Deformation is any change in the physical form or shape of an object or body. On the path of knowledge, deformation is understood as a natural fluctuation of patterns in the memory that does not affect the true nature of the self.

Change of Patterns

• No Solid Matter: All physical forms are non-substantial. They are composed of vibrations or waves of change. What we perceive as a solid form is merely an iconic representation computed by our senses.

• Structural Impermanence: Under the law of impermanence, all structured patterns are in a constant state of construction and destruction. A deformation is simply a transition of a pattern from one state of complexity to another.

• Subject of Observation: Deformations, physical illnesses, and bodily impairments are experiences that appear in the memory. They can become obstacles to our practice if we identify with them and fall into suffering.

The Perfect Witness

• Absolute Perfection: While the body and other physical forms can be deformed, damaged, and decayed, the experiencer (the Self) cannot be deformed.

• Partless and Shapeless: Because the Experiencer is partless, shapeless, and zero-dimensional, it is absolute perfection. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken away from it. It remains the unaffected, pristine witness of all physical changes.

See also

Form, body, vibration, change, impermanence, experiencer, suffering.