Nonduality

Amrita/OH, Jerry Katz, Biff Lee, Gloria Lee, Dr. Harsh K. Luthar, Harsha, Andrew Macnab, Mary, Mark Otter, Petros, Michael Read, Victor Torrico

The retreat was truly a very beautiful and a pure experience for us. A sage once said that on
this tree of life most fruits are bitter sweet, but two fruits are pure sweetness only. These
two are, meditation on the Self, and Satsangha or Fellowship. Both of these fruits were
abundantly available and so the experience of the retreat was pure sweetness.--Harsha

Alas, no Sitecam, no broadband to show you the love,
smiles, laughter, dancing, whirling, poetry, and fellowship
of that gathering. I am back home with many wonderful
memories and a joyful heart. This is indeed a vibrant
community. It feels like the dawn of time and we have all
awakened in some post-historical Eden free to create the
world as we see fit. From the virtuality of cyberspace to
the actuality of Diamond Hill Monastery was not a big leap
at all, indeed, it was a homecoming. It was wonderful to
discover Harsha's loving ability to bring the best out of
people in conversation, Christiana's dancing grace, OH's
surprising embodiment of clarity (she is anything but an
Old Hag!), Nora's abiding presence, Andrew's warmth and
light, Victor's laughter and his propensity to break out
into song, Jerry's ability to sit with his elbows on a
wooden kitchen table for 14 hours at a stretch, Michael's
compassion, Mark and Mary's joyfulness and love for
eachother and for us, Gloria's gift for keeping such a
individualistic bunch on some kind of path, Biff's oneness
with the group, Greg's teaching clarity and the way he beat
time to Afro-Cuban salsa using an upended meditation stool,
and Petros's articulate interiority. Plus we had some good
cigars, lots of rain, and some terrific bullfrogs calling
from the pond down below.

MICHAEL READ:

Just back to the cottage from the retreat. Having no qualities
to call my own, this is offered from the Avadhut Gita:

Verse 56.

Why do you weep, O mind? Why do you cry?
Take the attitude: "I am the Self!"
O dear one, go beyond the many;
Drink the supreme nectar of Unity!

----------------------------

Dear friends,
The gathering was very nice. I've got my own personal dj spinning
records in my head as I bask in the afterglow...

Midnight Oil: It all comes crashing in on me tonight...This is the end
of the beginning of the OUTBREAK OF LOVE, outbreak of love.

The Beatles: Play the game existence till the end... Of the Beginning...

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers: WAKE UP! (to the realization that we
are one...)

Louis Armstrong: I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do...
They're really saying I love you, and I think to myself, what a
wonderful world...

The Grateful Dead: Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their
hands... Everybody's playing in the heart of gold band, heart of gold
band...

We danced together all weekend, and it was fine.

Love, Mark
________________________________________________


I knew it, you dented the world!
Felt it from here! :-)

You even filled the moon!

And the bullfrog croaks.

....imagine that!
And ALL for the same price!

Don't ya just love it!!!!

Manchine
__________________________________________

It was----
Nothing!!!
but such a much of Nothing!!!
To see and talk in real space with strangers whom you
know intimately in cyberspace......
i plunked myself down at the kitchen table and almost never
left it, as tempted as this bookworm was to peruse all the
interesting books that folks brought
more anon love, nora
_______________________________________________

Hi gang,

I feel a poem coming on (kinda like an epileptic fit. I hope it's a
good fit.)


Why hullabaloo over frogs?

What's all this fuss about teachers?
What's all this fuss about love?
Why seek nonduality?
Why look inside, or down, or above?

When you get something out of this discourse,
Give it away as fast as you can
Don't give it back, give it forward
Give it again and again and again

Give it with love's subtle flavors
Give it with mustard and jam
Give it with mince pie and tofu
Give it with plum flavored ham

When you think that you've gotten the message
Run as fast as your fat feet can run
Cause the message is trapped in a bottle
And you should be out in the sun

To receive divine radiation
Is surely a wonderful thing
Since it causes such groovy mutations
And who knows just what that will bring?

Well, I'm fucking tired of this poem
So I'm going to draw to a close
But first I will try to warn you
To alway stand nearby a hose

Cause if the flame from my hand
Should come near
Your candle-like skin would explode
Exposing your dark inner fear

That you might after all,
Probably in fact
Almost surely
Overeact

To the finding that there's no frog at all.

Fuck ya's all, I hate you,
Mark
You are the Self.
Rejoice or be quiet.

Hi Mark,

Sounds like it was an excellent time!


