What is Buddhism? Basics 8 - The True Meaning of Impermanence of all phenomena and non-substantiality of all dharmas

    First of all, why do we say "impermanence of all phenomena"? When we examine the words more precisely, the original term of phenomenon or phenomena is the Sanskrit word "saṃskāra," and its original meaning is something like "potentiality for formation."

In Buddhism, it is the second crucial element that comes after "Avidyā, (the first element meaning the primordial ignorance) mentioned in the Twelve Dependent Originations.

Saṃskāra refers to the "function" of conceiving the world (through the delusion of self-other separation). In other words, it is the function of creating an imaginary self, based on the fundamental ignorance, Avidyā, which means not knowing the ultimate interconnectedness and oneness of all existence, and separating oneself from others, (creating a distinction between oneself and everything else), through delusion of self-other separation, thereby conceiving the whole world.

"Saṃskāra" also refers to everything, conceived by these functions. So all phenomena mean everything conceived by saṃskāra, (formative force).

As mentioned earlier, Avidyā, (primordial ignorance), or fundamental ignorance of not knowing the ultimate interconnectedness and oneness of all existence, is the result of a lack of the perspective of the "Middle Way" or the way of seeing things without persisting in one's viewpoint as suggested by Buddha.

In essence, those trapped in ignorance of not knowing the Middle Way set a single viewpoint of "self," and by establishing this viewpoint of "self," it constructs numerous other selves. In such a conceived world, it repeatedly competes for survival with all others. All these others are essentially conceived by the delusion of separation of self and others, and conflicts and struggles are inevitable. And such delusion will continue until the perfect middle way is attained.

Furthermore, everything conceived by saṃskāra, (the function of conceiving numerous others, by establishing a single viewpoint of self), is merely a name, given to the juncture of semi-relational constructs, based on comparison and classification, between self and others or among others. There is no substantial essence or entity, corresponding to the name. Therefore, the term "non-substantiality of all dharmas" refers to the fact, that all such conceived phenomena lack a self. (Later, this concept of non-self is expressed using the term "Sunya” (emptiness).

The term "dharma" is highly confusing, originally from Sanskrit "dharma," a well-known term meaning "principle" or "law." However, in Buddhism, it is used to mean "truth" or "teaching" because Shakyamuni Buddha taught the dharma. Therefore, the usage of the term "dharma,"to refer to something conceived by human consciousness, is a highly derivative usage.

Now, it may be relatively easy to understand the concept of non-substantiality of all dharmas, which asserts that everything conceived by human consciousness is merely names and concepts without corresponding entities.

However, the inevitability of these conceived things, being impermanent, is not necessarily very clear.

This is because, it involves the essence of time. Until Einstein's theory of relativity was published, time was considered to be an extremely objective entity, like a guardian, governing everything in the universe, regardless of where one was in the universe, or what mode of transportation one used, all clocks were believed to tick the same time.

However, with Einstein's theory of relativity, it was understood, that time is relative to individual states of motion, and if individual states of motion differ, then each time also differs. In other words, time is unique to individual perspectives, and if states of motion differ, the passage of time also differs.

Yet, not everything in the world has time. There are things unaffected by time, things that never stop at any point—these are light. Because light moves at the speed of light, time completely stops for light. Moreover, since the length of things moving at the speed of light shrinks infinitely, all the distance in the path of light passes by at the speed of light, even if the distance is billions of kilometers, becomes zero.

It is often said, when looking at the stars in the night sky, "That starlight is from ten thousand years ago!" Indeed, from our human perspective, light from a star ten thousand light-years away, flies to Earth over ten thousand years, and covers an incomprehensible distance. Yet, from the perspective of light itself, there is no time for light, and the distance from that star to Earth becomes zero, as it passes at the speed of light. Thus, light from that star reaches Earth, in an instant without spending a second, or traveling a meter.

This is what Einstein's theory of relativity implies. (If you find it hard to believe, please read introductory and technical books on Einstein's theory of relativity yourself, until you are convinced that all the above statements are true.)

In other words, time is unique to specific perspectives, and for things constantly at the speed of light, like light itself, time and space do not exist.

As mentioned earlier on this site, the world we see seems to be expanding outward, but it may be projected outward through a projector called consciousness from within. Even the light of stars in the night sky may come from within us, and when projected outward through our consciousness, the time of ten thousand light-years, and the distance of trillions of kilometers, may be conceived.

In other words, "impermanence of all phenomena" refers to the situation, where people ignorant of the Middle Way construct a relative world around themselves, through consciousness trapped in a single viewpoint of "self," where everything is governed by time, and there is nothing that does not change.

That is to say, when things and the world are conceived by the formative power of "saṃskāra," the back-and-forth relationship of the conceived things is perceived as the flow of time, which is also perceived as change, and therefore, everything conceived is perceived as changing with the flow of time. Then, it is inevitably felt that "everything we perceive changes with the flow of time," meaning "all phenomena are impermanent.”

Thus, if one can cultivate a mindset of the perfect Middle Way, without setting a single viewpoint of "self," and always moving beyond any specific point, like light itself, one may reach a state beyond all relative viewpoints, where there is neither time, nor space like light. Perhaps such a state is the state Shakyamuni Buddha attained. Since such a state transcends all relative states, it cannot be expressed in language, based on comparison, contrast, discrimination, or classification, and therefore, it must have been difficult for him to convey it to others.

If Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment is a state without time or space like light itself, then just as the light from ten thousand years ago arrives instantaneously, Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment may also reach us instantly, ten thousand years ago, or ten thousand years from now, and we may be able to perceive it whenever we want. Perhaps this is the meaning of the eternal nature of Buddhahood, taught in texts like the Lotus Sutra.

In this way, the state of the Middle Way, taught by Shakyamuni Buddha, transcends all relative viewpoints, and thus, there is neither time nor space, but it may also be a state, where one can reach all conceived existences instantly beyond time, making it possible to interact with everything that is conceived.

I think it is extremely difficult for ordinary people like us, to achieve a mindset of the perfect Middle Way like Shakyamuni Buddha, but ultimately if we stop clinging to our viewpoints, and cultivate the habit of always wishing for the happiness of others, and thinking from their perspective, we may move closer to the Middle Way. Perhaps, we may catch a glimpse of the state Shakyamuni Buddha fully attained even if only for a moment.

In everyday life, rather than insisting on our views, if we cultivate the habit of considering the positions and the viewpoints of others, starting from our family, friends, and colleagues, we can begin to see things that were not visible from our viewpoint, and understand the feelings of those around us. This is a very common-sense thing, but it is precisely by transcending our viewpoints that we can steadily approach the Middle Way as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha.

#sabbe-saṃskāra-anitya #sabbe-dharma-anātman #TheoryOfRelativity

#Einstein #LotusSutra #Impermanence-of-all-phenomena

#Non-substantiality-of-all-dharmas