Jim wrote: > Actually my hypothesis is simple yet > radical-- If the future and the past > occur solely in the mind, why then > wouldn't you be creating the tree you > speak of above? All we know about the > tree is what has been observed, and > all you specifically know about the > tree is what you are personally > observing. Same with the "people > outside myself"... > My hypothesis is even more radical-- there's no 'past' because it doesn't exist anymore; there's no 'future' because it hasn't happened yet; there's no 'now' because as soon as you say now, it's past. And there's no 'mind' for any of these ideas to be observed in the first place.
This radical hypothesis holds true regardless of whether all is created, a creation, if it is permanent, or if all is impermanent, or both, or neither. The only thing that I can fully agree with is that I *think* I exist, but maybe not. I once had a dream that I was a man dreaming that I was a butterfly. But now I don't know - maybe I am a butterfly dreaming I am a man. One time I was looking up in the sky and I fell into a ditch and I hurt myself real bad. It's good to dream, but it's not good to dream too much. There must be a 'middle way'. But it wouldn't be a good thing to want a 'middle way' too much.
