Good Science, True Illusion
This essay discusses the notion of the illusory nature of the world from the Buddhist perspective as I understand it. Needless to say, there are very many different schools of Buddhism, and in those schools many various understandings and treatments of this subject. I think it's important to address the issue with regards to the significance and value of modern science.
The world is maya; illusion.
But this is not a license for irrationality, chaos, riddance of science and planning, anarchy (in the usual non-ideological understanding of that term) in human affairs.
The illusoriness of the world is simply our disposition to take the basic functioning of our consciousness- which fixes static abstract distinctions between subject and object, and between object and object- as presenting ultimate reality. In other words to believe in the absoluteness of relative knowledge rather than recognising the ultimate ‘non-differentiation, non-dual, ‘no-self-and-world/other’ or insubstantial/empty of independent existence/flux of phenomena’ nature of reality from which we are inseparable.
The world is really wonderful, creative, sacred, profound and good for all that it is also painful and wearisome. The Reality of illusoriness, emptiness is no less divine for it’s inherent suffering. And the doctrine of fundamental ignorance should properly be viewed as acknowledging ignorance in two forms. These are linked to the practical distinction between confused maya and clear maya.
Scientific knowledge is possible, is reliable, is good in terms of it’s practicality in dealing with the interests and needs of the embodied form that is human form. Neither Buddhists nor any other so-called anti-naturalists would deny validity to scientific knowledge. In fact, there is a distinction between the confused and the clear understanding of maya.
The illusoriness of the world is something primordial in human’s (or any sentient being) consciousness. It’s not a question of original sin, or of doing anything wrong, but of ignorance. In fact the way of being a particular living form necessitates a certain ignorance. For instance, being a human necessitates being ignorant of being a shark, or a fungus, or a snake, or a virus , or a tree. Human consciousness is determined by the way of being a human, living among and interdependent with all life on Earth.
However, being human is special in the sense of the scope of human consciousness. We can recognise the limitation of the powerful tool that is our intelligence. Recognising limitation is just another way of saying acknowledging ignorance.
But that does not mean that intelligence and the products of intelligence are worthless or even dispensable. Within the scope of the intellect there is clearly a distinction between correct and incorrect, or between confused understanding and clear understanding. Pseudo-science, fantasism, fabrication of unreal differences between humans in terms of race or ethnicity, personal or national identity, etc etc are maya of the confused, or confusing, kind. They are heaping the confusion within the scope of intelligence onto the illusoriness of the world outside of that scope. They compound suffering rather than do anything to deal with it.
Recognising the limitation of intelligence is itself a kind of wisdom. Consciousness is not itself limited as intellect. The discursive intellect, no less than the ‘ego-consciousness’ is merely a surface wave on the vast and deep ocean of reality.