We never actually perceive what is there, only what is related back to us through our senses. The reality perceived by a fly, with its very differently structured eye and antennae, is very different from the reality we perceive, but it is equally valid from the fly’s point of view. We don’t see things better than the fly does, we just see our own version. Take this glass, for example. It’s very solid. If I were to hit somebody with it, he would feel it. But modem physics tells us that this glass is composed mostly of space, with just a few electrons, protons, and neutrons zooming around in it. Yet we don’t perceive it that way. And if I were an ant, or an elephant, or a dolphin, I would perceive something else again. Each of these perceptions is valid. Our version is no better than anyone else’s.

Tenzin Palmo

from the book Reflections On A Mountain Lake: Teachings On Practical Buddhism

Read a random quote or see all quotes by Tenzin Palmo.

Further quotes from the book Reflections On A Mountain Lake:

• Beginning to develop awareness
• Cut off from the present moment
• No connection with that particular doctrine
• Being quite happy with a question mark
• The Secret To Surfing the Waves
• We are awareness