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**blogforlovxr** · 05-31-2011, 06:34 AM

Hello Srivijara. I don't think everyone ADMITS to experiencing a "reality" in which appearances arise and exist on their own level of interaction. What I mean is, in the context of a previous post, people experience the sensation of a continuously existing "self" but not everybody admits it.

I think you CAN test this "things are empty of inherent existence" theory out all the time and see it for yourself.
Whenever conditions arise, you can try it. Having "Inherent existence" means arising unconditionally. That means that its qualities arise independently, not conditionally.

For example, if it is raining, rain occurs because of interconnected events. So, it starts raining and then it stops. While it is raining, the umbrella seller says rain is good. The soccer player says it is bad. But the rain is neither good nor bad. it is just rain. It is empty of having any inherent qualities.

Likewise, when the sun is shining the umbrella vendor says the weather is terrible and the soccer player says it is a beautiful day. But the sunny weather by itself is neither good nor bad, it is just sunny. When we say that the weather is good or bad, we are attributing an inherent quality to it. We do that because of attachment to what we like and don't like, or what we want or don't want.

So, these things are empty of any inherent existence. They do not arise independently and they do not last. That is one truth.

But to the umbrella vendor, a sunny day IS bad because he won't sell any umbrellas and his family will go hungry. To the soccer player, playing in the rain is not much fun and he could slip on wet grass and injure himself. So, the fact that these temporary conditions interact in a way that is very real to these people is also true.

When we see that the weather is just weather, and that outside of 'whether' we like it or not it is empty of any intrinsically existing quality, we start to see beyond our attachments to it, realizing that it is changing all the time. When you start to let go of attachments to passing phenomena, you start to cut away at the causes of suffering, which is clinging and so forth.

Really, there is no speculation. You can try this out all the time. I don't understand why people insist that this is speculative.

what do you think, friend?

05-31-2011, 06:34 AM	#16
blogforlovxr Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 673 Senior Member	Hello Srivijara. I don't think everyone ADMITS to experiencing a "reality" in which appearances arise and exist on their own level of interaction. What I mean is, in the context of a previous post, people experience the sensation of a continuously existing "self" but not everybody admits it. I think you CAN test this "things are empty of inherent existence" theory out all the time and see it for yourself. Whenever conditions arise, you can try it. Having "Inherent existence" means arising unconditionally. That means that its qualities arise independently, not conditionally. For example, if it is raining, rain occurs because of interconnected events. So, it starts raining and then it stops. While it is raining, the umbrella seller says rain is good. The soccer player says it is bad. But the rain is neither good nor bad. it is just rain. It is empty of having any inherent qualities. Likewise, when the sun is shining the umbrella vendor says the weather is terrible and the soccer player says it is a beautiful day. But the sunny weather by itself is neither good nor bad, it is just sunny. When we say that the weather is good or bad, we are attributing an inherent quality to it. We do that because of attachment to what we like and don't like, or what we want or don't want. So, these things are empty of any inherent existence. They do not arise independently and they do not last. That is one truth. But to the umbrella vendor, a sunny day IS bad because he won't sell any umbrellas and his family will go hungry. To the soccer player, playing in the rain is not much fun and he could slip on wet grass and injure himself. So, the fact that these temporary conditions interact in a way that is very real to these people is also true. When we see that the weather is just weather, and that outside of 'whether' we like it or not it is empty of any intrinsically existing quality, we start to see beyond our attachments to it, realizing that it is changing all the time. When you start to let go of attachments to passing phenomena, you start to cut away at the causes of suffering, which is clinging and so forth. Really, there is no speculation. You can try this out all the time. I don't understand why people insist that this is speculative. what do you think, friend?
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