Beyond Concept

Concept Merriam-Webster definition

1: something conceived in the mind : thought, notion

2: an abstract or generic idea generalized from particular instances/ the basic concepts of psychology the concept of gravity

Concepts are what we use to make sense of the world. Every word, thought, and picture in our head is a concept. Before we learn concepts we see the world directly, 'as it is'. As time goes on we take on the language of our family, we learn labels for everything around us, objects, feelings, and ways to string these ideas together. There is an important place for concepts, they are how we communicate with each other, our wants, needs, feelings, and ideas. Yet, a serious problem arises with the introduction of concepts. We mistake these concepts for reality. A conceptual world is formed in our minds, as well as an intimate relationship with them, with our thoughts, these concepts become our reality.

There are many ways that our concepts, from single labels, to more complex belief structures, cause much confusion, conflict, and suffering in our minds and lives. I will continue to explain the more specific ways that this happens in future posts, but first it is very important that we understand this basic issue. For now I'll explain how this grave mistake occurs, and why it is a mistake that hurts us. Let's take a small example such as a chair. Bear with me if this explanation seems boring or common sense, I promise there is a great revelation to all of this... You may picture a specific chair in your mind immediately when I say this, or at least have a general idea of what a chair is and consists of. Which shows us already a false reality we create in our minds, but also shows us that concepts are good for what they are intended for, conversation, relaying ideas and information.

Does the word "chair" really give reality to it? In Spanish chair is translated to "silla." If you were unfamiliar with this language that term would be complete nonsense to you, and vise versa to the native Hispanic with no knowledge of the English term. Yet neither term is more correct, has more reality, or Truth to it. There are many different types of chairs as well. Wooden, metal, armchairs, office chairs, and plenty of other types. Chair is a very general term that can't give reality to the object. What if we took it apart? The chair in the picture here would become a pile of wood, yet it would still be the same exact parts that made up what we called a chair. The parts of a chair are legs, a seat, and a back. None of these parts are a chair until we connect them. We may say that a chair is made up entirely of non-chair parts. In the picture the chair is made entirely out of wood. In reality, this object is so many things other than a chair.

All matter is made up of atoms at the root. This is a very important "concept" to remember. Everything physical, is made of atoms. Not to get confused though, going backwards we can disprove the true reality of all things being atoms as well. There are also molecules, and substances such as the wood, that are made of the atoms. The point here is that no-thing can be pinned down to a label or concept.

Concepts take away from reality. This may seem really insignificant when speaking about "the reality" of a chair, that was just a basic idea to help you understand how concepts don't hold ground. Our biggest problem, that creates the most conflict and suffering is our concept of "self," which doesn't hold any more ground then a chair does. We are most consumed by our idea of self, and the constant feeding of it's desires. I will expand on this topic in further posts, as it is one of the most important things we can learn on our path to Truth.

I must point out, as you may have already been wondering, that no concept, not even these or anything I say or write, can be Truth. Concepts such as these may help develop an understanding or point to Truth. Mistaking any concept, idea, doctrine, or belief for Truth itself is just as much a delusion as any other concept we hold to be reality. What is reality then??? Well it just "Is." Reality can only be experienced directly. What a beautiful thing this is. This is the goal of meditation, yoga, mindfulness practice, and many other spiritual practices. To achieve union with the Ultimate Reality, which is True Reality, which just "Is."