Existence or Non-existence

From Kaccānagotta sutta(SN 12.15)

Kaccāna, this world mostly relies on the dual notions of existence and non-existence.
But when you truly see the origin of the world with right understanding, the concept of non-existence regarding the world does not occur.
And when you truly see the cessation of the world with right understanding, the concept of existence regarding the world does not occur.

Existence

And when you truly see the cessation of the world with right understanding, the concept of existence regarding the world does not occur.

Experience originates due to contact between sense and sense-objects. Apart from this experience, we can’t know anything about the objects. When contact ceases experience also ceases. We can’t know if the object exists after the experience ends. Normally we assume that objects exists even outside of our experience. This is a false assumption, a delusion - it goes beyond what’s discernible(by our senses and experience).

Non existence

But when you truly see the origin of the world with right understanding, the concept of non-existence regarding the world does not occur.

When contacts cease we don’t experience objects. When contact happens we can experience them. You can’t say a pink elephant doesn’t exist - You can only say you haven’t/aren’t experienced/experiencing it. You can’t say that something ceased existing - you can only say contact ceased.

Materialism

What if objects do exists outside of our experience, it would show why objects appear the same way - books act like books not cats. Suppose all objects exist. Then our senses are created by matter, our experience is shaped by matter. Contact is the physical collision of senses and material objects. Our perception is similarly a configuration of matter (brains and neurons).
But what properties of an object is determined due to contact. Color is determined by eye contact - not a property of the object. Even if the same light is emitted different people and animals see different colors. Sense of heat, shape, lines, sound etc every property is determined when contact happens. Outside of contact we can’t assign any property to the object. Thus why still assume that the object exists apart from all the properties? It’s a delusion to assume such objects exist.

Senses

We experience sense objects through sense contact. Experience doesn’t exist without senses and it is easy to assume senses exist. But only experience define the senses. Without experience we can’t know whether there are eyes/ears etc. So senses doesn’t exist apart from experience.

Form

Since experience and senses doesn’t exist apart from contact, does form exists? But form is defined by the senses. You can only see specific colors and you can only hear a specific range. Thus form doesn’t exist apart from contact either.

Unity and Plurality

From SN 12.48,

“Mister Gotama, does all exist?”
“‘All exists’: this is the oldest cosmology, brahmin.”
“Then does all not exist?”
“‘All does not exist’: this is the second cosmology.
“Well, is all a unity?”
“‘All is a unity’: this is the third cosmology.
“Then is all a plurality?”
“‘All is a plurality’: this is the fourth cosmology.
Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle way: ‘Ignorance is a condition for choices. … Choices are a condition for consciousness. … That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.

Unity - All is a unity

“All is a unity” is a view held by many practitioners. Since experience, senses,sense-objects arises together and we can’t assume or know anything when they are not together, it makes sense to assume that they are in fact one entity. But if everything is one entity, where does the different perceptions and properties come from? These different properties seem to persist across time as well. We may be tempted to say that Unity(God/Brahman/Mind/Universe/One) has differentiated and thus we see distinct objects. Since we can only see/know this reality of distinct objects, why assume there is/was a Unity?. As such this view is a delusion we must discard.

Plurality - All is a plurality

Since we see/know distinct objects with different properties why not assume that they are in fact distinct?. Although they are distinct, but we can see that perceptions are the same across different objects. Colors are the same for all the objects - they don’t have infinite primary colors for infinite objects. We see that due to our senses we have a unified view of these objects. Since we can’t know beyond our senses, we are unable to discern if they are in fact distinct. As such we should also discard this view.

Being - Unified Senses

Since sense are unified and sense objects are distinct- why not assume that a being(Unity) exist apart from world(Plurality). But such a being only exists with sense experience and sense objects. This being is not discernible without sense experience. Thus it’s a delusion to assume such a being exists apart from experience.
From SN5.10,

Why now do you assume ‘a being’?
Mara, have you grasped a view?
This is a heap of sheer constructions:
Here no being is found.

Contact

If experience only occur due to sense contact, and sense objects and senses can’t be defined apart from experience - how does contact occur?. Contact is the coming together of senses, sense objects and sense experiences.

