No, it is not a state at all. And it is not an object.
There is no such thing as Enlightenment.. There is no
such thing as an 'enlightened person'. No person has
ever been 'enlightened'. All there is is light. And in
that light arises apparent darkness. Part of that
apparent darkness is the sense that there is some one,
an identity. There, in that sense of 'there is
someone', arises separation. Separation is the root of
all fear and alienation and disease and feelings of
discomfort, alarm, etc. Then there is a need to go
beyond that, and so the mind thinks that there is a way
of going beyond that, because it thinks that there is a
person there that can find something that takes them
beyond this fear of separation. And so there is the
confusion about this because most teachings are speaking
to an apparent person attaining something called
'enlightenment'. All of that is totally illusory and
rooted in a misunderstanding or ignorance. There is
only light. And there is apparent darkness. Awakening is
simply the dropping away of the idea that there is
anyone, and the apparent darkness is again seen as
light.
Q. Advaita stresses the unity of subject and object, of
perceiver and perceived. In trying to understand this
concept, one comes face to face with the question: Who
am I? Because if I and the world are identical, there is
no such thing as the individual. Right? This is a
terrifying thought.
JK: Terrifying to whom?
--------------
LOL
This was great. Klein is funny and very direct and
patient. I have a copy of "Transmission of the Flame"
which is full of good stuff. Consider the following
exchange (p94):
JK: ...Take note of the many moments when you are
without any question.
Q: I don't understand.
JK: There are many moments when you have no questions.
Q: No questions?
JK: Yes, so you are a happy man in a certain way.
Q: There aren't many moments like that. (laughter)
There's always a question: Where am I going, what am I
doing, what's it all about.
JK: Yes. (pause)
Klein goes on and on like the sea, so people don't
notice that so often he has said it all, right there,
answered every question, and all there is left is
silence. And within that silence is our infinity and
absence of self.
"There are many moments when you have no questions." It
is in these moments that you are 'enlightened,' that
you are your 'real' self, your non-self. And it happens
to everyone every day! Lots! The habit of only
regarding ego-consciousness as who we are is so potent
that few even notice. Even when told they deny it, and
fools laugh. This is why 'those who glance' enjoin
mindfulness. Sooner or later, being mindful, you will
stumble across a moment when you have no questions, and
you will be 'there.'
I am new to this group. Someone asked me to explain
Non-duality and I was wondering if anyone would care
to give a defintion of what it is or means and
possibly how that compares to Dualism? I would
appreciate a comments, or possibly lead me in a
direction perhaps from pryor post. Thanks for anything
you have time to offer.
HUR
hi harry, welcome to the group. perhaps it's not the
best but the shortest definition of nonduality is
"consciousness." there are indeed so many other
definitions of nonduality that after millions(?) of
messages posted on the nonduality (mysticism) related
groups on the internet the discussion is still going
on. for a variety of explanations you can also refer
to:
http://nonduality.com/whatis.htm
GREG GOODE
Here are three different definitions (of nonduality),
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
Only that understanding which you make your own, which
you incorporate into your own being and your own life,
even your physicality, can properly be called truth for
you. Anything less than this remains only an
intellectual theory. The only way to make any
understanding your own is not to allow another to
proscribe your understanding for you.
From today's Daily Dharma: Perception without
discrimination
When we meditate on our body, we meditate on 'the body
in the body.' This means that we do not consider our
body as a separate object, independent of our mind which
is observing it. Meditation is not measuring or
reflecting on the object of the mind, but directly
perceiving it. This is called 'perception without
discrimination,' or nirvikalpajnana. ~~Thich Nhat Hahn
(DailyDharma link here)
How nice. Just now, while laying down with Z to put her
to sleep, I slipped into a lucid, dreamful state of my
own. As I descended further into it, I became aware that
I was observing an ever-deepening collection of
thoughts; I was observing thoughts that I don't normally
observe, but rather that I normally think I'm thinking.
As I returned to my physical awareness, I tried to keep
that sense about myself. That is, I simply tried to stay
in that state in which I was observing the most primal
thoughts that made their very first skitterings across
my mind field. Whatever analogy is used to conceptualize
what this looks like, one is always left with the same
insights. We are not the mind: the mind is of the void.
Before mind, is being. Before being, is nothing.
Mom is Gone
[I wrote this to my family Sunday Morning]
As most of you have undoubtedly heard by now, Mom died last
night, at 12:20. She died peacefully, her breathing simply
stopped. Dan was there with her.
I can't even begin to touch on what she meant to us all and
how terribly saddened and grief-stricken I feel and we all feel.
But I did want to pass on this:
In her white box where she kept all her important papers she
left a card, addressed "To My family, at my death."
The card has a few prayers on it and it says on the front,
"Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep. I am
a thousand winds that blow. I am
the diamond glints on snow. I am the
sunlight on ripened grain. I am the
gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the mornings
hush. I am the swift uplifting
rush of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there. I did not die"
-- "Anonymous"
Inside Mom simply wrote:
"With much love to all my family,
Abbie,
Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother"
