Awareness Is Unlike A Mirror
While Awareness May Be Like A Mirror Which Is Unaffected By What It Reflects, Awareness Isn’t Reflecting Anything, And In This Important Way, It Is Not Like A Mirror At All.
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The allegory of a mirror is often used to help individuals understand what awareness truly is like. It is said that, like a mirror, awareness reflects all manner of things and yet is never affected by what appears. A mirror is not cognizant of what is appearing in it, and the opposite of ‘cognizant’ is “ignorant,” “oblivious,” or “unaffected by.” While awareness may be like a mirror which is unaffected by what it reflects, awareness isn’t reflecting anything, and in this important way, it is not like a mirror at all. That unaffectedness that is part of this allegory is ultimately true of awareness, but the image of reflections in a mirror is completely misleading, because it instills a very false understanding of awareness in those that take this allegory to heart in the absence of direct meditational insights of the nature of awareness, and of mind.