What
is Nonduality - Nondualism - Advaita?
Jerry Katz, editorWould you mind
terribly if I threw "nonduality" to the wind
for a moment, and just said that I love you? --Tim
Gerchmez
You can come up with a
very clear and concise articulation of nonduality, and
you can speak of it over and over again, and you can
attempt to align your activity to that articulation. But
in fact, organically, unless you've surrendered to the
Will of God, which is movement but in the domain of
nonduality, any state of nonduality is not mature. --Matthew
Files
Encylopedia Britannica article
Traditional
Various
authors and teachers
Brief
Explications
Lengthier
Explications
From What
Is Enlightenment magazine
From 'A Brief History of Everything', by Ken Wilber
Secondary
Nondualism and Ultimate Nondualism of Da Free John
Meeting
the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists and the Art
of the Self, by Anne Carolyn Klein
The
Rotten Root, by Drew Hempel
Advaita
Vedanta web site FAQ
Brief Explications
Non duality is the _return or revival of Self_ gene
poole
The 'Nondual' perspective does not _abolish_
"duality", it _resolves_ it instead.... gene
poole
The nondual perspective is to me, the voluntary
adoption of the attitude which allows surrender of
personal identity. gene poole
I see nonduality not as a destination or goal, but
rather a quite marvelous "effect" of living a
life of freedom. melody anderson
Nonduality is the clear pool of awareness that remains
once the 'white-water' of emotion (and emotional
conflict) has ended. Melody Anderson
Defining nondualism is like adding legs to a snake. Dan
Berkow
Nonduality can't be something that is used. It can't
be employed at one time and not at another. Nonduality is
what every moment of space-time-experience arises from
and returns to. It is never absent from any moment of
space-time-experience. It has no use, no value, from the
usual perspectives of forming meaning and value. Dan
Berkow
The very meaning of NonDualism is that God is not
separate from creation, from All That Is but instead is
identical with it. dave hodges
Nondualism: we're all the same. formerly shy
In the world of duality some entities are said to be
"too good to be true." However, those who live
in the nondualistic state of consciousness beyond
"good and evil" are actually "too true to
be 'good.'" karczewski
For me.... (nonduality) simply means.... being one
with your duality. tg
nonduality=thoughtless reality. stan alari
Keep bumping into-I AM. This appears to be a
limitation of the English language requiring a noun to
put a verb in motion. Who is this I that I am? Non-
duality would simply be: AM rusty
I have determined that nondualism is a point of view.
It is one that I sometimes choose to see and sometimes
not. It is not death and it is not nirvana. A point of
view. All we need. And, on another hand, it is just a
word. Slackeaux
Nonduality isn't about concepts; it is about getting
rid of concepts, including a concept of absolute. Jan
Barendrecht
nonduality could be called the journey to resolve the
relation between you, the other sentient beings and the
objects, for once and forever. Jan Barendrecht
In a nondual state there are no opposites. There is
neither an awareness ofbeing passive nor an awareness of
being active; awareness without content comes near. In a
nondual state there is no contradiction or paradox;
common language fails in its ability to describe events
from a nondual perspective. The sense of "I am the
doer" is permanently absent as is the sense of
"I am not the doer"; what comes near is
"things being done" as there is no
"feeling" of I and there is no experiencer. Jan
Barendrecht
From the nondual perspective there is nothing to seek
and transformations will be secondary effects. From the
perspective of "ego", only when seeking is
forgotten one will recognize what was never lost; on
gradual awakening transformations can be painful as one's
focus seems to be shifting or at times seems to be
absent. Jan Barendrecht
Considering the essence of Vedanta, the view that
Atman is Brahman, in Western language this would boil
down to: Nondualism is the view that immanence and
transcendence are the same. Eventually with the
explanation, "view" can become
"fact", which is the nondual path. Jan
Barendrecht
Nonduality as the common platform is the state where
self is no more. This is what unites all methods, paths
and the "self-styled". As a matter of fact,
this is what (this) website is conveying already by its
diversity. It is the idea of a bouquet of different
flowers standing in one vase and sipping the same water. Jan
Barendrecht
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When I leave this digital domain and all the
abstractions of thought and belief in this or that and
wonder out amongst the giant oaks and beautiful maples,
that is when I truly feel that everything is connected
and I have a visceral experience of nonduality. Raven
McCloud
Put in simple language, the unceasing
"experience" of one's "real nature"
is nondualism. There is neither an "in" nor an
"out", an "up" or a "down",
"on" or "off". -unknown list
contributor
If duality might be compared to a (endlessly turning)
wheel, nonduality might be more like an 'eel.' The more
you try to grasp it, the faster it slips through your
fingers and disappears. The solution is to remove both
the grasper and the grasping from the equation. Then you
ARE the eel, and nothing more need ever be said on the
topic. Tim Gerchmez
Nonduality is the only state there really is, and is
as natural as breathing. To me, there is not a single
"danger" in all of existence. To look at
anything on "the path" as "dangerous"
is to invite constriction and fear, both of which can be
"trip-ups" in their own right. A simple, strong
reminder to be aware and mindful at all times is all that
is needed. Tim Gerchmez
Nonduality is the natural state of reality, not a
religion or cult or escape. Tim Gerchmez
"Make a coin with only one side. Show it to me.
