Beyond the Grid of Illusion: A Buddhist Matrix of Conditioned Experience

 

Introduction: The Hidden Framework of Our Experience

One of the Buddha’s most liberating revelations was that what we call reality is not absolute. It is conditioned. Fabricated. Filtered. It arises dependent on causes (hetu), and what we experience as continuity—karma, rebirth, suffering—is bound within these conditioned patterns.

Yet this is not hidden Dhamma. It is right there in the Pāli Canon. It is just that we must learn to see, not through knowledge alone, but through deep wisdom (paññā). When we begin to observe our experience not as “me” or “mine” but as a set of five aggregates (pañcakkhandha) operating across eleven experiential dimensions, the illusion begins to crack.

This article explores this matrix of conditioned existence, inviting the reader to see how karma, rebirth, and saṃsāra arise only within this web. And more importantly, how to step out of it.

 

Part I: The Five Aggregates – The Building Blocks of Illusion

The Buddha taught that what we take to be “self” is merely a bundle of five aggregates (pañcakkhandha):

1.     Rūpa – Form or body

2.     Vedanā – Feeling (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral)

3.     Saññā – Perception or recognition

4.     Saṅkhāra – Mental formations (intentions, habits, volitions)

5.     Viññāṇa – Consciousness (the knowing faculty)

Every moment of experience—joy, grief, craving, thought, memory, even spiritual insight—arises and ceases through the dynamic interaction of these aggregates. None of them is a “self,” and yet together, they create the illusion of one.

 

Part II: The 11 Dimensions – The Grid of Conditioned Reality

Where do these aggregates operate? In what field do they arise? The answer lies in what we might call the eleven dimensions of conditioned experience, drawn from canonical sources like the Mahāvedalla Sutta (MN 43) and Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10):

Category	Pāli Term	English
Time	Atīta	Past
	Paccuppanna	Present
	Anāgata	Future
Space	Ajjhatta	Internal
	Bahiddhā	External
Material/Subtlety	Oḷārika	Gross
	Sukhuma	Subtle
Quality (Ethical)	Hīna	Inferior
	Paṇīta	Superior
Proximity	Santike	Near
	Dūre	Far

These are not metaphysical realms but mental lenses—the coordinates of how we structure and interpret experience.

 

Part III: The Matrix – When Aggregates Meet Dimensions

Below is the Matrix of Conditioned Experience, which shows how each aggregate functions across these eleven experiential dimensions. This matrix reveals how deeply entangled we are in conditioned perception—and how liberation lies beyond this entanglement.

Matrix of Conditioned Experience (Five Aggregates × 11 Dimensions)

Dimension Category	Pāli Term	English	Form (Rūpa)	Feeling (Vedanā)	Perception (Saññā)	Mental Formations (Saṅkhāra)	Consciousness (Viññāṇa)
TIME	Atīta	Past	Memory of body	Regret, nostalgia	Labels from memory	Regret-based will, habit	Recollection
	Paccuppanna	Present	Current form	Immediate sensation	Recognition in real time	Choice-making, intention	Present knowing
	Anāgata	Future	Imagined body	Hope, fear	Anticipation	Planning, projection	Future-focused awareness
SPACE	Ajjhatta	Internal	Internal organs, sensation	Internal moods	Self-referential labeling	Self-talk, inner monologue	Self-focused knowing
	Bahiddhā	External	External objects	Reaction to objects	Labels applied to world	Judging, reacting	Object-based knowing
MATERIALITY/SUBTLETY	Oḷārika	Gross	Tangible body	Crude pain/pleasure	Coarse recognition	Impulsive volition	Basic sensory awareness
	Sukhuma	Subtle	Subtle energies	Refined feelings	Nuanced perception	Contemplation, mindfulness	Insightful knowing
QUALITY (ETHICAL)	Hīna	Inferior	Defiled forms	Suffering, irritation	Unwholesome views	Greed, hatred, delusion	Confused or deluded knowing
	Paṇīta	Superior	Radiant body	Joy, equanimity	Clear recognition	Compassion, wisdom	Purified awareness
RELATIONAL PROXIMITY	Santike	Near	Immediate sense fields	Nearby sensation	Labeling what is close	Quick mental response	Immediate awareness
	Dūre	Far	Distant image	Longing or detachment	Distant conceptual labels	Abstract ideation	Distant/projected awareness

 

Part IV: Why Karma and Saṃsāra Exist – But Only Inside the Matrix

Karma (kamma) and its effects (phala) arise within this framework. Actions are shaped by aggregates functioning across these dimensions. Rebirth happens when volition (cetanā) fueled by craving (taṇhā) continues this illusion of continuity.

But when we see through the matrix:

• That all aggregates are not-self (anattā)
• That dimensions like past/future, inner/outer are fabrications.
• That the whole structure is conditioned and impermanent

Then karma has no more ground to stand on. The mind is freed.

“Where there is no grasping, there is no becoming.”
— Majjhima Nikāya 38

 

 

Part V: The Way Out – Wisdom that Penetrates the Grid

The Buddha called the Dhamma "akālika"—not bound by time. Liberation is not about refining the matrix; it is about transcending it. This is the role of insight (vipassanā): to observe the aggregates functioning across these dimensions without clinging.

As clinging (upādāna) dissolves, so does the illusion.
As illusion fades, so does saṃsāra.
What remains is nibbāna—the unconditioned (asaṅkhata), the deathless.

 

Conclusion: Not Hidden, But Rarely Seen

This matrix is not a mystical theory. It is a map of how we fabricate reality. The Buddha did not ask us to believe it—he asked us to see it for ourselves. The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the Mahāvedalla Sutta, and the entire Abhidhamma framework point toward this understanding.

We suffer because we believe the mirage is real.
We are reborn because we do not see the projector behind the screen.
We are freed when we awaken to the illusion.

“Sabbe dhammā anattā – All phenomena are not-self.”
— Dhammapada 279

 

Closing Reflection

Dear reader, this article is offered as a mirror. May it help you look beyond what is seen. May you pause the wheel of becoming long enough to step outside it. And may you taste the peace that needs no time, no space, and no self.

“There is, monks, an unborn, unmade, unconditioned… if there were not, there would be no escape.”
— Udāna 8.3