Four Noble Truths: a perception of narrative

One of the difficulties with existing forms is their formal existence. Language has evolved, and with the evolution of language a more succinct expression of fact is inevitable. The "Four-Fold Noble Truths" of Buddhist fame tell the story of self and narrative. We are not born a blank slate. We are born with an instinctual narrative upon which we build a personal narrative. All that is promulgated and all that is advised in the "Noble Truths" is awareness of and subsequent freedom from narrative. If we entertain no narrative we are found in a world of simple perception.

Of course most individuals and populations are not going to apply common sense to much of anything at all, but consider petty strife or wars between nations in the absence of narrative.