All matter, we are told, regardless of how solid and substantial it looks, is actually more than 99% space. It is made up of molecules that exist in relation to one another, but do not even touch. In fact they are about as widely spaced as the suns and planets of our Milky Way. If this is the case, how is it that things look so solid and dense?The answer seems too be that the aspect of our consciousness mediated by the left hemisphere of the brain causes us to perceive what is there as solid and clearly defined, even though that is not so. If the left hemisphere stops functioning – for example in the event of a massive stroke – our perception of the world around us changes radically because we experience only that aspect of consciousness mediated by the right hemisphere. This was described by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor who had such a stroke1.

…….I was aware that I could no longer clearly discern the physical boundaries of where I began and where I ended. I sensed the composition of my being as that of a fluid rather than that of a solid. I no longer perceived myself as a whole object separate from everything; instead, I now blended in with the space and flow around me….. (p42)

…….the boundaries of my earthly body dissolved and I melted into the universe….my perception was released from its attachment to categorization and detail (p49)…my brain could no longer distinguish writing as writing, instead, the card looked like an abstract tapestry of pixels. (p.57)

This suggests that at one level we have the potential to perceive things as not solid, separate entities, but as a fluid blending together of matter. Right hemisphere consciousness sees and experiences things more in accordance with the reality described by scientists. This level of perception seems to be relatively passive, because there is no sense of controlling, directing or intervening. Nor is there any sense there being a “me” present to do anything. However, it seems that the left hemisphere consciousness overshadows this and projects a more solid, definite and personalised vision of what there is. In doing so it also projects a strong sense of “me” being present to have the experience, be important and so on.

Quite clearly, therefore, our experience of what we call reality is not determined by external objective factors. It is a product of perception. This was amusingly demonstrated by a stage hypnotist who hypnotised a group of volunteers and gave each one bar of soap telling them they were holding delicious apples. They proceeded to eat their “apples” with great enjoyment, even commenting on how sweet and juicy they were.

Buddhist Scientfic View

The understanding that things are not what they appear to be is a fundamental feature of Buddhist philosophy and logic – Buddhist scientific view, if you like.

The Buddha taught that reality consists of two levels or dimensions: what he called “relative” and “ultimate”. The relative world is the one we see and know and experience at this moment, and is characterised by the mode of perception we associate with the left brain: it is dominated by a belief in duality: “me” here and everything else separate from me and over there; a strong all-pervasive sense of “me” being here as the subject of all experience; all objects (including ourselves) being separate and having discernable, independent and enduring identity, that is separate and stand-alone; and, finally, a conviction that time is linear: that there is past, present and future. We humans, the Buddha said, are trapped in this relative world simply because left-brain perception has convinced us that it is the only reality. It is our conviction in the accuracy of this perception that causes us to experience it as real.

1 Jill Bolte Taylor PhD: “My Stroke of Light”

The reality of this situation is what Buddha called ultimate, and it is more in accordance with right brain perception: no linear time, no separate, enduring “me”, no dividing lines and so on.

However, just as the left brain version of reality overshadows and obscures that of the right brain, so for most of us the relative view supersedes the ultimate, and so we are trapped in the relative world and suffer the consequences of that entrapment. This observation is very important because it explains why we suffer when we don’t need to; quite simply, if we believe there is a separate “me” here, then there is someone who can suffer if things don’t go his or her way. Without the idea of a separate “me”, there would be nobody to suffer.

If we could free ourselves from this egocentric view, we would free ourselves from the cause of our suffering. This sounds easy, but of course it is not, because our belief in the reality of egocentric reality is absolute and unshakeable. We not only believe in the reality of this separate “me” and cling tenaciously to it, but we also fear and resist the idea that it may not exist because we see annihilation as the only alternative.

Buddhism tackles this problem from two directions: first through meditation, and second through analysis.

Meditation

If we are able to stabilize our minds, our focus of consciousness shifts – perhaps from left to right brain. As a consequence the meditator experiences a diminishing sense of self and all that is associated with it. With continued meditation this sense of self vanishes altogether, revealing what we would call “right brain consciousness” with its limitless “no separate self and other” qualities and all the non-dual states that are a part of it. Far from experiencing annihilation, the meditator experiences a sense of limitless completion and interconnectedness that is totally devoid of egocentric focus. This state has traditionally been described as “empty” because it is without sense of self; it is “empty of self”. It is also without any sense of anything having any enduring, separate identity. Everything exists in a state of constant change. Nothing is solid or fixed. This is the basis of the Buddha’s teachings on emptiness. Because the term implies a negative sense of annihilation, many Buddhists have searched for an alternative to show that in order to be empty, you have to be there!