The world is for the most part shackled by attraction, grasping, and insisting.
But if—when it comes to this attraction, grasping, mental fixation, insistence, and underlying tendency—you don’t get attracted, grasp, and commit to the thought, ‘my self’, you’ll have no doubt or uncertainty that what arises is just suffering arising, and what ceases is just suffering ceasing. Your knowledge about this is independent of others.

Glad if these considerations help you advance on the path.

Beings & Non Being

It may be tempting to assume that no being exist, but from SN 35.66 we can see Buddha equated Being = All = World = 6 senses & experiences(SN 35.84, SN 35.66)

Thus it’s false to say there is no being. As much as experiences exist, there exists a being.
What about other beings? Do other people exist? Since we can’t know whether there exists anything apart from experience it’s not possible to assert there are other beings or to assert that there are no other beings.

Origin of Contact

From AN10.216

This is how a being is born from a being. For your deeds determine your rebirth, and when you’re reborn contacts strike you. This is why I say that sentient beings are heirs to their deeds. Sentient beings are the owners of their deeds and heir to their deeds. Deeds are their womb, their relative, and their refuge. They shall be the heir of whatever deeds they do, whether good or bad.

According to this sutta, Beings(=6 senses & experiences) come into existence due to deeds(Karma).

From AN3.76

“So, Ānanda, deeds are the field, consciousness is the seed, and craving is the moisture. The consciousness of sentient beings—shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving—is established in a lower realm. That’s how there is birth into a new state of existence in the future.

Moreover desires,consciousness and desire(craving) leads to new continued existence(Bhava) - Being.
This is helpful to identify why contact ceases moment by moment. Since a desire(i.e look at screen) is immediately satisfied by the resultant contact(by looking), this leads to cessation of the desire. Since desire ceased, resultant contact(attention on screen) also ceases.
Current consciousness also act as a seed to the future consciousness. That is the future consciousness would be based on properties of the current consciousness.It’s not possible to assert that resultant consciousness would the immediate next consciousness. It’s should be that they occur when they are ripened(by desire), not successively.

Deeds (Karma / Sankhara)

There are 3 types of deeds(MN44).

  1. deeds of body - kaya sankhara: action by body(moving, breathing)
  2. deeds by speech - vachi sankhara: directed thought & evaluation / placing the mind and keeping it connected
  3. deeds by mind - mano sankhara : perceptions & feelings

Due to deeds of body, we alter 5 sense fields & perceptions. Due to deeds by speech we alter mind and thoughts which leads to altered perceptions and feelings. Due to deeds by mind we alter all 6 sense fields through perceptions and feelings.
It’s evident that deeds can alter and compose all experience. As said above, deeds are the womb of being(= 6 sense fields). Thus we can answer why there seem to be objects that persists through countless contacts? This persistence due to deeds that compose the consciousness. As long as the deeds persist, they also persist(re-arise on each contact).

All = World = Being

The Blessed One said, “What is the All? Simply the eye & forms, ear & sounds, nose & aromas, tongue & flavors, body & tactile sensations, intellect & ideas. This, monks, is called the All. Anyone who would say, ‘Repudiating this All, I will describe another,’ if questioned on what exactly might be the grounds for his statement, would be unable to explain, and furthermore, would be put to grief. Why? Because it lies beyond range.” —SN 35:23

Extent of knowledge

Anyone who would say, ‘Repudiating this All, I will describe another,’ if questioned on what exactly might be the grounds for his statement, would be unable to explain, and furthermore, would be put to grief. Why? Because it lies beyond range.

From MN 43,

“Wisdom and consciousness— these things are mixed, not separate. And you can never completely disentangle them so as to describe the difference between them. For you understand what you cognize, and you cognize what you understand. That’s why these things are mixed, not separate. And you can never completely disentangle them so as to describe the difference between them.”
“Wisdom and consciousness—what is the difference between these things that are mixed, not separate?”
“The difference between these things is that wisdom should be developed, while consciousness should be completely understood.”