The Illusion in the Black Box: A Torch Transformed into a Ring of Fire

Seeing a burning match head produces one kind of sensation. If the burning match head is shaken rapidly, forming a circle of fire, you experience another sensation. Different visual appearances lead to different feelings. Seeing a single torch is one sensation; rapidly shaking the torch to form a ring of fire makes this sensation more intense and thrilling. Regardless of the type of sensation, by observing it and analyzing it deeply, one realizes it was merely a false alarm, an illusory experience. What is the actual evidence? Being unsettled by the fire reflected in a mirror, or terrified by danger displayed on a screen—where is the actual substance?

The external object—a burning match head—remains a single point no matter how fast it is shaken. It is always just one match head and never forms a small ring of fire. It is like a person running on a circular track: no matter how fast they run, it is always one person running, not a crowd of identical people forming a circle along the track. However, if the observer’s vision is impaired and cannot keep up with the runner’s speed, a visual disturbance occurs. The previous image of the runner has not yet faded, and a new image appears. As subsequent images continuously emerge, the observer sees what appears to be a crowd of people running in a circle around the track.

When the minute particles of the external match head enter the black box (the mind), it is still a single match head. No matter how rapidly the external match head is shaken, at any given moment and position within the black box, there is only one internal mental image of a match head. There are never multiple match heads gathering to form a circle. Why then does the consciousness perceive a ring of fire? This is due to the persistence of vision: past images linger in the consciousness while new images continuously arise in sequence, creating the illusion of seeing a ring of fire. Even perceiving a single match head is an unreal perception, an illusion—let alone seeing a small ring formed by numerous match heads.