To exist, an object or being must be observable. Early astronomers did not know of the vastness of space because they had not observed distant faint objects. Modern astronomers can only postulate what else there might be out there. I like the example: dark matter and energy. We cannot directly observe them either. Do they exist? Heck, I don't know.
This post was edited by Element 99 at July 16, 2020 1:39 PM MDT
I like this definition. Just as I trust the feeling of gravity, the feeling of weight in my feet as I walk or of the pressure of a chair when seated, I trust all my senses. I love it the science has been able to invent tools to observe and measure things exponentially larger and smaller than our senses can perceive. And that what we learn becomes of use to us, like electricity and the internet. We keep discovering more and more, and gradually the pieces begin to fit together into a coherent whole, fewer and fewer pieces missing. And yet always there is room for more detail, deeper understanding, more questions.
It all seems so concrete to me. It seems impossible that it might be nothing more than a collective figment of the imagination. I don't think humans could just imagine or make it up, not when we are feeling things so tangibly from the moment of our first breath, our first taste of milk.
I agree that the ego is an illusion. It is the aggregate of conditioned reactions, memories, roles, values, beliefs, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and intentions, and the majority of us identify with it so strongly that we never question it. When it comes down to the simplest, we are that which is conscious. That much, Vedanta and Buddhism share.
But their interpretations or ways of naming it differ.
Vedanta says that the small self of our consciousness is a part of the one great universal consciousness, that we are all one, that all phenomena are a part of the one. I accept that this view can lead to enlightenment for dedicated practitioners.
Buddhism says that the ego is the self, but because it is an illusion which is ephemeral and impermanent, ultimately there is no such thing as the self. It's known as anattā. I accept that the Buddhist path can also lead to enlightenment for those who practise continuously.
This post was edited by inky at July 16, 2020 1:33 PM MDT
Element 99 