ABSTRACT

While what we experienee is always experieneed in eonseiousness, it is also the ease that the contents of eonseiousness are not experieneed as eonseiousness. Rüpa has eertain eharaeteristies: Homogeneity, i.e., typologieal or morphological or phylogenie similarities, ete.; stability (a tree retains a stable appearanee aeross moments, and it presents itself as 'solid,' whereas eonseiousness, by eomparison, seems ephemeral); eontinuity (whereas mind fluetuates from thought to thought, moment to moment, rüpic entities appear to eontinue in a stable, homogeneous fashion). Implied here are the four 'elements': "air" is homogeneous; "earth" is stable, solid; "water" rolls on, flows in a eontinuous stream; and "fire" illuminates things, making them visible, giving them color (rüpa), discloses appearanees. How is it that eonseiousness takes on these 'eharaeteristies' (lak$8IJa)?3