Not mine, credits to @Being_Is_It on x
I wish to ride on a flower, but the flower that I could ride on cannot arise. Why is that?
The car sped towards me, and I turned my head away, but it didn't stop as Master Yangming had predicted; it still knocked me down solidly. Why?
Regarding the first sentence above, thoughts and their objects arise and cease simultaneously, mutually corresponding. When the feeling of "I" arises, the feeling of "the world and the universe" arises synchronously, instantly. This is the wonder of consciousness. If you desire something, then the situation of being desired will occur. Jesus also said something similar: "Knock on the door and it will be opened." If you fear something, then ironically, the situation you fear is more likely to occur. The entire story of experience is a whole, a narrative disguised as an infinite whole without a story in essence. That which transcends logic will give rise to rational energy, seemingly creating a seamless logical cause-and-effect relationship. Who is it for to digest and enjoy? It is for reason itself to digest and enjoy. It is not an exaggeration to use idioms like "reaping what you sow" or "self-justification" to describe it. This is why the ancients said, "Do not be ignorant of cause and effect, nor fall into cause and effect." This is what they mean by understanding that you do not need to deny or reject cause and effect in your daily life, but at the same time understand that cause and effect is merely an illusion presented in experience, and should not be taken seriously.
For example, if you desire to get rich, you will most likely not. This aligns with the cause-and-effect relationship in experiential stories. The "cause" in these stories could be any of the following: you don't work hard enough, your social status isn't high enough, your opportunities aren't good enough, or even your luck isn't good enough. These are all superficial causes that lead to superficial effectsâyou don't get rich. Perhaps in a certain situation, a certain "cause" appears, making you rich. For example, you happen to encounter the reform and opening up, and real estate prices skyrocket, making you rich from every investment. Does this prove that "cause and effect" truly exists? No! These are all illusory "rationalities" presented in experience. Thoughts and experiences are actually synonyms; they are not two different "things," but the same. When a thought is initiated, the experience is initiated simultaneously. The function of rational thought is to create illusory "logical rationality"âthis is "causality." If at some point you discover that this "logical rationality" (causality) is completely absurd, then the foundation of the thought collapses, and the thought "dies." The death of thought is equivalent to the death of the illusion of a separate "self."
Regarding the second sentence of your question, why, in experience, if a car comes rushing towards you and you don't see it, will you be hit? This is the "logical rationality" (causal relationship) of apparent experience. The "car" is a story, "I" am also a story, "hitting" is a story, and "not seeing" is also a story. Experiential stories are all illusions, just like the dream story from last night is an illusion. Since it's within a "story," its plot is naturally reasonable, because the basic function of thought is to create apparent "rationality."
However, the whole story did not actually happen, even though in the story it seemed that the "body" was "hit".
Perhaps, based on experience, "I" glanced at the car and dodged it, which is also "rational".
From the perspective of the infinite whole (THAT), the entire experience is like a dream; it seems to have happened, but in reality, it didn't. If we follow the first scenario, the "you" in the experience didn't see it and was hit and killed. From the perspective of the infinite whole, nothing truly happened; it's like one dream ending and the next beginning. The "you" in the dream vanishes, neither adding nor subtracting anything; the experience manifests in other forms. In other words, the "you" or "I" in the experience doesn't exist; "I," "you," and "he" are merely manifestations of experience. From beginning to end, it is the infinite whole, singular and unaffected by experience.
Experience itself doesn't actually have any "story"; experience is a synonym for thought, and it is thought that interprets the "story." As Brother Shideng said, experience is "unsettled," but thought interprets it as "settling down," creating something from nothing.
The concept of "self" exists in a state of fear. This fear stems from the feeling that "I" am a separate individual. "I" fear danger because I perceive the external world as separate from myself and threatening. I also fear death because once I define myself as a separate individual, I instinctively strive to ensure the survival of this separate "self," working towards its own benefit. This benefit encompasses "accumulating wealth," "consolidating and improving social status," and even "entering heaven," "achieving enlightenment," and "becoming a Buddha." While the latter three pursuits may seem noble, they are essentially about acquiring benefits for the separate individual "self," and are fundamentally the same personal interests as "consolidating and improving social status, getting promoted and making money," only disguised with a religious veneer.
True understanding comes from discovering that the logical cause and effect in all experiential stories are illusory, including seeing that "my spiritual practice," "my enlightenment," and so on are all pursuits based on maintaining "my" interests. When you understand that every rationality (causal relationship) in experience is just a story, you will no longer be bound by the rationality or causal relationships of experience. You don't need to detach yourself from experience, but at the same time, you are not bound by these illusory storylines (i.e., causal relationships).
When you truly understand, you won't reject experience; you'll simply stop taking it too seriously. In other words, you can let the story unfold without worrying about the outcome. Success in experience? No problem! Failure in experience? No problem! "Neither good nor bad" in experience? No problem! You can fully participate in the story, but at the same time, you won't be bothered by any plot development. "Getting hit by a car?" What's there to be afraid of! If the story requires such an event to occur, it's not "my" choice, but the will of that. Even if "I" see the car coming and dodge it, it's not "my" choice, but the will of the infinite whole.
Would I worry that the plane I'm on will crash? No. Would I worry that a car will come hurtling towards me and kill me? No, because there is no "me" to protect; everything is the work of an infinite wholeâthis is infinite trust. Perhaps it is precisely because I trust myself that experience spontaneously and automatically manifests peace? I don't know, nor do I care about the "peace" or "fluctuation" presented by experience; I only understand that everything is synchronized, without any real causal relationship.
Conversely, if you fear a certain outcome and believe it, becoming entangled in its logic, then the experience you experience might actually manifest as a "fear" because of your taking it so seriously. For example, someone who is constantly afraid of getting sick is more likely to get sick. Someone who is constantly on edge is more likely to encounter "danger." Don't forget, the "world" is a reaction to thoughts; it's completely synchronized (SYNCHRONIZED DISPLAY). Thoughts instantly create the complex narratives of their own thoughts. Of course, I'm not suggesting you avoid the hospital when you're sick, nor am I suggesting you become a "hero" when you encounter danger, shouting "I'm not afraid of you!" or avoiding things according to apparent logic for the sake of convenience. While operating according to apparent logic, I'm suggesting you let go of your anxieties and trust that everything is OK, or not OK, it's also OK. You're not deliberately avoiding anything; everything is you, everything is that you, so how could anything be not OK? Is "avoidance" wrong? Is "not avoiding" wrong? When you understand that everything is an infinite whole, the concepts of "wrong" and "right" dissolve, the illusion of "I" dissolves simultaneously, and infinite trust manifests in an instant. No effort is needed, just this one microsecond of "understanding".
If you want to delve deeper, does the infinite whole (THAT) truly have a will or not? I suggest you ask yourself: what was your motivation for having those dreams last night?
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