When we say something exists, we are expressing that our mind has apprehended an object and, by basis of imputation, has assigned inherent existence to that object. Conventionally, the apprehension of an object such as a table is perfectly valid. A table performs a function that other validly cognized objects do not. Seeing this, valid distinctions can be made. However, it is ultimately a mistaken awareness.
I'm reminded of the thread regarding Land Ownership. (Here)
The way we mistake our view of reality and the way things exist can be clearly expressed by illustrating the way we mistake our view of our territorial world. It is easy to relate to the illusions of borders. I intend to suggest that the illusion of boundries between conventional objects -- the illusion that objects exist independently and from their own side -- is not different from the illusion that borders truly exist between two nations. I also intend to suggest how these illusory views are the root of all our suffering.
Land ownership and the division of nation states is not necessarily mistaken or dangerous. The way the world is structured, it is necessary to assign priority to certain plots of land and designate certain individuals to preside over that land. In a better world, land ownership would require an individual to care for that land as though he were it's protector, and not it's exploiter. We do not behave this way because we have arrogance. We have arrogance because we, the human race, have assumed ourselves to be the owners of the earth. Having cultivated this view for countless generations, it follows that we would perceive it as natural for certain human individuals to dominate certain sections of the earth.
One of the major points that sets humanity apart from other living beings who populate this earth is our arrogance. We have made assumptions about what means "superior" and, based on those assumptions, have concluded ourselves as supreme. How foolish, to be the ones who establish the parameters that define our own position! If we assign significance to raw intellect and innovative capacity, humans clearly set the bar. But if we assign significance to mobility and beauty, we must bow to dolphins or parrots. Neither dolphins nor parrots as a whole have left such a scar on this earth. Should humanity ever depart this planet, its impact would remain detectable for centuries. Our arrogance has allowed us to fill the atmosphere with poisonous gasses, to flood the oceans with toxic chemicals, and to destroy the habitat of countless species, even creating a graphable rate of extincion.
Clearly, our arrogant assumptions have had disasterous results, and must be erred in some way. But how have we made such assumptions? Why do we have such arrogance?
When we are travelling, the boundries that have been put in place by the geopolitical structure seem very real. If we are in Canada, and cross into the United States, we feel as though we have left a place that truly exists and entered another totally distinct place that also truly exists. If we check carefully -- and we rarely do -- we'll quickly discover that the border does not exist, the laws of either side do not exist to any tangible effect, and any distinctions to be made from where we were and where we have arrived are completely dependent upon mind, upon view.
We don't experience border crossings in this way, however. We tend to assign great importance to the fact that we have "left Canada" and "entered the USA", as though we had left a movie theater and arrived in the parking lot. We even insist upon capitalizing the names of countries and territories. Immediately upon crossing the line, we assign feelings and imputations upon our new location. We look around and think "This is America". "This is Washington State." None of these exist. A deer migrating from Northern Washington State a to Southern British Columbia would experience no such radical change in view. To us, the experience is quite vivid and quite real, but has no valid basis.
By analyzing our experience, we can see that the boundries that divide our planet exist and function only in dependence upon our mind. By furthering our investigation, we can extend this analysis into every aspect of our lives.
Observing our experience, we find that we assign significance to departing our house and entering our garage. We view these as two totally seperate places. We might assign favour to our house because it is warm and comfortable, but disfavour to our garage because it is cold and dusty. Where do "warm", "comfortable", "cold", and "dusty" exist? Only in our mind.
You might say: "Well, there are walls between myself and the garage. Those walls keep in heat, light, and sound energy, because they are solid. Therefore, it is valid to say that the garage is truly seperate from the house." But investigate carefully! The variance in temperature between the house and the garage is only as glaring as our experience informs us. The wall is merely an energetic gradient between the house and the garage. The same is also true for light and sound. A loud enough sound can be heard on the opposite side. A bright enough light can be seen on the opposite side. Where do "loud", and "bright" exist? Only in our mind.
The distinction between our house and garage is experienced as though it was very real -- but if we look closely, we will see that we cannot find the exact point where the garage begins and the house ends. Therefore, it follows that they are the same entity, and are only nominally distinct (seperable only by name).
Discrimination is empty of inherent existence. It is only because we are ignorant of this truth that we are capable of assigning importance to ourselves, boundries to our land, and owership and exploitation of that land. If through simple logical investigation we can dissolve all boundries between ourself and other objects, it does not make sense to say "I am important, that is less important." It does not make sense to say "I will destroy the inhabiting animals of this place, because they are less important." Profoundly understanding this, we would find ourselves incapable of behaving toward the earth and eachother in the way that we do now.
It would be foolish to swing to the other extreme and attempt to behave as though we were all one formless continuum of visible and invisble energy. It may have it's truth, but it is a subtle truth that we have not realized. The boundries to be drawn between our bedroom and our bathroom are valid in conventional terms.
We are capable of interacting with the world as physical beings because we have realized conventional truth. We are capable of our technolgocial and sociological innovations and advances because we have a direct realzation of conventional truth. Though, because we lack direct realization of ultimate truth -- one aspect of that truth being that all things are only nominally distinct -- we are capable of holding the incorrect view that we are superior to others, that our wishes are more significant than that of others, thereby using our conventional understanding to bring harm to ourselves and others, to initiate wars, to be blind to an impoverished lack over huge sections of the globe, or simply to become angry with others in traffic on our way to work.
Our constant habit is to become attached to those people and things that we find attractive, averted to those we find unattractive, and indifferent toward those we find neither attractive nor unattractive. We perpetuate this habit because we have another mental habit which spontaneously apprehends the conventional distinctions between objects as existing seperate from mind. Ultimate truth tells us that nothing exists independent of mind. We lack equanimity, and therefore have the ongoing potential to suffer.
All beings suffer.
Suffering has a cause.
Because it has a cause, suffering can be ended.
Mindfulness and awareness bring an end to suffering.
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You haven?t gotten over that Platonism bug yet? I think I have what you need. And because my position questions a premise of your existence nomenclature (yeah, that objective reality thing) I?m going to hold off on tackling that for now.
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