That's non-duality." She'Tara
Actually, in non-duality you are asked to see a coin
having *no* sides. "Only one" is begging the
question of another, ad absurdum. "Sides" is an
arbitrary interpretation of the coin's suchness. The
coin, as such and in itself, is being a whole coin, and
has no "sides". Phil Burton
What if "nonduality" doesn't mean any Thing?
If it "meant" some Thing then that Thing would
be marked by comparison and contrast -- a whim of
thought. Thinking about "nonduality" is just
rampant word association -- there is just no object that
corresponds to the mental notion. What one speaks of here
in this discussion as "nonduality" is just an
approach to the essence of Being-as-such -- a verbal
dance around the Silence. Today there were many thoughts
about "consciousness." Then suddenly thought
came up short and stopped in its tracks.
"Consciousness" refers to nothing but That
which refers. It is just a rather pale cipher for the
totality of lived perception. Thus, one says that All is
Consciousness. Even a gray, overcast day is full of
living color. Phil Burton
Nondualism: "The awareness in which I find myself
and of which my awareness is a part, is the awareness of
that which some of us call God or Brahman." That
Thou Art. Max
if you believe that you have (or are) an enduring
(immortal) soul then that is duality. If this belief is
not held, that is nondual. When I look for my soul, all I
can finally see is the whole of existence, the totality
of the perceivable. I have no way of knowing where to
draw a line so as to say "This side is me, that side
is not me". So nonduality is not a belief, rather it
is the absence of belief. Andrew Macnab
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There is not a separate parameter being aware of
existence - not even a subtle projection of an imense
diffused rarefied awareness. Matter gets thinner and
thinner and more intelligent, but when it gets to the
point of perception itself -- it vanishes. Awareness is
the content, without another....and i feel this is the
meaning of non-duality. Ivan
Hmmm... A definition for "nonduality"? How
can you define the undefinable? I think I'll go play. Spydir
K
nonduality: that which remains when dueling dualists
are done dancing dueling-dualing duets. James
Traverse
Adwaita can only be realised on Moksha until then it
is an impractible concept in a dualistic illusion. One
still has to fight life's battles and complete one's
karma no matter how non-dualistic one is. If one finds
the place of duality in oneself one will find adwaita. Tony
O'Clery
Nonduality for me doesn´t mean to have no feelings.
Just the other way around to be total alive and
authentic. Joanna
People imagine that non-duality means perfect bliss,
yet my experience of non-duality was a paradoxical fusion
of all opposites: ecstasy/agony, joy/sorrow,
existence/nonexistence, form/formlessness,
abundance/desolation. . . Non-duality isn't the absence
of things we don't like, but the presence of everything
on all-levels and no-levels simultaneously. All One
equals alone equals all-one equals alone equals all-one
in a never-ending cosmic spiral-loop.El Collie
In love, there is only love, and that is the
nonduality. To me, nonduality means the state of
perpetual motion, like a river, of love, through the
absence of love, toward love's source, till it reaches
the ocean of love. And back again. A never ending cycle. Sky
I see NONDUALITY as the Absolute REality. To me
NONDUALITY is Awareness not aware of Itself. As long as I
am aware of being conscious, I am not Absolute REality
and so am only a Dreamer dreaming all this. (Or
Consciousness writing the play.) The Dreamer dreaming is
in Dualitly as far as I am concerned. The highest state
of awareness seems to be Consciousness aware of itself or
I AM. If I were in Nonduality, I would not be writing
this. Anyway, it's all speculation and everything I say
is just a story...I sound like I'm serious but I have to
smile at my attempt to keep my story going. Do you watch
Voyager? The doctor on the ship is hologram and knows he
is not "real", an image only, but behaves as if
her were real and all the crew members treat him as real.
I feel like the doctor.
Mary Salequi
To me, nondualism means we no longer stand at dawn to
shoot each other down with archaic emotional pistols. Mark
Otter
Shakti is nonduality in drag... (okay, unadorned...) Mark
Otter
NONDUALITY: nothing exists completely separate or
independent of anything else. Christopher Chase
Nothing need vanish for one to realize that they *are*
nonduality. It is a simple act of recognition.