> Mark wrote:
>
> It was fascinating and a
> bit depressing to look into the eyes of people on the ferry the night I
> came back home. I connected with almost all of the very young children
> and very nicely with one man who was also enjoying the children and
> slightly with several others, but I saw a large amount of what looked to
> me like distrust on the part of the vast majority of the people I looked
> at. It was stunning. I sat awhile in crosslegged posture with my
> sandals off, as the seats are quite deep, and one woman clearly
> announced with her looks that she did not trust me and was going to
> watch me like a hawk in case I came near her two lovely children. I
> don't believe that this was my projection. I was just sitting there
> observing. It was so nice. I usually would see this person and either
> get up and go away real quick or sit and get angry at her. I didn't
> have any of that. I just felt my heart open at the magnitude of this
> societal/human race agreement to fear each other and to stay away. It
> is so hard to get close to anyone without a long introduction (which of
> course this list provided those of us who were at the retreat, and the
> rest of us as well, also of course...)

There are just sooooo many that don't understand.
That is the hardest, and yet most rewarding
part of it all. Don't you think?

If only that mother had the same thing in her that you did....
But she does. She just doesn't know it yet.

It's so special to be with people like at the retreat.
It's like a charging of the batteries, but that ability
to connect with whichever person is really no different.

The heart, and knowledge will get you anywhere (that you want to go)
Because after all you know them better than they do.

They are your projection.

And you are HIS.

Much Love,
dave

You are the Self.

I've just loaded a collection of photos taken at the Diamond
Hill retreat in Providence:

http://www.egroups.com/files/NondualitySalon/Diamond+Hill+retreat+July+2000/

*****

Judi, thanks to the generosity of your many friends here, I
have funds
ready for you and possibly Merianne to fly to see your mom
whenever you
need to do so. Please send me your address and I'll mail out
a check.

For anyone who may have lost the link to contribute, it's:
https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=cpd%40well.com

_____________________________________________________________________________


GREG GOODE

As seen from here.

This was a remarkable retreat. A total and effortless
celebration of Love and Self. It was very much an in-person
extension of the activities of NDS and HarshaSatsangh.
There were endless stories and conversations at the
12-person kitchen table. Plus, we had book exchanges, and
few activities in the beautiful Korean zendo which was a
Kwan Yin Hall (Kwan Yin, the Bodhisattva of compassion). It
was right in our building! We had meditations which were
seated, walking, talking, and whirling meditations - all
celebratory. There was salsa dancing, sitting on the
lakefront, walks in the woods, and an outing to eat pizza.

We want to do it again. One of my friends, Michael Rosker
here in NYC, is not a lister, but wants to come along next
time. After hearing about it, he declared that in 15 years
of spiritual activities, he'd never heard of a group outing
with so much grounded love and clarity. Petros might come
down NYC-way to hang with us one of these days, as Petros
and Michael know many of the same people across the
country.

The only lister I had met face-to-face before this
gathering was Christiana. So everyone was brand new, even
Christiana! Here are some capsule description/impressions
as seen from here, of the wonderful and beautiful people at
Diamond Hill. I THINK I got everyone. Please remind me and
forgive me if I forgot anyone. The monk who made our meals
while we were jabbering at the table seemed to smile and
perk up his ears at the conversations.

Andrew - A wry, witty, intelligent sense of humor that is
always kind. With an unerringly accurate ability to sum up
any conversation in fewer than 10 words! Might be a
breatharian, I don't remember seeing him eat anything, even
though he came for pizza with us...

Biff (Glora's husband) - So far, not a post-er to
NDS/Harsha. Razor-sharp intellect, combined with tender
curiosity and an open heart. With salt+pepper hair and
beard, like a wise scientist or a dignified ship's captain.

Christiana - Living, serving compassion combined with
psychic and intuitive and artistic abilities, always there
for any/everyone at every moment. Dances beautifully to
salsa, and likes spicy curly fries.

David - Sweet, tender and selfless, with radiant angelic
energy emanating from his physical form and kindly face. I
wanted to talk to him some more but he had to go home
before Sunday. Posted great driving directions, saving us
from major traffic jams on the drive through Connecticutt.

Gloria - Divine-mother energy, honest and courageous. The
actual backbone of the retreat. Gave us form and direction,
or we'd have sat at the kitchen table aimlessly yakking for
18 hours a day. Brought her sweet husband Biff. She has a
touch of a Southern accent, a beautiful way of drawing out
words, especially as heard with NYC ears!

