Wang Jianping: Daily Article: The Theory of Perception. Part VIII (65)
Is the world internal or external?
This seems to be a confusing question, the world is so big, it is not external, how can it be inside? If not external, where is the inside? Where can I fit into this great world? This immediately shows people's language defects and problems with the logic of thinking. First of all, the external is whose external is obviously outside of me, and all existence outside of me is external. So where is the inside? Where am I? After this question, people are not dizzy. First of all, what am I paradoxical, how to distinguish between the outer and the inner? But roughly speaking, we all understand, is this to say that the world exists objectively in space-time, or subjectively in our consciousness?
If I am not clear about what I am, I will not be able to know or express what the world is. If the world is external, then I am internal; if the world is internal, then I am external. This logic shows that I am not one with the world at all. The question is, how do I prove that I am two separate beings from the world? What kind of world is it? Which one am I? The world is in time and space, where am I? Am I not in space-time? I'm certainly not some kind of figurative being, so what am I? Life, soul, and consciousness cannot represent my existence, so what does the world represent to me? These seemingly brain-burning questions are questions that we must understand, otherwise how do we treat the world? How to settle yourself? How do you live righteously? If you know what I am, you must know what the world is. If I only know that the world is made of matter, then what am I made of? I am certainly not flesh or life, so what am I? If I am a perceptual consciousness, (attention, not subjective consciousness) what is the distinction between inside and outside? The inner and outer are physical logic, how can it be spiritual logic? Perceptual consciousness exists only in existence or non-existence, there is no distinction between inner and outer.
Once the logic is deduced, it gradually becomes clear, the subject's me, that is, the human me, is neither inside nor outside, the perception is me, it is me who is perceiving, what am I? I am perception. What is perception? Perception is the content of figurative things, and I am the sum of the figurative contents of perception. The world is the collection of all the figurative content I perceive, then the world is me, I am the world. This is by no means a logic game, let alone far-fetched, and this is a truth that is difficult to understand at once. Because the world is so grand, too concrete, too fascinating, too incredible, we are so amazed that we forget that this is our perception, this is the magic of our own perception. We can't believe that this colorful and meteorological world exists only in our perception, and so far, no one in the world has this confidence, which is a great pity. We are all humbled and small to think that the great world exists somewhere, but it just happens to be perceived by us, and we have never and did not dare to put this great world in our perception. We take it for granted that the world is grand and I am small; that the world is eternal, and that I am a passer-by worthless. Who gave us the courage to do this? Separates me from the world of perception and reduces me to the point of being dusty. This is really a great absurdity, without my perception, where does this great world come from? My perception is not great, where does the greatness of this world come from?
That's how we get confused and see me as a small sense of self. This is really a great absurdity, how can the small and obscene self of the individual replace me? The me who perceives everything, the one who perceives the great world, is obliterated by us alive, so some people ask confusedly, "Who am I?" Where am I from? Where am I going? "We have been grossly misunderstood by us, we all think that this me is the self that is bitter and obsessed, we all think that this me is the self who is about to die soon after being privatized by the concept of life, and we are very wrong.
Because of these misunderstandings, we have made me look dirty and filthy, can we still connect me with the great world? The world is not strange on the outside, because our inside is too small, too obscene, too unworthy. It is not that we have been thrown out of the material world, but that our psychology is too ashamed of itself, and that our individual ego is not worthy of being compared with the world. However, this is only our subjective logic, in fact, man cannot fail to perceive the world, and man cannot not be the world. That is to say, we are still inseparable from the world, and although we regard the world as something outside of us, and although we regard the world as an objective world, the world cannot exist in our perception. This means that, logically, I cannot be abandoned, and misunderstandings make us mishandle the world and make us mistreat me, but I still perceive the world for us, and this essential way will never change.
I am the world itself, and the significance of this logic is too great, which not only indicates the nature of man, but also determines the relationship between man and the world. The meaning of man's existence is clear, man is the world, and everyone is a world. It can be said that no one can waste this perceived world in the subjective consciousness, and this world is still the whole, the whole you. Knowing this, how will you deal with this perceptual world? The truth has always been turned upside down by us: it is not that there is a me in the world, it is that I have a world. This seemingly simple logic has made human beings misunderstand for thousands of years. (next)