The ‘Is-ness’ of Things

One thing which has come to me over and over again in recent days is the profound ‘is-ness’ of things. By this, I don’t mean the ‘suchness’, to use Buddhist terminology. What I mean is that when I look at a leaf, it is extraordinary how ‘leafy’ it is …. the texture ripples with extraordinary ‘rippleness’ .. the colours are so vibrant .. greens are so ‘green’ … the sheen on the leaf is so ‘sheeny’ … the shape is so ‘leafy’ and on and on. Everything I look at …. My computer keyboard, the sunrise this morning, my cup, my hand, the carpet …. All are so vibrantly what they are .. such utterly, extraordinarily rich and full.

The ‘why’ question

Why is that? …. The inevitable ‘why’ question from myself! Well, I believe it is because as my meditation matures, then the clarity aspect of mind is becoming purified, and the conceptual overlay on sense perceptions is lessening its hold. As such, I directly perceive the sensory impressions from the first 5 senses more directly, without the veil of conceptual overlay – all the endless associations which that thing has had for me, and so see things much more clearly and vividly than before.

What is so profound for me is how amazing this world of sensory impressions really is. With the benefits of meditation, the sensory fatigue of the normal mind is cleared, and an openness to the richness of experience opens up. Much like ‘beginner’s’ mind’, and much like the sheer wonderment and openness of the small child but with intelligence and wisdom intact, the clarified awareness brings the world to life, and the sense of sacredness to the fore.

This ‘is-ness’ of things is so apparent. And yet.

The ‘is-ness’ melts away

And yet, when you continue to look deeply, the ‘is-ness’, this new found richness, the is-ness melts away, nowhere to be seen, as the emptiness of all impressions comes to view.

How amazing, that appearances are so magical, so vibrant, so utterly powerful in their charge, compared to the non-meditating mind.

And how amazing that none of it truly exists, at all ….. a phantasm which entices and entrances.