The Moon and its Reflection?

 

I saw this very profound MCQ tonight
"Comparing the moon and its reflection, they are:
a) the same
b) not the same
c) neither same nor not the same
d) none of the above."
This is truly profound indeed.  Let me explain why.

Everything has 2 forms: the material form (rupa) and the mental form (nama).  For example I, Lee Hon Sing, exist in a material form.  I walk around every day, and you may see me.  Then you would think, "Ah, that's Lee Hon Sing."  A concept of me then arises in your mind, and that would be me in the nama form in your mind.  This nama form would be full of perceptions about me.  For example, Hon Sing is a male, he is of such height, he is a Chinese, he usually wears such clothes, he usually looks like this, etc. Sometimes I do not need to be present before you, and yet my nama form can arise in your mind: "Ah, that's Lee Hon Sing, and he is such and such."  Thus in a way, this nama form of me in your mind, is like a reflection of me.

a) the same.
Indeed to you, my nama form is the same as my rupa form.  If there is any discrepancy at all, you would change your perception about me, and thus update the nama form to be like me of the rupa form.  In fact, one day you may swear with conviction that, "Yes Hon Sing is such and such kind of man!  He cannot be such and such kind of man!" or "Hon Sing would not have done that!" or "Hon Sing would do this!"  Hence you would not only think that my reflection (nama) is the same as myself (rupa), you would further rely a lot on this belief.

b) not the same.
However obviously my nama form in your mind is not the same as my rupa form.  For example, my rupa form goes through old age, sickness and death -- it is never stationary but continually goes through changes.  The nama form in your mind however would not change.  As long as no new information about me comes to you, my nama form would never change in your mind.  Hon Sing will forever be of that age, of that image, of that perception and of that behavior.  If you do not see me for many years, and I have grown fat meanwhile, you would laugh when you see me again.  You would say, "Haha, the Hon Sing that I knew was much thinner!  You are now so fat!"

Hence which form of me is real?  Definitely the rupa form of me is real, while the nama form of me in your mind is not real.

c) neither same nor not the same.
Hence the nama and rupa form of me are not the same as explained in (b).  However at the same time, the nama and rupa form of me are also the same because your belief system would think that they are the same, and rely on your belief that they are the same.  Thus this arises the paradox that the nama and rupa form of me are neither the same nor not the same.

d) none of the above.
What then is the truth?  The truth is that we think too much!  There is a rupa form of Hon Sing. He is a consequence of cause and effect.  He is void of self.  He is as he is.  Let him be!  Be mindful of him but do not form perceptions or stereotypes about him!  In other words, don't compare him (the rupa form) with the nama form of him in your mind!

Similarly due to our six senses, a nama form of Hon Sing would naturally arise in your mind.  Such a nama form is but a conceptualization, imagination, memorization, and fabrication about Hon Sing.  The brain needs this as part of its thinking process.  There is nothing wrong with it.  In fact this nama form is usually a reflection of yourself as well.  All parameters that matter to you, become part of the conceptualization.  According to your personality you would see different strengths and flaws about me.  It is completely subjective.  Well leave this nama form of me alone as well.  Be mindful of him, but do not compare him (the nama form) with me (the rupa form)!  He (the nama form) is your own creation.  Why compare to me (the rupa form) which is not your own creation?

Hence I would say "none of the above".  Don't compare.  Instead, treat the moon as the moon and the moon's reflection as the reflection.  Similarly treat Hon Sing the rupa form as the rupa form, and treat Hon Sing the nama form in your mind as the nama form in your mind.  There is no need to compare.

 

And do you know what is the most interesting thing out of this realization?  The most interesting thing out of this realization is that all other things have such real and reflection form as well!  All have their rupa forms which exist outside your mind, and their equivalent nama forms which exist inside your mind.  We always confuse between the real thing and our conceptualization of the thing.  Hence we thought they are (a) the same.  For example we thought we would gain a lot of happiness if we simply have that very nice house, or that very nice car, that very nice someone to be with us, or that we have a lot of money.  But if we think deeper, we realize that we are really confusing the nama version of that tangible thing with the real rupa version of that tangible thing.  This is called infatuation, which is the cause for many unnecessary craving.  It is after we made a lot of sacrifices to get that nice house, then we realize that the nama version of the nice house is really different from the rupa version of that nice house.  The rupa (reality) version of the nice house comes with a lot of debt which reduces our financial freedom. It is expensive to maintain, and if we do not maintain it, the nice house will become a broken house.  It becomes the source of disputes among jealous friends and relatives.  And most ironically you find that your definition of "nice" changes after getting the nice house as you crave for "nicer" houses.  You finally realize that the rupa and the nama are (b) not the same. 

Similarly we thought we would gain a lot of happiness if we simply have intangible things such as fame, respect, love, or companionship.  But if we think deeper, we realize that we are again infatuated by their nama versions instead of the true rupa versions.  In fact such intangible things do not even have a true rupa version.  They are but baseless concepts, fleeing and changing all the time.  This is even worse: there was no moon in the first place, but we take the reflection of the moon as the truth and chase after something that actually do not exist!

Then when such clinging leads to suffering, we learn the hard way that they are (b) not the same.  After a few rounds of such confusion: our natural tendency is to think that they are the same, while our suffering-invoked wisdom tells us that they are not the same, then we realize that they are (c) neither same nor not the same.  Alas, cyclic existence!  We become helpless ping pong balls shuttling between the bat of craving and the bat of suffering-invoked wisdom.

But eventually if you practice meditation and mindfulness, you will finally realize that it is really (d) none of the above.  You let go of the clinging to concepts.  You realize, "Ah, such is the nature of that 'nice' house in the rupa world.  It is impermanent, unsatisfactory (dukkha) and is void of an independent self."  You also realize, "Ah, such is my perception of that 'nice' house in the nama world.  It is baseless, unreliable, and is not a suitable object for craving."  As you cease to compare both the nama and rupa, you ascend from such duality and truly see things as they really are.  The seeds of craving now no longer have a grip on you.

This is why I think the MCQ is so profound.  Don't you agree? :)  May this writing be of use to you and benefits you.  May you be well and happy.

 

With Metta,
Lee Hon Sing
September 18, 2008