Gesar

When problems are accepted as real, a whole reality arises to support them. There are objects that are difficult to deal with, patterns that go wrong, tools that do not work right. When the mind pronounces a problem, it pronounces this surrounding world as well.

Suppose that this very real world were hollow, like a phantom or hallucination, or like an image that appears on a television screen. We could even say that the objects of our problem-world were like space. Would seeing the world in this way make it easier to penetrate it? Could we pick up a sword and slice through the fabric of the projected world?

There is a difficulty with this suggestion. If the world we accept as real is made of space, what about the sword we use to slice through it? What about the act of slicing? And if the fabric itself is a projection, what is there to slice through? What is there for the blade to hit?

How far could we get by declaring war on our projections? Can we use space weapons to strike at space projections? If the background of reality is space, it might seem we could penetrate reality and arrive at space. But if even the fore- ground of reality is space, where is there to go? What is there to strike at? If each object and each problem is space, if we are space ourselves, waging war may just be a way to tire ourselves out, with no real benefit.

How can space cut through space? Who is the one who strikes out? Where does the sword come from? If space is the parent of every projection, what is the point?

Projecting the Whole

Perhaps a different way is to see into the activity of projecting. If the field of mind is projected, everything within that field is projected as well. The one with the problem is not separate from the problem. The cause is not separate from the effect. Somehow the problem has been projected, and now there is someone to identify and accept it, to be loyal to the problem and loyal to the field of space.

Mind projects the one who knows there is a problem, who accepts the problem and pronounces it to be so. Could we say that mind projects mind? Who notices? Who feels? Can it be anyone other than mind? The interplay of mind and projection, of the one who holds the sword and the sword itself, only confirms that the bonding is solid. One thing is linked to another, and that thing is linked to the next. So of course the problem is really serious, really real. Mind projects and mind receives, mind pronounces and mind projects. That is how we know there is a problem. Mind orchestrates the message, and we find ourselves chewing on that same tough nut.

Making a Deal

Knowing all this does not make the nut any easier to crack open. We may see mind and object and problem as actors in a stage production, frantically engaged in some kind of complicated “stage business” to keep the audience from noticing that nothing much is happening. But at the same time, we have bought our ticket and taken our seat in the audience. We have worked out a complicated negotiation: we agree to accept that everything is just so, and in exchange we will be entertained, and will not have to ask any embarrassing questions. But the papers were signed and delivered a long time ago, and everything has been set in place. The baby has already been conceived, and now our job is to give birth. Real is real. There are no two ways about it.

Is real also true? The question is almost irrelevant. We are inside the projection, bonded to everything else that appears. Why ask any more questions? This is it.

What this means is that the problem can’t be solved. On the one hand it is only a projection, so there is nothing there to solve. On the other hand, there is nothing there but the problem, no way to transcend it or go beyond. And this nothing leaves us feeling uneasy. In fact, this nothing is the problem. We don’t want to look, don’t want to investigate too deeply. That is why we are willing to be loyal. We agree to be the carrier of the problem, and in return we can trust in our experience. There are no new dimensions to explore, no new pathways to discover.

Uneasy but Unwilling

What can you do in a world built around the self and its problems? There is no shortage of answers, and people try all of them. You can go on vacation, make more money, build up a successful business. You can entertain yourself, seek out thrills, try drinking or drugs. But what- ever approach you take, the basic problem persists. A shadow looms over every activity, every new pleasure. Like a sail- boat lost on the high seas, you zig-zag back and forth, looking for a more permanent solution. But you will never find it, because you carry the problem with you. Even if you seek your answers in a spiritual path, a religious faith, philosophy, or Dharma, you are unlikely to get more than a brief respite. The inescapability of the problem is one of the biggest problems at all.

If we could break free from our own projections, exploring our inner experience closely and touching lightly the workings and features of our minds and senses, we might arrive at a level before the problem operates. Like an anthropologist immersing herself in an unknown culture or a scientist experimenting with a newly discovered phenomenon, we might be able to awaken a different way of knowing. Questioning what the mind pronounces, we might be able to understand how the problem arises, to make friends with the patterns that bring it into being, so that eventually we could make friends with ourselves.

But how realistic is this approach? Suppose I tell you that your problem is a projection and invite you to question the reality of what the mind pronounces. Are you likely to accept this diagnosis? Will you be enthusiastic about this approach? Or will you resent what I have to say? “Yes, yes, I know that the mind projects reality. But that’s easy for you to say. My situation is different. My problem is real. Now please go away! I have real work to do.”

The Price of Connecting

If you want to connect with people, challenging their problems is not a very smart move. Instead, you would do better to be sympathetic and supportive. “Yes, I know you have a problem. I can see that it’s difficult. I really admire you for struggling to deal with it, for trying to rise above it.” Take an empathetic approach and you will likely get a very positive response. Go along with the problem, accept its legitimacy, and show that you understand how much suffering it causes.

It may seem that by going along in this way you are actually encouraging people to suffer more, but that is not how they will see it. Instead, they will value your kindness. They may share with you their story about how the problem arose and who is responsible. They may reveal their sense of being a victim.

In return, you may be able to make a few suggestions. Perhaps you can gently suggest some other approach by your tone of voice, or with a few non-threatening observations. Perhaps, since you have accepted the reality of the problem, you can suggest a solution. But you will have to orchestrate your response with care, for until you acknowledge the problem and show your respect for it, they have no reason to go along with you. “What do you understand about my situation? How can you appreciate my suffering? Take your ideas somewhere else! You have nothing to say to me.”

Holding on Tightly

Once you accept someone else’s problem, they are ready to listen to you. The two of you have gone into partnership, and you can conduct a mutually profitable business. If you want to offer some advice, you have a ready audience. “You really understand what I mean! I like your way of looking at things. You have a lot of insight.”

Of course, the result is to reinforce the problem. But that is a price we may be willing to pay. “Yes, I have cancer, but I think it’s curable. Anyway, I have to carry on. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to win the fight!”

On the other hand, if you do not accept the problem, if you question the problem-making structure, you are met with cool skepticism, disbelief, or layers of abstract reasoning. “Are you telling me the monsters that live under my bed aren’t real? I’m afraid you just don’t understand. See for yourself how scary they are! Just look! Then try to tell me it’s my projection.”

The problem may be a story, but we have been taught the story from the very beginning, and it sticks in our mind. Right and wrong, positive and negative all depend on the story. Language makes sharp distinctions, and we have learned all the right definitions. So we follow along, accepting the truth of the words and concepts we rely on.

A Different Dimension

“Are you saying that my understanding is wrong, that the words I use are meaningless?” No, not at all. Words and concepts are meaningful. But they are also just words and concepts. If we understand this, another dimension may open up within the world of the problem. We may discover other ways of dealing with our situation.

In the end, mind can pronounce differently. Why should we
accept only one way of being? Why not invite more knowledge? For the sake of your own well-being, allow for new knowledge. In the midst of the story, celebrate the knowing of the unknown.