Is Seeing Believing ?
Shoshin1
Sentient BeingOceania Veteran
I came across this interesting youtube video from Pursuit of Wonder...
A Blind Person Describes What the World Looks Like
....and then my curiosity lead me to this....
Do blind people dream in visual images
(Hmm...How would you describe the world to a person blind from birth...perhaps through the other sense doors...)
The Blind Man and the Elephant ~John Godfrey Saxe~
It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined,
who went to see the elephant (Though all of them were blind),
that each by observation, might satisfy his mind.
The first approached the elephant, and, happening to fall,
against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the elephant, is nothing but a wall!"
The second feeling of the tusk, cried: "Ho! what have we here,
so very round and smooth and sharp? To me tis mighty clear,
this wonder of an elephant, is very like a spear!"
The third approached the animal, and, happening to take,
the squirming trunk within his hands, "I see," quoth he,
the elephant is very like a snake!"
The fourth reached out his eager hand, and felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like, is mighty plain," quoth he;
"Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree."
The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said; "E'en the blindest man
can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant, is very like a fan!"
The sixth no sooner had begun, about the beast to grope,
than, seizing on the swinging tail, that fell within his scope,
"I see," quothe he, "the elephant is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan, disputed loud and long,
each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!
So, oft in theologic wars, the disputants, I ween,
tread on in utter ignorance, of what each other mean,
and prate about the elephant, not one of them has seen!
Comments
Thank you for sharing.
After having studying the brain and how we process images... I have to say we are very lucky to have this sense gate, but it is also subjective and limited. The story of Lou was very moving... and the poem I recited it to my partner, haha.
Edit: the second link does not work !
It does occur to me that seeing is often a key part of believing a spiritual experience. I was reading Adyashanti’s account of some of his enlightenment experiences, of seeing endless heads stretched back and knowing these were his own heads going back in time. If he didn’t have that knowledge coming up at the same time that his eyes saw what they saw, he might not have believed it.
You're welcome...Yes the story was quite moving....Try this "link" Oops it looks like this link is also not working...
It would seem imagination plays a big part in the journey along the Path...we use it when reading Dharma books or listening to teachings to create images/pictures in the mind's eye ....We take this for granted...
From what I gather most members here use six senses= we hear, smell, taste, feel, "see objects shapes colours" and use the mind for thinking and imagining, those who were born blind have no visual sense of shapes, colours etc...
When we listen to Dharma talks or read Dharma books we use our imagination, for example if
Thich Nhat Hanh AKA Thay, mentions "No mud no lotus" we might see in our mind's eye, mud and perhaps through the mud a lotus flower rising...
It's said that blind people's other senses are fine tuned to compensate for lack of sight...
I had never really given it much thought as to how blind people studies and practice the Dharma...
I like how Tyler describes colours to Lou's other sense doors ...
Which reminded me of what we sighted people call warm & cool colours...
Some blind people have learned to use a type of echo location to learn to "see". People who used to be able to see but went blind and learned to do this say they even start to see shapes appear in their minds eye.
Yes I remember seeing this young guy...
