yogin wrote:I was thinking about the conditioning process of the mind. We all may experience the same thing but give it different meaning. It is the interpretation we impose on experience. I can see how this builds a complex picture that we may call reality.
How about the experiences without interpretation? From a buddhist perspective, is the sensual experience similar to us all or how is it guided by our conditioning?
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I've posted replies about similar topics before, so I hope this post doesn't bore people.
Anyhow, all thinking humans... call them "sentient beings" if you wish... filter all their experiences through their mind.
The mind that does this filtering of experiences can be called...to give it a name...the "Ego Mind".
Thsi is the mind that says "I am", "I like", "I want", I hate", and such terms.
With this mind in control of our perceptions we construct of view of "reality" ...our "world view".
In Zen a teacher will use every trick and means that he/she can to force the student to think or perecieve "outside" of that Ego Mind and it's preconceptions.
Wnen and if that is achieved, even if only for a minute, the teacher must be ready to... at least methaphorically ..."grab the student by his/her shoulders and throw them into understanding".
The student must "percieve" the moment outside of the preconceptions of his/her Ego Mind... and by doing that come to realise that his/her "reality" is in fact an articial construct of his/her "world view" by that Ego Mind.
(I guess that would include the "Ego Minds" preconceptions on sensuality and sensual perceptions also, although I never thought of it that way before.)
How about the experiences without interpretation?
That is the whole point of breaking the student away from his/her Ego Mind and it's illusions/delusions... so he/she can see "reality" free of the preconceptions of that Ego Mind.
It isn't easy to do, but once achieved it is wothwhile.
Once that first stage is obtained, the student can go on to deeper understandings....but that's another story.