dream make us suffer exceedingly. When we awake and understand that the
beginning, middle, and end of the dream are all figments of the mind and that
there is not an iota of substance or a specific attribute that exists, then our
suffering dissolves like mist in the morning sun. To overcome that suffering, it is
imperative to strive on the path of awakening, to understand that the dream is
unfounded and that there is no other way than this path to defeat it. To that end
we rest all the creative appearances of dualistic samsara in pure presence and thus
release them.
Until we recognize creativity itself as the magical illusion of pure presence, until
we have gained confidence, optimized our creativity, and attained release, we
must train on a gradual path.
1.29 SAMSARA NEVER EXISTED EXCEPT AS MERE CREATIVE VISIONS
Some people ask urgently, “Where did the very first sentient being come from?”
and “What was the cause?” I would like to address that question here.
Metaphorically speaking, samsara consists of the universe as the container and
living beings as the nectar that it contains. According to both the Theravada and
Mahayana traditions, the cause of both the universe as container and the beings
living within it are emotional afflictions. The emotions are the source of both
karma and the source of further affliction. The external universe as container has
innumerable associated causes, and these seven—seed, shoot, leaf, trunk, stem,
pith, flower, and fruit—serve as examples of the causal process, while the six
associated conditions—earth, water, fire, air, space, and time—serve as examples
of the conditions in which that process operates. The living beings that are the
elixir in the container emerge from the sources of karma and emotion: ignorance,
volition, consciousness, name and form, sense fields, contact, sensation, craving,
grasping, becoming, birth, old age, and death. From these interrelated causes and
conditions, the six elemental physical qualities of beings arise, namely, earth,
water, fire, air, space, and consciousness. And where does the current karmic seed
come from? It originates from the previous seed. And where does the previous
seed come from? It originates from the one preceding the previous and so on
without end. Neither religion nor science has any credible answer to the question
of the origination of an original seed, and thus we may infer that there is
continuity or that it is beginningless like a circle. For that reason our Buddha
Shakyamuni has called the outer container “cyclic existence” or “samsara.”
Therefore, in response to the question, “Where do the living beings within the
container come from?” the answer is that rebirth follows from old age and death.
“Where does old age and death come from?” They follow from birth. “Where does
birth come from?” It arises from becoming and then successively in reverse
through all the twelve interdependent links of origination until we arrive once
again at the question “Where does ignorance come from?” It arises from old age
and death. In this way we circle continuously in samsara, which is like a wheel. So
it is called “cyclic.” Since everything always depends upon a previous
concatenating cause, we call it a “cycle.” If we think, however, that this circular