{"id":7985,"date":"2016-12-18T12:31:47","date_gmt":"2016-12-18T20:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/?p=7985"},"modified":"2016-12-18T14:32:52","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T22:32:52","slug":"the-prior-of-perception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/?p=7985","title":{"rendered":"The Prior of Perception"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy of: ‘Transitions’ by Rodrigo Alceu Baliza – Flickr
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The Prior of Perception<\/strong>
\nTarthang Tulku in many of his books discusses in detail the dangers of NOT understanding the nature of Time\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that is, taking Time for granted, because in a sense, time makes us uneasy, we tend to avoid facing things that make us feel anxious. For instance, in the book, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcRevelations of Mind<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, he says\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Misunderstanding time, we relate to it wrongly and become caught up in illusions. Since mind and senses fail to alert us to the nature of these illusions, there is no incentive to understand and wake up to other possibilities. We take our point of view and all that follows from it to be incontrovertibly real,<\/strong> based on the observations of our senses and the rational process of our minds, inhabiting what in some philosophic traditions is known as relative reality<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u02dcRelative\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong> [refers to] whatever appears real within the scope of thoughts and concepts of past, present, and future.<\/strong> We know this territory and system from within. We know that it leads to restrictions and problems.<\/p>\n

To free ourselves of these restrictions and problems, we need a different operation of mind, one that engages the dynamic of time more intimately<\/strong>. This would bring us face to face with impermanence, the continual falling away of the familiar and the emergence of the new.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Impermanence is the reality in which our lives unfold, a constant reminder of the change and loss that underlies our most persistent forms of suffering. Rather than attempting to dismiss in vain the implications of impermanence, it seems important to investigate further mind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship to time, to cross the bridge to the instant before minding, to the clear, uncluttered landscape of mind prior to the instant from which all systems and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmindings\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 arise\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 We find ourselves asking: What was before the identity and recognition that brought us this thought or instant of perception?<\/strong><\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rinpoche continues\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Each instant of our conscious, waking life is bounded by territory that is unknown, a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbefore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcafter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 where identity, labeling, and recognition are not operating. The coming into being of our mind-universe is repeated instant by instant\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 What we perceive as continuity may be better understood as a series of discrete perceptions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Time goes forward\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmoving ahead to the not known. The \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfrom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is not known, the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is also not known. The \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbefore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 of this present situation may have been only empty space\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Be aware: every ending. Be aware: every unknown place. Be aware: every beginning\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6” p.174-7<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Prior of Perception Tarthang Tulku in many of his books discusses in detail the dangers of NOT understanding the nature of Time\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that is, taking Time for granted, because in a sense, time makes us uneasy, we tend to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136,81,195,69],"tags":[195,191,69],"class_list":["post-7985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-general-tsk-discussions","category-awareness","category-intimacy","category-time","tag-intimacy","tag-not-knowing","tag-time"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cciforum.dreamhosters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}