The Buddhist concept of "maya", the illusory image of life, is actually similar to the world on social media. Is it possible to escape?
For more than 2,500 years we have sought freedom from "maya"
Buddhism was born more than 2,500 years ago and its founder was Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. It deals with the nature of reality and human suffering and one of the key concepts in Buddhist philosophy is "maya". Whether we think of this Sanskrit word as an illusion or a delusion, maya is the reason why we perceive reality in a distorted and mistaken way. And then we cling to material things and lust, which according to Buddhism are the main causes of human suffering. But it is not easy to free oneself from "maya"; it is deeply rooted in all of us. Our senses and mind are responsible for it. Together they create a picture of the world based on our experiences, expectations and cultural conditioning. But what we perceive as a fixed and unchanging reality is in fact impermanent, ephemeral and subject to constant change.
"Maya" is thus a kind of veil of ignorance that obscures the true nature of reality. While the Buddha may not have had a clue about quantum physics two and a half thousand years ago, its findings suggest that our perception of solid matter is indeed illusory, thus giving Buddhism its due. According to quantum physics, the atoms that make up everything around us are largely empty space, and what we perceive as solid objects are merely the result of interactions at the subatomic level. And this is entirely consistent with the Buddhist teaching of the impermanence and emptiness of all phenomena.
According to Buddhism, life itself is an illusion
Buddha described the world through various metaphors to illustrate its illusory nature. For example, he compared it to a dream, in which we experience various situations that seem real to us, but upon awakening we realize their unreality. Similarly, our ordinary perception of the world is considered limited and distorted. But we are not aware of this and this delusion leads us to become attached to things, people and ideas. And this is the source of the aforementioned suffering.
"Maya" is actually something like social networking. Even on those, people create an image of their lives that has nothing to do with reality. But many users do not realise this and thus live in an illusion. And it's a tempting illusion. In fact, the number of social network users is constantly growing: 206 million new users joined last year, bringing the total to 5.4 billion. 64 per cent of the planet's population is logged on to a social network, and for many of them it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a critical distance. We spend an average of 2 hours and 21 minutes a day with social networks, and psychologists warn that they contribute to anxiety and depression. So it's the same mechanism as "maya". Although we are often unable to give up social networking, it brings suffering to many people. And even so, they cannot cut themselves off.
This makes Buddhist philosophy, which teaches how to overcome the illusion and see the world as it really is, all the more relevant. According to Buddhism, we can only see the true nature of reality through spiritual awakening, i.e. enlightenment. And Buddhism also offers a way to achieve this: meditation, ethical action and the development of wisdom. Meditation helps calm the mind and allows us to see into its true nature. Ethical action leads to the purification of the mind from negative influences, and developing wisdom allows us to understand the true nature of reality.
It is not easyto free oneself from "maya" , but it leads to harmony and happiness
Buddhists practice various techniques to overcome the illusion of maya and achieve enlightenment. In addition to meditation, there is mindfulness or mindfulness practice and also the study of Buddhist texts. Those who want to be free from maya must first of all understand and realize the emptiness of all phenomena, the so-called shunthaya. This does not mean that things do not exist, but that they do not exist in themselves, independent of other conditions. Everything is interconnected and dependent on causes and conditions. It is this understanding that helps to free oneself from clinging and attachment to illusory ideas about the world.
Buddhists are also taught to accept change as a natural part of existence and not to cling to the transitory aspects of life, especially not to be attached to material things and situations. Therefore, Buddhism does not cling to possessions or social status.
All of this helps to develop an insight that is then reflected in everyday life: once we understand that everything is impermanent and that we all experience similar illusions and suffering, we become more compassionate, more willing to help others (not only) on their path to liberation, and more empathetic to other beings in general. We also understand ourselves more deeply and this is the way to achieve happiness and calm the mind.
Although Buddhism offers a fairly detailed way to free oneself from "maya", it is clear that it is not easy. For it requires not only ceasing to cling to material goods, but also letting go to some extent of the ego and accepting that we are not what the world revolves around. And this is perhaps the most difficult obstacle that the thousand-year-old teaching still faces.