Harsha (pronounced "HERsha") Our fearless HarshaSatsangh
leader. - Always joyfully celebrating everyone's uniqueness
and special-ness. Impossible to feel bad in his presence.
Likes fruit and tea for breakfast. Much better looking than
Deepak Chopra.

Jerry - Our fearless NDS leader. The guy who, the closer
you look, just isn't there. Always giving everything to
everyone else, like the compliments we give him, and love
and other stuff. Well, everything except those
whipped-cream-filled chocolate Devil Dogs he likes for
breakfast.

Mark - A loving, beating, giving poetic Heart, temporarily
taking the form of a human being. Introduced the Jelly Roll
– not food, but a unique and wonderful way of saying "I
love you" with a lot of feeling and a Zen twist at the end.
I'd never seen it before!

Mary (Mark's wife) - So far, not a post-er to NDS/Harsha.
The most beautiful brown doe eyes, very much at home with
14 people she'd never met. I wanted to talk to her more!

Michael - With a face like Jack Nicholson and a great,
rock-solid, psychic strength, he continuously celebrates
everyone's existence as awareness Itself. If someone has a
belief that they are a this-thing or a that-thing, or if
they have a concept that they are somehow not really OK,
then just hang with Michael for a few seconds... Likes
pizza with hot Italian pepper.

Nora - Vast depths of multi-cultural awareness, a
bibliophile, with a prodigious memory, and a great
navigator with a map. Always had water and fruit for
everyone. Has beautiful children that we all fell in love
with from the photos. Loves Prince Edward Island.

o.h./Indra - Neither old, nor a hag! Beautiful and radiant
with a touch of Southern accent. Because she said she
really has no name that fits, and because of her effortless
way of reflecting what others feel/think/say, I would like
to call her Indra, after the jewels in Indra's Net.

Petros - Tender-hearted, open curiosity, with an
encyclopedic acquaintance with satsang in the Western world
- I wouldn't be surprised if he someday wrote a book on
that phenomenon. I'd buy it! Brought Dunkin Doughnuts for
everyone, and holy water from Ammachi. Hope he comes to NYC
some day.

Victor - Been involved with Tibetan Buddhism in the U.S.
since the 1950's. Falstaffian bearing, looks like Swami
Satchitananda, especially with the robe we made for him out
of a colorful bedsheet. Has the enthusiasm and wonder of an
energetic schoolboy.

*****

After I returned from Diamond Hill on Sunday, I got a
message that my father had passed away on Saturday night.
Actually, right about the time of the salsa dancing. He had
been very ill, often painfully, for 2 years. A few months
ago, I went to see him in Seattle for what I knew would be
the last time. It was a nice meeting, clear, un-encumbered,
loving, spacious.

My family thinks he went peacefully and purposefully when
he did. My mother, a good 50's-style wife and mother who
lived for and through her husband for over half a century,
is taking it hard. But knowing he was at peace gives her
some comfort, and she's learning a bit about how grieving
is done. I spent a lot of time with her on the phone. Our
family is atheist by tradition, but my sister (45 years
old) has a Japanese boyfriend who is introducing her to
Buddhism, and this is helping her. She in turn is helping
my mother.

The lady I am seeing and I are pretty serious, will
probably get engaged soon. Her name is Ann (Yan-Ming).
She's from Canton, above Hong Kong. A few weeks ago, she
had a beautiful Chinese agate and crystal bracelet
custom-made for my mother, with a matching necklace. She
wants to give this to my mother when she meets her. I think
we'll go in December for the holidays. This cheered my mom
up, I think she'd like to see me married! When we go, we
might gather with Michael Read and some others in Portland
or thereabouts.


After I returned from Diamond Hill on Sunday, I got a
message that my father had passed away on Saturday night.
Actually, right about the time of the salsa dancing. He had
been very ill, often painfully, for 2 years. A few months
ago, I went to see him in Seattle for what I knew would be
the last time. It was a nice meeting, clear, un-encumbered,
loving, spacious.

My family thinks he went peacefully and purposefully when
he did. My mother, a good 50's-style wife and mother who
lived for and through her husband for over half a century,
is taking it hard. But knowing he was at peace gives her
some comfort, and she's learning a bit about how grieving
is done. I spent a lot of time with her on the phone. Our
family is atheist by tradition, but my sister (45 years
old) has a Japanese boyfriend who is introducing her to
Buddhism, and this is helping her. She in turn is helping
my mother.

