The Highest View in Buddhism
The real beauty of the Buddhist Prasangika Madhyamika view is that it does not contradict even simple ordinary observation. Yes, things do exist; even fleeting thoughts have an existence. How they exist is by interdependence: cause and effect. The cause of more subtle objects, such as a human consciousness, is a previous moment of consciousness, which acts as a container for mental objects such as perceptions and thoughts. To deny that thoughts exist is to pretend to be beyond cause and effect as a method to stop suffering. This will lead to nihilism and a dry unforgiving nature. Objects, subtle and gross such as thoughts or chairs do not ultimately exist or produce their own existence. They have an illusory existence which means that they do not exist in reality in the manner that they appear to a perceiving base such as a mind. Instead of trying to shame ourselves for being illusory, let us use our thoughts to improve the basis of our human nature, achieving a real perceptual awakeni...