Today's contemplation again involved working with the Mind Only School as a precursor to the Madhyamaka Schools. The following verses sum up the reason, from the Mind Only perspective, for appearances:
The mind stirred by habitual tendencies
Arises as outer appearances.
They are not existent objects but mind itself.
To see external objects is mistaken.
-Lankavatara Sutra
Andy Karr's book Contemplating Reality, which includes this quote, is a great source to consult on the views of the various philosophical schools. He mentions an example there which I felt was very helpful. Consider the process of reading. Due to our habitual tendencies, which we have cultivated, we nearly automatically interpret letters joined together as words which also have a sound. So, the habitual patterns this verse is referring to are very deep and more than just our tendency to get sad or angry when someone pushes our buttons. The words are really a product of our habit. Could the same be said for shapes or color? It seems that these habitual patterns could even be tied to our humanness. In other words, the way that we relate perceive the world is due to the karma of having been born human. Would a fly, as Andy Karr points out, see the world in the same way? No, but other humans with similar karma may have similar experiences. I have found a new respect for the depth of our habitual patterns...sort of like being in awe of a big monolith.
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