Another kind of reasoning which
contradicts nature and is related to the idea of a root cause is
the belief that in the beginning there was nothing. This
kind of idea arises from attachment to the concept of self (atta),
which in turn is derived from attachment to concepts. From there,
the deduction is that previously this did not exist, but then it
became extant. This kind of false reasoning is the human
habit of 'clinging to concepts,' or 'not knowing the truth
of concepts,' which in turn is not knowing things as they are. This
causes the attempt to find something eternal, a First
Cause, Mover of All Things, or Creator, which in turn gives rise to
a number of contradictions, such as: "How can that which is eternal create that which is
non-eternal?" In fact, within the
dynamic stream of cause and effect there is no need for a position
either supporting or denying any static existence at all, whether
'in the beginning' or right now, except within the realm of spoken
concepts.
We should rather encourage fresh consideration with the
question
"Why must existence
be preceded by nonexistence ?"
The common belief that all things have a Creator is another
idea which contradicts reality. Such a belief is a result of
deductive thinking, based on the observation of man's ability to
create things and produce artifacts of various kinds, such as the
arts and so on. The deduction follows that therefore all
things in the world must have a creator. In this case, we
are deceived when we isolate the concept 'building' or 'creating'
from the normal cause and effect continuum, thus taking a falsehood
as our basic premise. In fact, 'building' is only one
phase of the Dependent Origination process. That we are capable of
creating anything at all is through becoming determinants in the
process of relationship which produces the desired result. We
differ from the purely physical factors concerned only in that in
our case there are some mental factors, involving intention, also
present. Even so, those factors remain part of a totality of
factors and must also proceed according to the cause and effect
process. For instance, when we wish to build a skyscraper, we must
become part of the stream of determinants, manipulating other
determinants in the process to completion. If the thought of
creation was capable of bringing things into existence independent
of the cause and effect process, then we could create skyscrapers
anywhere simply by thinking them into existence, which is
impossible. Thus, the word 'creation' has
no meaning beyond a description of part of a process. Moreover,
when things proceed smoothly along the cause and effect process,
the question of a creator is no longer relevant at any point along
the way.
