[chadley]

Tzu, great post, and not only an important alternative perseption, but IMO a necessary one. Focusing on the details can often lead to missing the big picture. The only thing I might suggest is, it is not the label that causes separation, but the perception that the label causes separation as the source of perceived separation itself. Is not a label a necessary frame of reference for the man so surrounded by trees he cannot see the forest? Nor may the man even conceive of what a forest is if he knows nothing else by contrast.

Your foot is just as much your body as your arm. If your master were to tell you, "move your body here, then move your body there" would this be enough information and detail for you to create the beautiful dance that is a kata or tai chi...etc.? What teacher has ever done this? Instead, the teacher gives you the detail that allows you to produce the movements that add the necessary precision to the dance. So, when the teacher instead says, "move your foot here and your hand there" do you perceive the foot as separate from the whole, or the same of the hand? That is the choice. It is the key. You have a foot and you have a hand but these facts and labels do not foster separation, rather it is one's perception that your hand is separate from the body because it has so been labelled.

The dimensions are no different. They simply exist with or without labels. And, to add a frame of reference for those who experience this reality, the mind labels it.

The alternative view that you present is absolutely necessary, and IMO, missing from the perspective of so many people and I am glad you are here to present it so elequently, Tzu. But, one must not disregard the value in the detail, for all things whether labelled or not have individual purpose that adds to the whole. As your teacher that you spoke of before said, "They are both true!"

Chadley :)