Nonduality, as pure being absolute, exists in every
moment of awareness. In the simplest *and* the most
complex of human experience, the Self shines the same,
without effort or attachment to whatever is going on
"around" it. Nonduality isn't a
"place" our minds go to, it *is* the very
essence of who we are. Jody
The meditation/contemplation practice of Advaita
Vedanta is a process whereby we reject anything that is
not the Self. We are told over and over again that the
Self, or Atman is like *nothing* we can think of. We are
also told that the Self is inside us. So if we look for
something inside us that is like *nothing* we can think
of, we should be able to find our way back to our Self,
which is really just *us* (the Self) fettered by an idea
of "me". Jody
Nondualism is the point between existence and
non-existence. Similar to the concept of 'zero' Modesty
Blaize
Nondualism is the the grasp by consciousness that
there is senior existencebeyond dichotomy. Nonduality is
the outershell of Time-Space existence. Nondualism is the
ALL beyond and before the particle; it is the ONE and
zero contained on both sides of polarity, the UNI before
all form. Vanna Bonta
The doctrine of nonduality looks down on all effort
towards realization. Nonduality doctrine is the very
advanced stage of the spiritual quest, a stage beyond
effort. But, while one remains identified with thoughts
of nonduality and has not had experential glimpses of the
truth, one would be better off investigating the various
forms of subtle effort which lead to stillness of mind. Roger
Isaacs
The greatest myth perpetuated by religions of all
stripes is that we are somehow separate from God. In
truth, we are not! The myth on this list is that we are
dual and must discover the truth about non-duality.
Therefore we keep telling each other how to do it and
what we must do or not do to realize IT. Michael Read
Funny indeed - especially when finding out that the
absence of separation isn't necessarily the same as
unconditional happiness. Nonduality is easy -
understanding that there is no separation. The joke is
that unconditional happiness cannot be understood - not
even experienced. Not preaching but laughing, Jan
Barendrecht
Nonduality: Much ado about nothing. Ed Arrons
Nonduality is about the evolvement of thinking without
boundaries... seeing the universe in all things, coming
to understand the totality of all things and the deep
interrelatedness of it all. Zenbob
Imagine that you are surrounded by all the images of
good and bad in you and your life. People, places,
things, beliefs, emotions, experiences, memories, etc.
Now imagine that you are not affected by any of this and
that none of this has anything to do with who you are.
This is a non-dualistic view of life. This is also
Enlightenment. This is how ultimate Peace and Serenity is
discovered. How you can live in the Flow all the time.
This is the True nature of the Universe, the Unified
Field, God.
http://www.nondualism.com (link no longer works)
That condition of 'nonduality' cannot be an object of
contemplation or discussion. As soon as something is
discussed, contemplated, or argued for, it becomes that
which is 'dual,' a concept or an idea. There may be many
aspects of 'Truth' or living which are capable of being
discussed in various forums, but in and of itself that
condition cannot be immediately a topic. There is nothing
particularly mysterious about this fact, which has been
oft noted, but rarely accepted. Petros
Nondualism is a mind that no longer needs to analyze
reality into its essential components. Reality presents
itself as a seamless unity. It is the movements of mind
that define conflicts and differences that need to be
resolved. Nondualism is not a mind of negation. It is a
mind that no longer makes positive assertions, having
come to realize that such assertions are the underlying
creative basis of manifold existence. It is a mind that,
out of its compassion for those who suffer, chooses to
come to rest. John Bird
Oral nondualism seems to be "talking the
talk", an easy thing for most and a sneaky little
trap when we can do it eloquently. Then there is the
matter of "walking the walk". However i dont
think nondualism is something that we do or not do. It
isnt something that we can practice. There is no such
thing as nondualistic activities as opposed to dualistic
activities. Nonduality is simply the context of all
manifestation. There is however enlightened duality. Matthew
Files
...to get a taste of what nonduality is one has to
have a silent base from daily meditation practice and a
desire to know some how what it means to transcend the
self to be come oneself by self observation, present
moment practice. Other than this if there is no
transformation and living from a selfless state, all the
nonduality lingo is really in vain. The planet is doomed.
