Beyond the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Unfindable Reality of What Is

We find ourselves sitting in a room, and the world appears to us as a series of vivid, undeniable snapshots. There is the hum of a computer, the shifting light on the wall, the physical sensation of warmth or a slight ache in the back. These experiences are real in the moment they arise, yet they are also fleeting, constantly yielding to the next appearance. In our daily lives, we interpret these appearances through a specific lens—the belief that there is a world "out there," separate from us, and an individual "in here" who is navigating it. We imagine ourselves as decision-makers, trying to grasp pleasure and avoid pain, attempting to control a reality that seems external to our being. But who is this "I" that claims to be the captain of the ship? If we look closely, we might find that this separate self is not a solid entity at all, but a mental construction, a film playing over the screen of what we already are. When we consult sources like the internet encyclopedia of philosophy to define our existence, we often get lost in a web of infinite relations. We try to find the essence of a thing—let’s say, a pen. But when we investigate the pen, it leads us to the plastic, the ink, the factory, the designer. If we look for the tree that made the desk, we find the rain, the soil, the sun, and the woodcutter. Everything we try to pin down refers us to something else. There is no "nugget" of isolated reality to be found in any object because everything exists only in relation to everything else. This is the liberation from the world of concepts. While concepts are useful tools for writing a letter or driving a car, they are utterly useless for grasping the totality. Concepts can only point to other concepts, creating a circular chase that never touches the ground of being. This ground, which some call conscious presence or the absolute, is not a destination. It is that upon which every foundation is built. You cannot find it because it is the very looking itself. It is like the eye that sees everything but cannot see itself. Does the eye’s inability to see itself mean the eye does not exist? On the contrary, the fact that there is sight at all is the absolute proof of the eye. In the same way, the evidence that "I am" is prior to any thought. You do not need to think to exist; in fact, you must already "be" in order for a thought to arise. This aware presence is the only thing we can be certain of, yet we spend our lives like a thief searching for a diamond that is already tucked under our own pillow while we sleep. We look for enlightenment as if it were a prize to be won in stillness or effort, failing to see that the seeker itself is the very thing that obscures the view. The separate self often trembles at the idea of its own absence. We worry about responsibility and the weight of our choices.