As we live our lives, so much is unknown to us. Why this happens or that happens is a mystery. We ascribe this condition to ignorance or confusion. The Tibetan word ma-rigpa provides a more precise definition. “Rigpa” means clarity. “Ma,” a negative, denotes the opposite of clarity — a state of “unseeing.” This is why the first of the 12 links is represented by a blind person. Ma-rigpa or unseeing creates our confusion as to who we are. When we look inside ourselves, we see a jumbled lump of the physical and mental that we call “I.” This “I” is extremely sensitive. It seeks comforts to which it becomes attached, identifying them as “my” and “mine.” (19:26)
