end? What
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end? What are we talking about? The end of what? Where did it start, anyway? When? Who says?
Have you ever thought about what makes up the first and last part of a thing? Where does something begin and where does it end? Do you think it depends upon what 'something' we are discussing? Maybe so ....
Let's 'start' with something very straight-forward: a line. When you draw a line, you start at one end and draw until you want to stop. Then you have a line whose beginning is ... where? Where you first placed the pen? That includes a specific point. Does the line start at the leading edge of that point?
What about a roll of tape? Does it begin at the leading edge of the available end? How much of that leading edge? Should we break it down into individual atoms and choose the furthest from a specific point on the tape to find the 'leading edge atom'? And can we then say that the whole atom is not the beginning because part of it comes before the rest? When shall we stop breaking this up? How about right now....
Consider a motion picture. People are always talking about events at the beginning of the movie or a part 'near the end'. When does a movie really begin? Does it start in the first scene? When the title of the film appears? At the first projection? How about the time that the projectionist turns on the machine? When the lights dim? There's a lot to choose from here....
How about a song or a story? Does a song begin when someone begins to sing? Or, more likely, when the first note is played? And what about the difference in time between when the note is played and when one hears it? Or a story? Does it begin with the title? Does it begin when one starts to read it? Are we getting anywhere?
Let's examine more subjective things. Where does life actually begin? Debate has continued for years about abortion issues, concerning the initial signs of life in the unborn fetus. Well then, where does it end? Does it begin and end with the first and last conscious moment? How should another decide that one is dead and life has come to an end? When the heart stops? When brain activity ceases (brain-death)? When cells in the body stop reproducing? Is life, as some religions hypothesize, a never ending cycle (i.e. reincarnation)?...
Where do relationships begin? When we meet a person for the first time? When we spend important time together? When there is evident love? Upon commitment?...
But enough about people, what about a day? When does it really start? At 11:59 and 59.999 seconds PM? Or at 12:00:00 AM? In between? And the year? Does it REALLY start on December 31st or January 1st?...
While we're discussing the subject, when DID time begin anyway? WAS here a 'beginning'? (What came before that?!) Or has our universe 'always' been around? Does this last question even make sense?
Is it possible that beginnings cannot be measured? Is it possible that they cannot be considered a specific part as much as a general area? (The first 'section,' so to speak.) Can we then indicate where the beginning ends and the ending begins? Is the change located at the midpoint? But what about the 'middle' section? Surely we must account for so many descriptions of something 'near the end' or 'right at the start'. Isn't this getting out of hand?...
Think about this ... How do we know if something begins at all? It's not there, and then as we move along (in time) it 'starts' and is there, right?
OK, now we come to the really important question. Will someone please tell me, where does this...
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copyright 2006, a taoist city monk (nagasiva yronwode)
From: WATERMELON SUGAR, Volume 3, Issue #1, 1985-01-16