How do Buddhists maintain their claim that there is no ultimate reality?

Question

I'm rather confused by this claim. Are they arguing that there is no single principle that 'reality' can be reduced to or are they claiming that 'reality' per se is illusory?

What is the ontology of Buddhism?

Answer 1

The word reality derives from the latin `res' meaning 'thing'. In German 'thing' is 'Dinge', and the word 'bedingen' means 'to cause'.

Language is sometimes useful in getting a different perspective and if we consider the above, it could prove interesting.

Reality is about things, and things are how we see the world. We see the world in representations, which is thought. It is interesting to note how similar sounding 'think' and 'think' are. In German 'Dinge' and denken'. So Reality is how we represent the world in thought. My 'reality' is not the same as another's 'reality', because thoughts and how they are put together are personal. We can agree on the words, but the meaning can be different for each person. It is even more likely to be different when we are talking about experiences which are emotional or spiritual.

Going back to everyday reality, let us consider an object such as a ball. When we see a ball, we have a conditioned response, in which our memory of balls comes into our mind, and we think 'ball', with all the mix of experience we have had.
(One person may enjoy balls, another may have bad memories of balls, and so on.) If one was to be aware of the ball, without the rush of thought to represent it, but just 'be' with the ball, then we are beyond 'reality'.

As to the question of ultimate reality, if you accept the logic that 'reality' resides in thought, and that going beyond thought is going beyond 'reality', then we can no longer speak of reality. In this 'beyond' we are without representation, without things, but we could perhaps speak of 'cause' (bedingen). This is similar to the concept of 'prime mover' in Christian theology. But really, one can't define in any way, that which lies beyond thought. For this reason, talk of an Ultimate Reality would be illusory.

Answer 2

Buddhist Ontology is based on the premise that our physical presence comprises 5 Parts ...in Pali..Khandhas.

There are 4 mental Khandhas and 1 physical one. None is static and each dissolves upon the onset of death. These Khandhas are the basis of the idea or notion of a "Self", making this "self" illusory because it is not static, is not permanent and is itself variable and totally and insatiably selfish in nature. The "self" is caused to arise in the Consciousness, which again is a Khandha. Because it has causes and conditions in order to arise then the "self" can be caused to "go away" in the same manner.

Everything in our experience, whatever its nature, be it a mountain, a flower, a car as Vinslave has explained, an idea, a feeling, a country, a star, a planet..whatever it is that we experience, is similarly there because of conditions and causes which cause its existence. The nature of every single one of these is impermanence, all is changing and in a state of continual change. Our bodies age, metal rusts, countries change name and sometimes borders, stars are born, live and then die, mountains are worn down by erosion, continents drift apart and come together by continental drift, the earth itself changes shape, our sun ages and will eventually die, buildings which stood for years are torn down to build others or are destroyed by natural forces such as earthquakes, everything is in a state of change, impermanent, yet we see and perceive permanence.

What we perceive as permanence is illusion, nothing at all is ever permanent...ever..

Because of this impermanence, nothing ever has a permanent nature, everything has an intrinsic impermanence. Our reality therefore is continually in a state of flux, ever changing into something else. This is the reality in which we live our life. Buddhists accept this reality as one of impermanence, this is why there can never be any Ultimate reality.

How can there be an Ultimate Reality if what we are seeing is changing into something else even as we watch. Everything is in a state of change, it may take millenia but it is still occurring. To suggest that anything has an Ultimate and therefore unchanging state is ultimately illusion.

What we observe is only observable for the time we are observing. At sometime in the future, that something which we observed will have changed into something else.

A simple example may help explain why this point of view helps us make more meaningful decisions...

We see a beautiful flower, we acknowledge its beauty in the moment of recognition, generally saying to ourselves.."Oh, what a lovely flower..? Do we not..?

A week later we see the same flower and it has faded, we often say.."Oh, how sad, the flower has faded.." Is this not so..?

We have seen the flower fade, seeing its impermanence with our own eyes, yet we have perceived permanence in the beauty we have seen. Our eyes and our perceptions are at odds. As well as this, we have made a decision based on our false and illusion based perceptions. We decided that the faded flower was a sad sight.

The Flower Is Supposed To Fade..!! It is the flower's true nature to fade...Why is it a sad sight to see a natural phenomenon..?

This is why Buddhists "claim" that there is no Ultimate Reality. We accept natural phenomena for its true nature and base decisions on a reality which is observable rather than hoped for or perceived.

Basing decisions on reality rather than perceptions can save a lot of heartache and suffering especially when a hoped for outcome eludes us. A calculated outcome based on reality of experience, allowing for some margin for error is far superior in consequence.

Peace from a Buddhist...

Answer 3

I'll simplify to the best of my miserable ability. Basically we're saying that things exist, but they don't exist inherently. The idea that things are "illusory" means we can't find any one thing that makes something we usually label as a "thing" if we truly, analytically work at it. We're a heap of parts all having labels themselves, that we give another label to as "self".

