..續本文上一頁hat generated the Arahant experience

　　 What does it mean ”In the seen will merely be what is seen”

　　What it means is to see without any distortion of the data, without adding or subtracting from it. As modern psychology knows, what come to our attention as ”the seen” has already been sifted and distorted by our desires and aversions. This process of distortion occurs prior to the event of cognition. It is impossible to see this process as it occurs. It is subconscious. We can only infer its occurrence. We discover that our preferences have embellished the data to present to our mind what we wanted to see, while hostility has denied any access to the mind for those features that we didn”t want to see. What we see is rarely, merely the seen. That which we see with bare attention is seldom the truth. It is not the way things are, it is only the way things seem.

　　We should have had enough experience of life to know this by now. When you men see a beautiful woman, what do you see

　　 Most people, even monks, do not see what is really there – just muscle, sinew, skin and hair – they see instead a bimbo! Where did that come from

　　 Our sexual desire added it on, distorting the reality. When you see the recently deceased body of your mother, what do you see

　　 Again, you do not see what is truly there – just muscle, sinew, skin and hair again – instead you see a tragedy. Your attachment added on the grief. It distorted the reality.

　　In Northeast Thailand many years ago, in poor and remote jungle monasteries, I had to eat grasshoppers, frogs, ants and other crawling insects. That was all there was to eat. A regular dish was ant-egg curry. When you just read this, were you practising ”in the seen will merely be the seen” or did you add on your own disgust

　　 Fried grasshoppers were actually quite delicious. How much do we add on our own likes and dislikes to the seen

　　A tour company wanted to employ a dentist for their cruise ship. So they looked in the Yellow Pages under the section ”Off-shore Drilling”...! How much do we add on to what we see

　　Twenty-five centuries before modern psychology, the Buddha identified the process that distorts cognition and called it the vipallāsa. He explained this essentially circular process starting from view. It is our views that bend our perception to agree with the view. The perceptions then form the evidence for our thoughts. Then the thoughts argue in support of our view. It is a self-justifying cycle. Views generate perceptions that make thoughts that support the views. This is the very process of delusion.

　　For example, someone believes in God. They hold a theist view. That view will deny access to the mind for any perceptions that challenge that view. Scientific facts such as astrophysics, quantum mechanics, geology, bio-chemistry become ”no-fly” perceptions. They are rejected before they even register in the consciousness, because they are antithetic to the view. Only perceptions that support and conform to the God-view survive the subconscious sifting process. These pro-God perceptions then form the data for our thoughts to work on. The data is convincing. It supports our view. We become convinced that there is a God, and our view grows ever more resistant to challenge. Such is the origin and progress of our many religions, which are all convinced that they are right. They are mistaking the way things seem for the way things are.

　　Or take the abortion debate. Are you ”Pro-life” or ”Pro-choice”

　　 Whichever one of these two views you hold on to, it will corrupt your perception, selecting perceptions in support of your view and blinding your consciousness to any perceptions that challenge your view. Your thinking will be built up of your perceptions, in the same way that a house is built up out of bricks. Su…

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