Why there is "stuff"?

[Someone here]

There is an old Buddhist saying " form is empty. Emptiness is form". 

It's basically pointing to the collapse of the duality between somethingness and nothingness. 

I've realized it many times.. That something and nothing are identical. 

The mistake is thinking that "nothing" is some blank black void somewhere. 

No.. Everything we are experiencing all the time is precisely nothing.  It's completely hollow and unstable. No different than appearance of a Dream. 

Even scientifically speaking.. If you break down the atoms that make up the universe.. You will get waves of energy. Break down the energry and you get nothingness .  We know now through quantum physics that the universe is literally made out of nothing. 

But I stil can't wrap my head around... Why there is "stuff"? Why colors and sounds and objects?  It's utterly miraculous  that these things exist at all.. Like if you examine any object or just your own body.. "Wow what the fuck is this? ?." . But we take it for granted because we've been alive for lots and lots. 

My question : I get that there is no difference between something and nothing. But I can't wrap my mind around why there is "stuff". If the universe was just pure empty blankness that would still be nothing but rather in its most "pure" and original form possible. So why did God bother to say "let there be light"? 

 

[Thomas_VH]

Like you said: Stuff = Nothingness. You just need to recontextualize how you view physical reality (aka stuff) to realize first-hand this Truth.

[Mason Riggle]

There seems to be somethingness, because it beats the alternative. ?

 

 

Technical answer- ISNESS is among the infinite possibilities that comes with not having limits.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Mason Riggle

[Someone here]

Some say nothingness is identical to a fountain of pure infinite potential and it just spawns forms forever. But it could be posed that the universe was just an eternal singularity of endless blankness without any potential. Having infinte potential seems like a bias that requires explanation. When no such explanation makes sense.

[Mason Riggle]

Is that how it seems? An endless blackness without potential? 

Don't discount the obvious.

[Someone here]

7 minutes ago, Mason Riggle said:

Is that how it seems? An endless blackness without potential? 

Don't discount the obvious.

Yeah I know. I'm saying that's a possibility which requires no explanation. Whereas what's actually going on here is you've got solid physical stuff that started out as pure potential. And that requires an explanation. And I can't seem to find one. 

[Mason Riggle]

@Someone here the appearance of 'solid physical stuff', wouldn't you say? 

Where is 'stuff'? Everywhere forever? How big is 'the physical Universe'? 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Mason Riggle

[Someone here]

6 minutes ago, Mason Riggle said:

@Someone here the appearance of 'solid physical stuff', wouldn't you say? 

Well you can get all technical about how to phrase it.

Think about the difference between the state of deep sleep and the state of waking up and dreams.. The state of deep sleep doesn't require an explanation (there is no one there to ask a question) because it's a perfect zero. Perfect blank. Whereas the "appearance" of physical reality surely does. Especially when you come to know that's at its core all of physical reality is actually indeed nothing lol

7 minutes ago, Kalo said:

Cuz God created "stuff" bro, duh.

Curios what's your conception of "God"? 

[Osaid]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

If the universe was just pure empty blankness that would still be nothing but rather in its most "pure" and original form possible

I don't think empty blankness is more "pure" or "original" than any other experience, that's just some bias you've come up with. It's still just one state out of infinity. I think a state of empty blankness simply makes nothingness easier to understand or see, and so you are equating that to being more accurate to nothingness than other experiences.

20 minutes ago, Someone here said:

But it could be posed that the universe was just an eternal singularity of endless blankness without any potential

An "endless blankness" is still a manifestation of potential, it is still something that you experience. Going for a walk in the park is as close to nothingness as a state of endless blankness, that's what it means for the dualities to collapse.

[Tim R]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

Why there is "stuff"? Why colors and sounds and objects?  It's utterly miraculous  that these things exist at all

"They" don't.

[Someone here]

52 minutes ago, Osaid said:

I don't think empty blankness is more "pure" or "original" than any other experience, that's just some bias you've come up with. It's still just one state out of infinity. I think a state of empty blankness simply makes nothingness easier to understand or see, and so you are equating that to being more accurate to nothingness than other experiences.

Right. But it's a bias either way. Why have physical stuff and phenomenon and not pure blank? 

 

52 minutes ago, Tim R said:

"They" don't.

Wdym? Apparently they do lol 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Someone here

[Tim R]

@Someone here What are "colors", "sounds", "shapes", "appearances"?

In other words, what is "the world"? 

[Someone here]

4 minutes ago, Tim R said:

@Someone here What are "colors", "sounds", "shapes", "appearances"?

In other words, what is "the world"? 

Who knows for bloody sakes? 

 

For real tho..A=A.

.I can't define a thing in terms of other things. Everything is just what it is. Exactly how it appears. Sound is sound. Color is color. Etc 

Not sure if that's what you were trying to get at.. 

 

[Tim R]

@Someone here All of those are "ideas" - and not even that. 

To say "the universe exists" is saying too much. 

To say "the universe doesn't exist" is saying too much. 

To say "the universe is an idea" is saying too much.

To say "the universe is not an idea" is saying to much. 

 

There is no "stuff". 

[Someone here]

13 minutes ago, Tim R said:

There is no "stuff"

Then that would also be saying too much. So why are you biased towards the negative? 

you are leaving it as a superposition of "it exists and it doesn't exist and both and neither". I dig that that's true absolutely speaking. But it certainly is not how you experience it in your everyday life. You certainly Believe stuff exists.  Come the fuck on

 

@Tim R

 

 

 

[Forestluv]

3 hours ago, Someone here said:

My question : I get that there is no difference between something and nothing. But I can't wrap my mind around why there is "stuff".

You answered your own question. If you get that there is no difference between something and nothing, you realize "stuff" is "no stuff". 

Within this construct: the question "why is there stuff?" is the same as "why isn't there stuff?"

Yet there are also constructs in which there is stuff and the question "why is there stuff?" has different meaning. Here, we could look into how atoms assemble to form stuff. 

[mandyjw]

No one has found stuff, they have seen, heard, smelled, touched and tasted. Then added the idea and names of things to make "sense" of senses. 

[Someone here]

1 hour ago, Forestluv said:

You answered your own question. If you get that there is no difference between something and nothing, you realize "stuff" is "no stuff". 

I mean I get it intellectually. I can talk about how stuff is actually nothingness theoretically. But experientially I feel that's stuff doesn't equal no stuff. What I don't get is... If stuff is actually no stuff if you get to the bottom of it.. Then why it takes on the appearance of stuff exclusively?.. Why the universe wasn't just pure empty space? 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Someone here

[Someone here]

59 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

No one has found stuff, they have seen, heard, smelled, touched and tasted. Then added the idea and names of things to make "sense" of senses. 

these sensual inputs are stuff. It's not about whether what you sense is actually objective and substantial. It's just the mere fact that appearance is happening.

Why there wasn't simply no touch no smell no sight no sound no nothing? 

[The0Self]

Everything is nothing without me.