The lady I am seeing and I are pretty serious, will
probably get engaged soon. Her name is Ann (Yan-Ming).
She's from Canton, above Hong Kong. A few weeks ago, she
had a beautiful Chinese agate and crystal bracelet
custom-made for my mother, with a matching necklace. She
wants to give this to my mother when she meets her. I think
we'll go in December for the holidays. This cheered my mom
up, I think she'd like to see me married! When we go, we
might gather with Michael Read and some others in Portland
or thereabouts.

_________________________________________________________________________

MARK OTTER

Greg, sweet heart,

May your father be free from suffering
May your father be clear
May your father be happy
May all beings interpenetrate your father as He wills.

________________________________________________________________________

CHRISTIANA DURANCZYK

Dear Greg..

What an amazing sequence of letters we've received from you
tonight! Before you shared both the extremes of sad and
joyful news, you first offered us such lovely abstracts of
your experience with us. You are a rather remarkable man.

I sit with you in this time of familial void. That the Deep
Heart knows that even death is included in Consciousness,
is some balm for the surface heart. Yet, the surface heart
has a rhythm of its own needing respect. I light a warm
Golden candle to gently illuminate the contracting hearts.
I light a Crystal clear one for your dad's transition.

__________________________________________________________________________

Mark plunges into Truth
Like Gazelle
Standing in a new-age crystal shop
First smell of the new-lit lion incense.
Glass everywhere
Flying razor dharma

It's good
Mark needs bleeding
And the room needs the blood.

--Mark Otter

__________________________________________________________________________

DAVID HODGES

At lunch today I went to sit on a bench by the harbor. I
live in New Haven, which is home to the newly built replica
of the Amistad, the slave ship on which Cinque and his
fellow slaves revolted against their cruel masters. The
Amistad came to New Haven where the former slaves were
tried and set free.

So this completely new replica of the Amistad now sits
proudly at the wharf in New Haven, and hordes of people are
visiting it. It is a genuine fake. It is a real, sea-worthy
ship, but only a replica, a copy of that which it
represents. Yet people don't care, genuine fakes are mostly
what our whole lives are about these days, from Disney
World, to tv, to movies, to virtual experiences of all
kinds. Even when we do things like fall in love it is often
a copy of the real thing, we construct it according to
patterns we have learned about from others.

So, anyway, my visual field was full of activity - sky,
clouds, harbor, water, ships, people. My auditory field was
full of traffic noise and the breeze, and my skin also
registered the breeze, as well as the heat of the sunlight.
I was trying to get into the pure Witness state and the
thought occurred to me that consciousness consists of that
of which consciousness is aware, and then I thought, no,
that isn't right, consciousness persists as we go to sleep
(I have remained aware while entering sleep), and,
according to reports from people like Ken Wilber, persists
into deep dreamless sleep. And, after death. So
consciousness is. It shines whether or not there is
something in its field. I remember that light that appeared
in my awareness over a year ago and that is still here, and
I think it is the pure light of consciousness.

Within this view, the so-called "witness" seems somewhat
vague and shadowy and unreal. It seems like less of a
feature of the verifiable awareness field than it did last
year.

The idea that Greg gave me via his subtle-body meditation,
of the illusion of locality, is very helpful. The idea that
consciousness is local is an illusion. The idea that what I
was seeing today at the harbor was of a particular time and
place is an illusion. It is an illusion brought on by our
habitual perceptual methodology of triangulating objects in
time and space for convenience. But in "Reality" this isn't
true, and thus, non-localized Reality provides a convenient
way to surf from time/space locus to time/space locus
instantaneously.

We are bound by what we know. Our knowledge makes
everything we perceive a genuine fake.

So knowledge creates another perceptual blinder, a way to
structure that which is inherently limitless.

Meanwhile, back to consciousness. If I stay focused on the
shining independent consciousness, no matter whether it
seems to arise in my head or chest or on some minor planet
of the Sirius sector, something happens. The Ramana I-I
feeling starts to arise. Energetic stirrings are felt in
the right-hand heart center.

It is an interesting thing to note that I still don't know
why attention is so different than consciousness. For this
only works when I work the attention muscle to stay in
radiant consciousness. When that muscle relaxes, which it
is wont to do, attention wanders all over the place and I
"go to sleep" for a while. Why is that?

I think there are energy fields, or M-fields (Rupert
Sheldrake's morphogenic fields) that do that. Attention
normally runs along M-lines that have been created through
millenia of human existence. Only by applying a
vector-energy can we break free. Note that the vector
energy required is really not that much. The chains that
bind us are weak and easily broken. So the path to
self-realization consists of establishing new M-lines
sufficiently strong enough to break the attraction of the
old ones. So it isn't a matter of "spirituality" or
anything like that, it is a matter of establishing vectors
that set attention in a new heading. That's what meditation
does.

