06. The Dance of Presence and Absence: Understanding Forms and Emptiness

In our daily lives, we encounter various forms—shapes, emotions, feelings—that we sense and then interpret using our memories to give them meaning. This process allows us to communicate these experiences to others. Essentially, our memories project onto our sensory experiences, enabling us to understand and share them.

At the heart of this experience is ‘aliveness,’ which lets us recognize both the presence and absence of forms. Forms are the appearances or perceptions that come to us: the shape of a chair, the color blue, or the feeling of warmth. Interestingly, forms can also manifest as an absence of matter. For example, when we draw a figure in a spread of powder, the absence of powder reveals the figure—though there is no physical figure present.

This concept extends further: the absence of matter is space; the absence of light is darkness. We name these absences and conceive them as something tangible, even though they’re not perceived through our senses. Take space, for instance—it has no sensory quality, yet we conceive it as if it were perceivable.

Consider the sky: we say it’s blue, but since there’s no objective ‘sky’ as such, can it truly have a color? The sky is merely a visual sensation; there’s nothing tangible called ‘sky.’ Yet we often treat absences as if they have an independent existence.

By attributing meaning to both presence and absence, we create a duality in our world. The mind has a knack for defining what ‘is’ and what ‘is not,’ giving reality to appearances or events that exist either now or in memory. This perception shapes our understanding of time and events, often leading us to mistake mental constructs for physical reality.

This duality can be seen in how we perceive pain and pleasure: the presence of pain implies the absence of pleasure, yet in truth, the absence of pain is peace. Our world is built on these dualities, with one end serving as a comparison to create the other—even though neither can exist independently.

Understanding this interplay between presence and absence can lead us to see beyond meanings attributed to forms and events. It allows us to recognize that life’s significance isn’t just about pleasure or pain but encompasses a broader spectrum of experiences.

Perceiving the Unseen: An Experiment with Presence through Absence

Let’s delve deeper into this concept with a simple experiment. Take a 10-inch square piece of white paper and cut out a 4-inch circle from the centre. Hold this paper up and observe. The circle you see is defined by its non-existence; it’s present because of its absence. This paradox illustrates how we perceive something that isn’t there—a perfect example of the presence of absence.

This phenomenon isn’t limited to paper cut-outs; it extends to how we perceive people and objects. We see shapes, but our minds project objectivity onto them, creating a perceived reality from knowledge. Thus, reality persists in duality, supported by our understanding.

Consider paintings: we see objects where there is only paint on canvas, and similarly, we view the world as a collection of distinct objects, even though our perception is unified. Our minds project knowledge onto these forms, giving them an objective reality separate from us.

Imagine the perspective of an infant or an early human with no knowledge of objectivity. To them, the world is a continuous perception, an experience of wholeness without separation. They cannot comprehend the purpose or material of a tree; it’s merely a shape and colour to them.

As we name these forms—like calling that shape a ‘tree’—we engage in a game of grasping objectivity, even though true understanding remains elusive. Names become placeholders for things we imagine to be true.

Humans have an innate desire to categorize and understand. Unknown entities are labelled as such, making them ‘known’ in their unknown-ness. However, true subjectivity lies in the knowing of forms, which cannot be fully grasped as all known entities fall within the realm of objects.

The subject—the essence of our being—cannot be objectified without creating an infinite regress of needing another subject to know it. It remains purely potential, forever beyond objectification. To even label it as ‘unknown’ implies some level of knowing, requiring a deeper intelligence to comprehend.

The Illusion of Objectivity: Unveiling Our True Nature

In our quest to understand reality, we encounter a profound truth: forms are visible, but objects or things are not truly there to be seen or unseen. We see bodies, but the persons or characters we associate with them are not present. There’s a pervasive belief that an ‘unseen’ person exists within the ‘seen’ body. When we cultivate this belief, we begin to feel the presence of this person. However, if this notion dissipates, we find ourselves in uncharted territory—the realm of the unknown.

This unknown is our fundamental state, where concepts of things and persons hold no significance. In this state, objectification is a tool used for duality’s sake, even by those who have transcended it. They understand that such objectification is temporarily real and lacks factual significance.

In this space, stories about objectivity or ‘persons’ don’t accumulate; they aren’t committed to memory because that process relies on separation. Actions occur from a non-entity zone where there is no ‘doer,’ and the sense of ‘doership’ is absent.

Our true presence is simply ‘awareness.’ This presence is the field of ‘isness’—the essence of all that exists around us. Everything present as forms is inseparable from this very presence, which we embody as an absence of any particular form. Just as space allows for objects, only the formless can perceive forms. This is our true nature—not as individual entities because formlessness cannot be individualized.

Our absence of form signifies our presence as formless beings. This awareness encompasses all forms, even the one we mistakenly identify with as ourselves.