People will marry and divorce on more frequent basis,
Nihilist mind will take over, Chaos and the most primal
instinct will run rampant, after all....Hell there is
nothing to gain nor lose. Why don't we just have our
selves a pleasent Babylonian Orgy. A C Crowley can be the
bartender too. Alan Kuntz
Non-duality, in discussion, does become a belief
system....and it contains all the elements of the
cultural basket in which it is carried...in our case, the
threads of western modalities on individuality, personal
power and self-worth, hierarchy, authority, etc. Of its
nature, non-duality as a state of mind, is concerned with
none of those things.....it is simply the natural state
of being which does not compare, evaluate, divide,
intellectualize or even understand; it simply throbs to
the rhythm of the universe, resonates with, not
against....as a process of exploring that state of mind
we find that resonating against points us toward
resonance with....there are no oppositions...only the
perception of opposition. Kristi Shelloner
The nondual perspective, as I see it, and I am flawed,
is: being/becoming ...seeking/finding ...
knocking/opening ... each a singular idea. When one
'tires' of 'endless' seeking; one finds. When one 'tires'
of 'endless' knocking; one sees the door is open. Tim
Harris
Nondualism speaks of the interval between yin and
yang, and is residence in the 'neither this nor not
this'. The interval is not a separate reality. It is
reality. Jerry Katz
Nonduality isn't about that, and it isn't about a lot
of things, and it isn't about nonduality at all. Jerry
Katz
Nonduality includes the notion that words can be
harmful indeed, that nothing is understood, could care
less about manifestations of some conceptual infinite and
nonduality is perfectly fine without transcendence of any
sort. Nonduality is total embrace, and embraces every new
concept, in order to remain nondual. This is sometimes
referred to as love as well. --Mira (Mirror)
Scientific proof of non-duality?
Simple. Look at anything, anything at all, at the
subatomic level and there is no difference! Under the
most powerful microscopes everything looks the same.
Whether it is a piece of orange, a piece of gold, a piece
of air or a piece human being. The different arrangements
of the subatomic particles determines what eventually a
thing will look like!
It is like concrete buildings. They may look different
but they are all made of sand, cement and stones.
Isn't it the same with non-dualism? If you look deep
down, where everything is 'still' there is no dualism!
Everything is [looks] the same?
--Jan Seeker
Think of Nonduality
What’s that?
Let me look into my dictionary
Wait a minute
There doesn’t appear to be such a word
So I look up Duality
Twofold: Mind and Spirit
Evil and Good
Hmmmmmmmm.
That means it is wholesome
Unlike Duality
Full, Wholesome, Unitary
This Ultimate
Is what?
I do not know
For how can I know
That which I cannot
That which has brought me here
To play the game of dualism
To understand
In order to Just Be It
Or Leave It
I still do not know.
--Rashmi Moorjani
Non-duality: means not two. Is the nature of unity. In
such an experience, the individual transcends personal
boundaries (ego) and merge with everything beyond
themself via direct connection with the greater presence
of Consciousness that lies not just within the
individual, but also beyond. From such, there no longer
appears to be a difference or distinction between the
individual (subject/observer) and the experienced
universe (object/observed). Observer and the observed
become one and the same.
The world beyond individuality is no longer separate, it
is now part of them. Reality no longer appears to be
relative, separated or fragmented, but rather an
undivided boundless totality is realized as the larger,
all encompasing Absolute Nature. --Spencer Perdriau
Non-dualist: Someone whose ideal is to entirely merge
with Brahman, losing all sense of individuality. Brahman:
The supreme Godhead, beyond all distinctions or forms;
ultimate Reality [from brih.: that which expands]
--from http://www.digiserve.com/mystic/Hindu/Vasishtha/
One zen abbot said "things become very
close" when asked what nonduality looked like and he
was right. Nonduality is about vanishment of the seer,
the observer, it's not more difficult (or not easier)
than that. Some ppl have compared it with turning inside
out and having everything happen inside one instead of
outside like before and in that, there isn't even a
witness to speak of. --Fireceremony
...the Non-Dual paradigm is simply when the world is
Known as empty in nature and therefore part and parcel of
Source..... it remains no longer felt as duality that is
separated into God versus Man..... Source/Creation are
not two....... --Ganga Karmokar
Here are three different definitions, having to do
with the nature of all things:
- there are no two things, or even one
- everything is consciousness
- there is neither any absolute existence nor any
absolute non-existence
--Greg Goode
I remember years ago an episode of 'The Beverly
Hillbillies' in which Jethro, while on an airline flight,
recited a riddle to an attractive stewardess, to whom he
was attracted. He hoped to impress her with his
cleverness:
"This is someone in your family... who is it?
It isn't your father
It isn't your mother
It isn't your sister
It isn't your brother...
Who is it?"
"I don't know", replied the stewardess...
"It's ME!", cried Jethro...
Of course, that was the correct answer, when Jethro was
told the riddle... but he did not comprehend that the
teller of the riddle, was not the 'me' in question... he
did not see that the answer is 'you', when telling the
riddle...
Similarly, when 'describing' 'nonduality' to someone...
which is similar to telling a riddle, don't you know...
the answer is 'you'...
==Gene Poole== Now appearing as 'other'
The ego, body, mind mechanism is conciousness. Yah,
it's the old you are what you seek definition. It's a no
frills advaita, one might say. Nothing is left out,
nobody is excluded and there is nothing to do. --Michael
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