On Reality

One of the most humorous things among Buddhists is that many believe that enlightenment means one has managed to see reality. It is quite the opposite!

The Diamond Sutra says, “Don’t let your mind be attached to anything.” Similarly, the Heart Sutra says, “No wisdom and no attainment.” If the practitioner feels that s/he has attained something, it is a sure sign that something has gone wrong. Buddha himself said that we should regard his teaching as a raft. A raft is a vehicle for crossing over. No one ever carries a raft with him after the crossing is done.

Most people talks about reality as if it were something we can all agree on. But it isn’t. The physicists don’t know what reality is. The philosophers don’t know what it is. The theologians don’t know it either. If they appear to know, they are just pretending. In a sense, reality is just a social construct, but a useful fiction. It is a made-up idea. But an idea is like a map. We should not confuse a map with the territory.

The Tao Te Ching opens with the statement: “The Tao that can be stated is not the eternal Tao; the Name that can be named is not the everlasting name.” Similarly, the Indian saint Anandameyi Ma said, “Reality is beyond speech and thought. Only that which can be expressed in words is being said. But what cannot be put into language is indeed That which IS.” The apostle Paul had this to say to the…