22 Apr Koan 30

We see “its” everywhere, yet rarely notice the “is”, though all there is is is.

There are two types of vision, foveal and peripheral.

Foveal vision is when our eyes focus and we mentally create static images of seemingly independent things (“its”).

The “its” are illusions.

Peripheral vision is unfocused. We don’t see static “its”, we see a continuous fluid “is”.

The “is” is reality; an ambiguous flow of interdependent and everchanging things beyond description.

Peripheral vision is the visible universe unaffected by the mind.

While we don’t see “its” in peripheral vision, we are sensitive to changes in the flow in areas of peripheral vision. These changes engage our attention causing us to focus with foveal vision on what has changed.

When we shift from peripheral vision to foveal vision, the mind creates an “it” from the “is”.

While 99% of our visual field is peripheral vision, we think the illusions we create through foveal vision are reality.