The Real and the Illusory
Lo Real y lo Ilusorio
A reflection on the nature of what we call "I," the meaning of illusion in its original context, and the distinction between what is real and what comes and goes.
The Real and the Illusory
A reflection on the nature of what we call "I," the meaning of illusion in its original context, and the distinction between what is real and what comes and goes.
Seeing the reality of something. I am talking about a specific thing, and it has to do with the reality of what you know as "I" or "me," what you experience as "I" or "me." The realization is to see the true nature of that, the reality of what it is.
Now, I am using words like "it," and that is where it gets tricky, because it is not an "it." A quite different way to say it, and a more accurate one, is: the reality that is hearing these words.
What is hearing these words
That which is hearing these words: you have interpretations and beliefs as to what that is. The realization is to know its true nature, the true nature of that which is hearing these words.
Illusion in the original sense
When people speak about illusion, they say the world is illusion, or the self is illusion, or what you are is illusion. All this talk about illusion. I think they are using the term improperly. They are drawing on a Sanskrit concept that, when the teaching came to the West, was correctly translated as "illusion." But "illusion" in the West has a different fundamental meaning. In Sanskrit, illusion means that which comes and goes. It is used in opposition to that which is real. So the question becomes: what is real, and what is illusion?
In that teaching, they say ignorance is to believe that you are something illusory. If you believe you are your body, if you believe you are your mind, you are in ignorance. The body and the mind come and go. You are believing yourself to be something that is an illusion.
Impermanence and dependent origination
Buddhists speak about impermanence. They phrase it as: everything that has the nature to arise will eventually disappear. And they speak about dependent origination, that nothing exists in and of itself. Everything emerges out of something else. There is no independent thing. And everything that arises will go.
In a way, they are pointing to something like pulling the rug out from under your feet. By that I mean: that which you can call "I," that which you can identify with, is shown to have no solid ground. What you are left with is emptiness.
What does not come and go
So is it safe to say that the real "I" does not come and go? Yes.