Saturday, October 10, 2009

Hua Hu Ching - Verse 31

Verse Thirty-One
The Tao doesn't come and go. It is always present everywhere, just like the sky. If your mind is clouded, you won't see it, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. All misery is created by the activity of the mind. Can you let go of words and ideas, attitudes and expectations? If so, then the Tao will loom into view. Can you be still and look inside? If so, then you will see that the truth is always available, always responsive.
~ Translated by Brian Walker ~
If a tree falls in the woods, but no one is around to hear it: Does it make a sound? I remember reading this question as a lad and thinking it quite funny! Well, of course, it makes a sound, I screamed. Why wouldn't it?

Now that I'm older (and possibly wiser), I look at questions such as this much differently. Today I'm not genuinely sure what the answer is.

Perception is dependent on consciousness.

I'm a very focused individual. If I'm concentrating on something, you could explode a bomb in my vicinity and I may not notice it at all. So, if I'm sitting in a forest concentrating on reading the Hua Hu Ching and a tree falls within my proximity, there's a really good chance I might not perceive it. If no other entity perceives it as well (including the tree itself), does it make a sound as it crashes to the forest floor?

If you answer yes, what does that mean? What is an audible sound when there is no one or nothing to hear it? What does a noise sound like that is perceived by nothing?

For me, this sort of represents what this verse is pointing toward. When we strip away the manifestations of ego, we perceive nothing, yet realize everything. We hear no sounds, but recognize the rhythms of the universe. We see no sights, but become one with the beauty of the cosmos. We think no thoughts, but all knowledge flows within.

This post is part of a "miniseries". For an introduction, go here.

9 comments:

  1. Aloha,
    I've always found this tree-in-the-forest question (and its corollary koan, one hand clapping) kind of annoying. It all devolves into questions of physics, biology and linguistics. A more interesting thing to consider, I think, is the question posed by my teacher:

    "Who were you before your parents were born?"

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  2. HI R T -

    Well, I think it does make a sound regardless if it is heard by a "human" - other living things heard it, for sure - and probably scattered in fright.
    ANd the question the other commentor posed? About who our parents were before they were born? I wonder why or how that matters. Hmmmmmmmm

    Love you
    Gail
    peace.....

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  3. oops - I re-wrote the question incorrectly, it is " who was I before my parents were born"? still a wonder as to what knowing that could do to help. Hmmmmmmmmmm

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  4. Koans are not meant for logical assessed answers.

    Both should inflict a state of emptiness as they have no logical answer (especially in the times they were first set so long ago) and then you blurt out some answer or action.

    You may open the palms of your hand and blow, you may stand up, stamp your foot and sit down. You may stroke your chin, you may say 'I see no apples there'.. or 'ah the river flows deep today'.. you may say 'mu'

    Your answer reflects your state. If you say "erm well maybe if we had a microphone and a....." then you are too logical and teacher hits you with a stick.

    Your face before were born is that you were the infinite, and still are but associate with the little fleshy me.

    Sounds are made in the mind. Your answer to the tree question shows the teacher whos mind you consider you have. The great mind or the little one staring out from behind your eyes.

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  5. i am too logical, then. my instinctive response is to ask "what to you mean by "sound"? the physical presence of sound and the perception of sound are two different things." :P logically, the tree will still make sound waves. assuming there are no insects or other creatures around to hear it, there would be no perception of sound. still, i think the sound waves would still have a subtle effect on the environment. remember in grade school where we grew a plant exposed to classical music, vs. a plant exposed to screaming? sound still has an effect, whether or not it's heard.
    and yes, i know, i am too logical. :P

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  6. I'm probably too logical as well, have been compared to Spock (of Star Trek) on more than one occasion.

    Well since I have commented on this topic before on another blog, here is a reposting of an old comment I made, that I feel is highly relevant to this post:

    Does a falling tree make a sound in the forest if no-one is there?

    Well, first we need to define a few things:

    1) What is meant by no-one? No human beings? Or nothing at all?

    A living tree could not exist in absolute isolation. The tree itself will be home to insects and other biological life forms. And certainly some of those creatures perceive sound. Well anyways, in this abstract scenario I suppose if the tree is completely alone, no people, no forest, no animals, no insects, no nothing, I suppose the only way the sound could be detected is if the tree were consciously self-aware. If not, well than, no body would hear it right? But...

    2) The second thing we need to define is, what is sound? Sound is essentially A vibration of energy, and besides being heard sounds can also be felt, and with certain instruments they can even been seen. But sound is merely one aspect of energy, so that sound is just one quality of a phenomenon, when you hear something there is more occurring than just the sound.

    So whether or not any one else is present to experience these vibrations, the vibrations are released are they not?

    Here's another example: instead of a falling tree, let's say you are completely alone. You are a consciously self-aware being, right? So as long as you have the ability to hear, if you make a sound, you are going to hear the sound, right? It doesn't matter that no body else is there with you.

    So, consciousness is certainly an important factor here.

    There are a lot of things occurring that are outside of our ordinary range of sensory perception. We've discovered some of them, that we've been able to observe through the use of tools: like radar, and micro-organisms.

    Without the microscope the microscopic dimension was not observable, but just because we didn't see it didn't negate its existence. It was there all along, but we just didn't see it. So definitely consciousness is the important factor in this equation.

    Does color exist for the person born blind? Or touch to the person born paralyzed? Or sound for the person born deaf?

    Your senses of: Sight. Sound. Taste. Smell. Touch. are tools which enable the perception of energy in one or more of its aspects. Not The Complete Picture. A rather limited view is observed through the five senses.

    So these senses are not comprehensive. There are aspects or forms of energy that exist beyond the threshold of sensory awareness. Just because we don't see or hear something doesn't negate its existence. Right? This is why I personally don't discount the possibility of supernatural phenomenon.

    Oh and in a way I think your friend is right. If no-one means nothing, there couldn't be a forest. Because if there were a forest there most certainly would be something present capable of hearing the sound.

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  7. #Action#
    Tao hits Cym / Adventure Scout with a stick.

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  8. That's why I love Koans. They oblige the mind (our inner monkey) to still.

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  9. Thanks for all the comments. This is one of these posts which has no definitive answer, so how each person looks at it is the answer for him or her.

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