Change (Skt. परिवर्तन Parivartan) are the constant flux of experiences that define the manifested world of appearances. On the path of knowledge, the observation of change is the primary tool used for discrimination between the real and the unreal.

The Essential Nature of Change

• No Change, No Experience: All experiences are characterized by change. If nothing changes, nothing can be experienced. Therefore, change is the very nature of experience.

• Impermanence: Everything we perceive in the physical and mental worlds is in a constant state of flux. The body decays, thoughts drift, emotions fluctuate, and objects weather. This is the law of impermanence.

• The Illusion of Stability: Objects appear stable only because they change very slowly relative to our senses. If we speed up the process of change (as demonstrated in the tomato experiment), the illusion of solidity shatters, and we recognize the object as a temporary projection.

Change and Truth

• Criterion for Truth: On the path of knowledge, that which is unchanging is defined as True (Reality), and that which changes is defined as False (Illusion).

• Vibrations in Emptiness: At the most fundamental level, there is no solid matter or substance. Everything is made up of vibrations patterns of binary change (two states) occurring in emptiness.

• The Changeless Witness: While all experiences change, the experiencer (Self) remains completely changeless. It is the silent background or screen on which the movie of change is played.

See also

Experience, experiencer, emptiness, vibration, senses, memory, criteria for truth.