So I left my bench by the Harbor, itself a genuine fake,
and head back to work, feeling good, celebrating.

Dearest Greg-Ji! Your powers of observation are quite
remarkable. You have captured the essential love and
fellowship of the retreat perfectly and you exemplified
that love with your presence among us.

I wanted to wait to write until everyone got home from the
retreat. Jerry and Andrew had driven the longest distance
and so got home after everyone else last night.

To be with you all was indeed a cause of celebration and
the weekend was pure and never ending delight that expands
into infinity.

We were bathed in Andrew's gentle eyes and smile, Biff's
heart felt fellowship, silence, and sharing, and
Christiana's deep sensitivity and compassion.

We were enveloped in David's purity and radiance, Gloria's
caring and sharing and her beautiful heart of a mother for
all of us, and Greg's kindness and wisdom and taking the
time to teach us.

We were gifted with Jerry's companionship and support, good
humor, quiet eyes, and his courage and honesty and
commitment to us all (Jerry came to the retreat having had
an operation a few weeks before).

Mark's radiant and spontaneous smile energized us and
Mary's instant and total comfort with Mark's friends (us!)
delighted us.

Michael's overwhelming beauty and presence captivated us,
Nora's deep sharing from the heart and her embracing us as
her own moved us.

Amrita's (OH) quiet smile and joyful and peaceful company
filled us with joy. Petros's sharing about his travels on
the path enriched us with the beauty of his story.

Victor's laughter made us laugh and his tears made us cry.
Victor penetrated our hearts.

If I recall correctly, Michael, of overwhelming beauty and
joy said, "I came with no expectations and they have been
fulfilled (or surpassed)!"

Perhaps that sums it up for all of us. We came with no
expectations. Love and fellowship brought us together,
sometimes from long distances. We found it easy to hug and
embrace each other as brothers and sisters. We found it
easy to tell our stories.

It was the purest experience of joy. Thank you.

With love and gratitude for all your gifts. Thank you.

Harsha

This is an expression of gratitude to people who came to the
retreat.

I am Andrew, the planetary native, effortlessly taking us to
places of power.
I am Christiana moving beyond understanding and into free
knowing.
I am Andrew and Christiana looking into each other's eyes as
though they are the first and last man and woman. I am most
certainly that.
I am Gloria collecting us carefully like bits of shattered
mercury, doing whatever it takes to bring us together. I am
truly her tears of joy at seeing us all together.
I am Mark Otter's silver bliss pushing upward on the roof of
struggle. I am Mark the spiritual man. I am Mark in retreat
forever. I am the lines of Mark's poetry. I am every member
of Mark's family.
I am the prasad of OH's smile. I am the food she gives and
gives and gives. I am the layers of meaning in every word
she utters.
I am Harsha's goodness, warmth, respect, and I am the bond
that formed at the kitchen table lit only by two candles
while others enjoyed times in the Zendo.
Yes, I sat at the kitchen table from 10am to 1am on
Saturday.
I am Nora, who sat with me much of that time and told me of
my other selves in the forms of her beautiful and gifted
children. I am Nora planning t-shirt creations.
I am Nora reading the varieties of books upon the kitchen
table. I am Nora taking pleasure in the company.
I am Victor's victorious laugh and perfect wisdom in the
Zendo.
I am Mary's natural wisdom and quiet nature.
I am Michael/Mu's muscular nothingness, his clear eyes and
head, his stabilized knowing, the finished and polished
stone that He is.
I am Biff Lee, a clear considerer of reality. I am a husband
again. I love Biff who understands all that I am.
I am Greg who seems to be in all places at once. Greg the
leader and teacher, Greg the warm and humorous man. I am
Greg getting people to see and do and understand. I am the
passion-for-life of Greg. I am Advaita enjoying the
masterful and playful hands of Greg Goode.
I am most certainly Petros joyously scoping out all
opportunities to keep the company of the Sage. I am Petros
eating life because it is there to be eaten.
I am everyone, the dog that ran around the pond, the bold
frogs, the fireflies, the young monk who cooked for us and
smiled like a future world teacher, the chip'monk' that ran
into the woods and paused to pose on a rock, mostly I am
David Hodges whose hard and ongoing attentional work found
him waking up thankful to be alive, I am every instant
waking up thankful to be alive.

Thank you for an extraordinary weekend and, like the I Am
list in its first days, for the start of something that is
going God-knows-where. All I know is that I want to be there
at the kitchen table with some Ritz crackers and Devil Dogs
when it happens.