Just Seeing Is Our Greatest Problem

Just seeing is our greatest problem:
we don’t just see.

First, we must realise that the senses – seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching – are non-conceptual. When the eyes see, there is no thought process involved; the senses are mechanical. It is very important to understand this; there is a natural gap between the sense perceiving and our interpretation of what is seen, but we miss that and fall into the habitual entertainment of sensuality – our likes and dislikes – as opposed to what is beneficial or harmful.

What happens is that we miss the gap of nowness, and recreate a narrative about whatever we see. It’s our backstory, and it’s what has led us to this moment = karma. We actually carry around a library of memories that we impose on everything, and form judgements. That is our predictable dream world. When we relate a story through the senses, this maintains a self-image.

Just seeing is pure consciousness,
full of possibilities, potential and shocks
that are not to be misused by exaggerations.