My impression is that the Buddhist view, at least from a zen perspective, is not so much telling you that all that secondary stuff is 'literally' created by consciousness, but rather that attachment to this idea is part of the problem.
Being too attached to the idea that there is an objective reality outside of yourself is just as problematic as being attached to the idea that there is nothing outside of you subjective consciousness/experience.
The truth, possibly impossible to find out, probably lies somewhere in between.
The zen approach, as I understand it, is to focus on your own awareness of these two extremes, and to keep yourself from reifying either one. Instead, focus on your direct experience, on 'wu-wei', and consider these two extremes interesting perspectives that can help you on your path to 'naturalness'.
Personally I find this philosophy maddeningly unclear and subjective, but it's been the most helpful in my life when it comes to 'happiness', or perhaps 'contentment'.
The idea that you can cleanly separate the self from the outside reality is probably the flawed bit. The in-between truth is that the self is intricately interlinked with the "outside" reality. Sensory deprivation tanks do really weird things to people's consciousness. The mind depends upon its inputs for proper functioning.
Being too attached to the idea that there is an objective reality outside of yourself is just as problematic as being attached to the idea that there is nothing outside of you subjective consciousness/experience.
The truth, possibly impossible to find out, probably lies somewhere in between.
The zen approach, as I understand it, is to focus on your own awareness of these two extremes, and to keep yourself from reifying either one. Instead, focus on your direct experience, on 'wu-wei', and consider these two extremes interesting perspectives that can help you on your path to 'naturalness'.
Personally I find this philosophy maddeningly unclear and subjective, but it's been the most helpful in my life when it comes to 'happiness', or perhaps 'contentment'.