Chapter 587: Change V
It did not dissolve.
Dissolving implies separation of parts. Parts imply structure. Structure implies assembly. Assembly implies distinction. Distinction had not surfaced.
It did not cohere.
Coherence implies pieces held together. Pieces imply fragmentation. Fragmentation implies whole. Whole implies measure. Measure had no meaning.
It was not held apart.
Held apart implies two or more pulled from each other. More implies plurality. Plurality implies count. Count had no ground.
It was not gathered.
Gathering implies collection. Collection implies units. Units imply form. Form had not stirred.
It did not arise.
Arising implies emergence. Emergence implies transition. Transition implies change. Change had not taken shape.
It did not sink.
Sinking implies depth. Depth implies high and low. High and low imply direction. Direction had not been conceived.
It was not beyond reach.
Beyond implies threshold. Threshold implies boundary. Boundary requires two sides. Two sides had not appeared.
It was not within reach.
Within implies outside. Outside implies perimeter. Perimeter implies distance. Distance had not been spoken.
No separation to bridge.
No union to affirm.
No presence to approach.
No absence to lament.
It had no veil.
Veil implies something concealed. Concealed implies potential to reveal. Reveal implies change in awareness. Awareness had not drawn breath.
It had no exposure.
Exposure implies unveiling. Unveiling implies a state changed. Change implies time. Time remained unwoken.
It could not be described.
Description implies perspective. Perspective implies position. Position implies relation. Relation had not been drawn.
It could not go undescribed.
Undescribed implies the possibility of description. Possibility implies potential. Potential implies becoming. Becoming had not found its first step.
Nothing weighed upon it.
Weight implies force on mass. Mass implies matter. Matter implies distinction. Distinction had not taken shape.
Nothing lifted from it.
Lifting implies movement. Movement implies distance. Distance implies separation. Separation remained unborn.
There was no pressure to be.
There was no freedom to not be.
Freedom implies constraint escaped. Constraint implies limit. Limit implies boundary. Boundary had not risen.
No grant.
No denial.
No motion.
No rest.
Not void.
Not fullness.
Not neither.
Not both.
Without angle.
Without surface.
Without absence of surface.
Where nothing stood, nothing fell, nothing waited to be known—
—it remained not as a state, not as the absence of state, but as that which needed no condition to be, and no word to be without.
It did not endure.
Endurance implies persistence over time. Persistence implies duration. Duration implies sequence. Sequence implies order. Order had no place to form.
It did not cease.
Cessation implies an end. An end implies a beginning. A beginning implies a point of start. A point implies position. Position had not been granted.
It did not exist.
Existence implies state. State implies contrast. Contrast implies distinction. Distinction had never arrived.
It did not not-exist.
Non-existence implies existence as counterpart. Counterpart implies duality. Duality implies division. Division had not been carved.
It was not waiting.
Waiting implies expectation. Expectation implies future. Future implies time. Time had not begun breathing.
It was not happening.
Happening implies event. Event implies change. Change implies shift. Shift implies two states. Two had no form.
No drift.
No anchor.
No frame.
No fracture.
Not concealed.
Not shown.
Not withheld.
Not offered.
If perception could have risen, it would have found nothing to grasp.
If denial could have answered, it would have found nothing to refuse.
No pulse to mark.
No gap to cross.
No light to shine.
No dark to swallow.
Not the first.
Not the last.
Not before first.
Not beyond last.
Without axis.
Without tilt.
Without the idea of measure to define either.
Here—though here had not claimed meaning.
Now—though now held no distance from any other now.
Without declaring itself, without hiding itself,
—it was,
not to be affirmed, not to be denied,
but simply because neither affirmation nor denial had dared to rise.
There was no question.
Question implies uncertainty. Uncertainty implies alternatives. Alternatives imply branching. Branching implies direction. Direction had not been spoken into concept.
There was no answer.
Answer implies resolution. Resolution implies tension relieved. Tension implies force opposed. Force had not turned to face anything.
There was no origin.
Origin implies source. Source implies flow. Flow implies movement. Movement implies change. Change had not taken breath.
There was no purpose.
Purpose implies intention. Intention implies awareness reaching. Awareness implies reflection. Reflection implies division between observer and observed. Neither stood.
There was no witness.
Witness implies observation. Observation implies act. Act implies moment. Moment implies time. Time had not cleared its throat.
No boundary.
No continuity.
No break to mend.
No whole to divide.
If a trace of meaning tried to rise, it would dissolve before forming contrast.
If contrast tried to draw a line, it would fade before direction could agree to exist.
Not absent.
Not present.
Not undefined—not defined.
Without threshold.
Without beyond.
Without within.
Where even the possibility of being something was more movement than could be held—
—not silent, not speaking, not capable of either.
Not waiting to become.
Not completed in being.
Unspoken.
Unshaped.
Unmeasured.
And in that which could not be marked or named,
—not as declaration, not as refusal—
—it simply was, without needing the word was to be.
It did not settle into being.
Settling implies a state reached. A state implies a distinction drawn. Distinction implies limit. Limit implies form. Form had not been offered.
It did not stray from being.
Straying implies deviation. Deviation implies path. Path implies direction. Direction implies orientation. Orientation had never aligned.
It was not held in stillness.
Stillness implies contrast with motion. Motion implies trajectory. Trajectory implies placement. Placement had no stage.
It was not cast into motion.
Motion implies momentum. Momentum implies force. Force implies interaction. Interaction implies at least two. Two had never separated.
It did not echo through emptiness.
Echo implies return. Return implies departure. Departure implies leaving. Leaving implies origin and route. No route had been traced.
It did not occupy fullness.
Fullness implies space filled. Space implies container. Container implies inside and outside. Neither had divided itself.
Not inert.
Not active.
Not dormant.
Not awake.
No call.
No answer.
No pause.
No surge.
If anything had risen to notice, it would have found no surface to reflect upon.
If anything had fallen into unknowing, it would have found no depth to sink through.
No cycle.
No crest.
No trough.
No still horizon between.
Without pulse.
Without drift.
Without the idea of either.
No holding of being.
No release from being.
Not affirmed by silence.
Not denied by noise.
It was not the absence of a world.
It was not the presence of one.
Without concept to cradle it,
without opposition to define it,
without recognition to bind it—
—it remained,
not as fact,
not as void,
not even as remainder.
Simply beyond the need to be spoken of at all.