The Simulacrum

The term “simulacrum” refers to a representation or imitation that takes on a life of its own, detached from its original source. In spiritual terms, the simulacrum symbolises the illusory world fabricated by the mind — a realm of appearances mistaken for reality.

Our ordinary experience is a constant stream of interpretations, symbols, and mental constructs. We do not encounter raw reality directly; we encounter mental representations — memories, concepts, images — that stand in for the living immediacy of what is. These representations become layered upon each other, forming a complex simulation that we mistake for the world itself.

Social structures, identities, beliefs, and cultural narratives further reinforce the simulacrum, giving it an appearance of solidity and objectivity. Yet all of this is mediated through perception and thought — arising within consciousness like a dream mistaken for waking life.

The spiritual path involves piercing through this web of representations to encounter reality directly. This is not achieved by rejecting the world, but by seeing through the fabricated layers of mental construction. What remains is simple, unmediated presence — the bare fact of being, prior to interpretation.

In this sense, the simulacrum is not inherently evil but becomes a prison when it is mistaken for truth. Awakening is the recognition that the simulation was never real — only the witnessing awareness is ultimately stable.

“When the illusion is seen for what it is, it loses its power.”
— Non-dual Teaching