land be absolutely glorious to discover after being in what was an endless floating through this water planet? Finally a place that ones body was designed for! All the features and mechanisms of ones body swiftly and naturally adapt to this solid piece of land that offers itself as a salvation from the dreaded water world! So this is my mental image of Buddhas four noble truths I carry with me in my mind. In trying to learn and follow Buddhas noble eight-fold path I feel like getting to the point in which I can call out “land ho!” Nirvana would be the land, but this simile doesn't do nirvana justice at all. Nirvana is absolutely not to be conceptualized as any type of place or physical destination that we are accustom to envisioning.
The final topic I want to end on is the word: vipassana. This word means: seeing life as it is, or seeing things as they are. So to start of I want to refer to a manner of this being explained in a video I have watched many times. As a person who grew up with a very western manner of experiencing seeing as that of seeing things, objects, concepts, rationalizations, figures, ect. Always an abstract word to provide a mental placeholder of the mental operation of seeing. Yet the entire concept of vipassana is that of seeing and understanding life as not a 'thing' or 'definable entity' but as experience. Experience is always a unique point in time and can not be absolutely compartmentalized into something that can then be referenced absolutely. So every moment within existence happens within these unique moments of time and space. Then, seeing life as it is is then not getting carried away with hopelessly clinging and grasping ahold of moments in time with the expectation or craving to gain control over these particular nodes of space and time. Once again the idea of impermanence shows its face within the idea of vipassana!
Cheers!
周培森