Take a car, it's not it's engine, it's not it's camshaft, it's not the gas that goes in it, it's not the atomic structure of the metal used to fabricate the engine... so where's the car?

Things exist conventionally, but they lack inherent existence (i.e. "empty" of inherent existence), and since they're not a solid thing with a finite beginning or end that you can really mark that defines when that thing arises or ceases to exist, we call it "illusory". This includes emotions and thoughts, not just matter. So we're not saying things are ultimately "illusory", we're saying that if we posit an object to be "real" from it's own side, we're perceiving it incorrectly because all things arise due to causes and conditions, are changing and impermanent.

Hope this helps some. You can find more about such things at various websites of teachers who discuss this in better detail and much better than I can.

_()_

Answer 4

But that's the point,hence the calm itself. Chaos from dissention to a "reality-based" theory is a Western concept.

Answer 5

the ontology of buddhism is the Self, not the impermanent one, but the permanent one. They accept that you can't justifiably define the absolute reality, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

Answer 6

I think you are trying to do something with the intellect which is better suited to those deeper levels of the mind which are accessed through meditation.
Scholars play with these concepts but only the deeper mind can suddenly say, Oh, I get it!.
Jon C

Answer 7

I am not sure of the Buddhist perspective on reality , but like the topic . As a Christian I don't believe in conventional "reality" either ....... this is a post I placed on one of my blogs about it . It is a bit of a meandering . ... :D


Words are so powerful. Especially our SPOKEN words.
Written words , are very necessary and can be powerful, but contained as thoughts sometimes . Spoken words are believed in enough to share verbally . That state of belief and wonder is what pushes the words into the power of accomplishing something . Belief is the driving force, or energy of our words.
We have a simple, sometimes unrecognized, faith that our words will accomplish something , whether it be a thought or an action from someone else ..or we would never even speak them in the first place. There would be no reason to talk.
Our spoken words do accomplish something every time we speak.( consider what a great fire is caused by one little spark )=That is why it is so necessary to speak the truth in LOVE. If we are not accompishing truth and love, what else are we accomplishing ? . It can't be beneficial without love.
We see demonstrated in the Word , all over the place...........that LOVE has within it's qualities, the exact quality of belief.. of faith,and of hope..resulting in love.(right action) Faith is being sure of what we hope for .Those things are some of the power of God and spoken words.( for ex. we speak with our mouths that Jesus is Christ Lord when we give our hearts to Him..)
God spoke all creation into being. For real. And , we are in Him and made in His image.Our spoken words have the same quality of power.
What does that mean ? ( scratching head ? ). to create? Create what ?

I think about the word, "reality".

To me " reality " is a concept of the secular world devoid of truth and it stops an ability to tap into this power of belief , faith , LOVE, hope, and even true internal peace. ..... because reality denies truths ,like those conveyed by the words , "someday", or "could"... Imagine if Moses and all the people stood at the Sea and focused on the reality of the situation . Reality says that a Sea cannot open up and allow people to walk through it. Would it have been a dream for Moses to believe in God ?That He would defy reality of their situation and show His power ?
But what did moses do ?
He spoke to the people to be still and wait.God just wanted the people to BELIEVE , to have hope and faith that He would accomplish the work with HIs energy.His power. ( I wonder how many of them believed ? does it take everyone , or can it be as much as one person haveing faith ? )
Moses spoke it to the poeple because God told him to , and it happened. What would have happened if Moses wouldn't have spoke what God told him to speak ? ( What happens in our lives when we don't speak what God wants us to speak ? ) Moses spoke and the power of that spoken set of words crippled the reality of the situation. The Sea parted and they pa**ed through . There's a big dose of alternate reality. GODS REALITY.

Reality says that when I speak the word "someday"....It can only be a dream . That there is no POWER in saying ...someday ... .
There is no promise in that word,nor certainty.Realists claim that variables matter always.That circumstances and limits are power.

I cannot recieve that idea as true . Not when I have living faith.
"someday " holds the power of hope. Which is the power of faith .. hope and LOVE.
It is the power of GOD........... because God is love.
The only time and place hope isn't realavent will be in Heaven .
When we are in the presence of perfection face to face.
Man's "reality " is such a hopeless limit to the power of true loving.... and speaking testimonies to it with faith.......
Men crippled by reality don't speak with all the power, the things which they could. If only we believed more! We wouldn't struggle nearly so much .
Speaking the truth in love with hope and faith God has given us defies the chains of this world's reality . There is no such thing as reality when you are a Christian. lol

Thanks for bearing with me and my wandering mind . lol
GBU . ~ Sherri

Answer 8

rather like quantum physics we're all just ripples on the pond

Answer 9

It is beyond words and letters, in the stillness of your being is the answer. ~ : )