Chapter 2 The first part of Tianxin exists

"Existence" is the most difficult mystery to solve. We can be aware that there is an external world, and we can be aware that there is a self. "Existence" exists, and this is the proof of "existence". "Awareness" may be an illusion, and the existence of illusion is "existence".I remember the French philosopher Bergson said that we live in a world of "being" and cannot imagine "nothing".Indeed, what we imagine is often "empty", that is, the space from which everything is removed, not "nothing".Assuming that “existence” shrinks until it changes from infinitely small to zero, what kind of form is it?It is difficult to imagine, because we cannot eliminate "empty" and "time" in our imagination.We have to admit "there is", we have to admit "existence".

We live on the ground, occupying an area close to us, and gradually understand a little bit of the macroscopic world with awareness.The earth is a planet orbiting the sun.Sun is a star among thousands of stars in the Milky Way.There is a distance between stars, measured in light-years (300,000 kilometers per second for one year), and the nearest is a few light-years.The diameter of the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years.The Milky Way is a spiral nebula.Outside the Milky Way, there are many, many nebulae of various shapes.In recent years, it has been discovered that there are celestial bodies more than 10 billion light-years away from the Milky Way.Some people also imagine that the world we live in is a whole with certain properties (for example, composed of matter), and may also have a whole with different properties (for example, composed of antimatter), that is, another world.This is beyond heaven.In short, they all belong to "existence".Where does this "existence" end?Kant believes that this is a problem beyond the ability of human reason, because if there is a boundary in the imagination, there will be "beyond the boundary".Most likely boundless.

The macro is one end, the other is the micro.The ancients already knew that "a hammer of one foot can take half of it every day, and it will last forever." Modern science has analyzed many existences that cannot be seen, such as molecules, atoms, and electrons.As small as an electron, it is still a complex structure.Are there units that cannot be subdivided?It is difficult to imagine something that cannot be analyzed.This aspect may also be boundless. We are finite and "being" is infinite.Our understanding is formed by summarizing the finite activities of the outside world, and may not be applicable to the infinite.

How can there be such an "existence"?If everything that appears is inevitable, is this "existence" inevitable according to the will, or is it inevitable to conform to the destiny? Can there be will or destiny before "existence"?If "existence" exists in the continuation of time, at the beginning, why did "time" suddenly appear and this "existence" was born?If "existence" is without beginning, what force limits it to be like this instead of "nothing" or other forms?Some of them finally exist, and there seems to be a reason for it, but it is a pity that it is difficult for us to know the truth of this reason.

The existence of our awareness has order, or inertia, in its movement or change.Where does this limitation come from?Is it set, or is it spontaneous?have no idea.We use the induction method to explore some laws according to the order or inertia of existing things.Will the order or inertia of existence change?As far as we know, that hasn't changed.It is also possible that there is no possibility of change.But we have no reason to guarantee that it will not change, because as far as "existence" is infinite, nothing is impossible. Does "existence" have a purpose?Or just a certain tendency?It seems that there is no purpose. The so-called purpose of human beings is born from desire, and "existence" does not necessarily have desire.If we imagine that there is something endowed with something above "existence", we will encounter the question raised above again, where does this "existence" come from?

We know very little about "existence".Even if you think you know a little bit, how true it is is also a question.For example, we understand anything in the grid of "time". Does time continue in the order of past, present, and future from ancient times to the present, as we imagine?Are the so-called "long" and "temporary" the same for everything?It is very likely that "time" is just a form of human understanding of things, and we may not know the relationship between "existence" and "time". In short, we do know that we are part of Being, but we know next to nothing about Being.Zhuangzi said, "My life has a limit, but my knowledge has no limit." It is really a pity that I have to end my awareness with this big problem after I have lived less than a hundred years.