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Wednesday, December 13


ANDY LESMANA SASTRAHADIJAYA

Personally, Sandeep's question--"How does this nondualism apply to
everyday life?" was in a way my question, too when I first joined this
list. I am still asking myself (too shy to ask you!) how I can practise
this wonderful nondualism in my life. Being an adult who has been so
heavily conditioned with diabolical dualism since my childhood, I find
it difficult to really understand what you guys talking about in your
posts, let alone practise it. It is as if you were all using calculus,
whereas what I know is just a simple arithmetics. Despite this utter
confusion, I can feel the vibration of loves among us, which keeps me
from saying "bye" as Tim (Omkara) does. What is funny is that when I
talked about it "offline" with my wife a couple days ago, she said that
I might have gone nuts and made fun of me of this nonduality stuff. Am
I really going nuts? Please help this miserable creature called Andy.
Thank you!

JAN BARENDRECHT

Dear Andy,

Don't worry about the conditioning since early childhood. That
conditioning now may look like a maze, where you seem to be caught. But
be assured there is a perspective, where the maze can can be seen from
"above", and then, you're no longer feeling a captive, no matter the
complexity of the maze, and it will appear to have been that way
always.

Understanding on an intellectual level is only needed to convince that
thinking cannot give any answer, the final "answer" arrived at by
thinking is that it can't give an answer to questions like "Who am I?,
where am I from, where am I going?" An easy way is to be the witness of
"whatever happens" - perceptions (both "inner", like thoughts, and
"outer", like sounds) arising and subsiding are witnessed. A witness
doesn't interfere with "what is happening" and isn't affected by it.
Difficult or easy? For the witness, that question is moot :)

ANDREW MACNAB

Dear Andy,

Welcome, from another Andy. Being 'a witness of whatever happens' lifes
runs along, smooth or rough, still one thing seen is that I try to do
the best with what I have, whether that's choice or fate, that's part
of the happening, but there's no longer paralysis with fear of screwing
up (which there was, in my case), of what other people might think.
Whatever outcomes, they are seen in their unending novelty, people have
become transparent.

love, andrew

DAN BERKOW

Hi Andy,

Something is going on with you. The words you read resonate in some
way. The important thing is the resonation and what is going on "here,
now". The words are only catalysts.

If you take a concept about nondualism and apply it to life, you have a
dualism: the dualism of the concept and the life to which it is
applied.

My suggestion is to forget dualism and nondualism, forget about
applying something to life, and notice that the whole concept that "I
exist as a being who goes through time by applying concepts to life" is
simply a concept. Like any other conceptual construction, it seems to
come together for a while, then it dissipates.

Talking about nonduality is, indeed, nuts, as any talking involves
duality (the words themselves, the communicator and the one
communicated to, etc.). So, as you talk about it, laugh, and don't take
it too seriously ;-)

_______________________________________________________________

TIM GERCHMEZ, MICHAEL JOHNSON, GENE POOLE

TIM GERCHMEZ

Dear List,

Here's a quote from Papaji:

"When mind is pure you will see Self in all Beings. Purify the mind by
removing all concepts, especially the concept of purity. Then Self
reveals itself to the Empty mind which is Consciousness."

snip Peace,

Tim (Omkara)

MICHAEL JOHNSON

Dear Tim:

This is what Papaji's statement means to me:

The concept of purity, freedom from sin or guilt, must dissolve before
freedom is a reality instead of just another concept.

The thought, I am pure, is just another concept that the ego grabs a
hold of to make itself better than someone who "is not pure". For me to
be pure, there must be an opposite of "not pure".

Asking who is pure reveals that there is no one that is pure no one who
is not pure.

Who wants to know?

The answer is that the questioner is just a concept asking another
concept to reveal that which is just a concept.

Papaji was speaking to this person spontaneously and naturally based on
his perception of the erroneous concepts espoused by the questioner.

The mind loves to question and challenge other minds, it justifies it's
existence...:-).

The desire to know, the fear of not knowing creates imagination which
is life as we know it. All creation is born of desire. The last desire
to go is the desire to be pure and free. Purity and freedom can not be
found because it is already here and has always been here.

We have just forgot. We have millions of years of conditioning to drop
before we can see the divine which is here now.

Duality is the playground of the mind. Duality loves drama, can not be
without drama, so it creates melodramas which can be called Mind
Generated Movies, or MGM....-:)

When all questions cease.

When all concepts dissolve.

That which is...will shine forth to reveal what always has been and
will always be.

Pure Consciousness.

Pure Awareness.

Read between the lines, forget the words, forget the ideas, forget the
concepts.

Drop them all like a cheap suit.

Peace and Love Brother Tim.

Michael


GENE POOLE

Greetings, Tim...

The short answer to your question is this:

Papaji's statement makes perfect sense; it refers to the complete
removal of criteria.

There is no criteria by which to judge criteria.

It is the human tendency to ground oneself in a (given) criteria, thus
to determine the correctness of criteria, which Papaji refers to in
your quote.

Gene says: "There are no criteria".

Your letter:

>Here's a quote from Papaji: > >"When mind is pure you will see Self in
all Beings. Purify the mind >by removing all concepts, especially the
concept of purity. Then >Self reveals itself to the Empty mind which
is Consciousness." > >Does anyone (else) feel the above statement is
especially obtuse, >convoluted and really makes no sense? > >The
question arises: Who is Papaji speaking to? Obviously, "the >mind."
The mind is composed of concepts. So Papaji is asking a >bundle of
concepts to remove all concepts?!?

Not exactly, Tim. It is more basic than that. Papaji is launching
something, an 'anti-meme', which is designed to hit the very center of
'identification' in any person. It is designed to provoke an
involuntary dissociation, a shock, which will serve (in a moment) to
separate the Being from the assumptions which that Being has become
cloaked in.

This momentary denuding, if successful, is the essence of Papaji's
'work' with others.

We can see in Papaji, and others of his 'ilk', the ability to remain,
through effort, in this state of dissociation, a voluntary psychic
nudism, a lifestyle of letting drop any protection.

This is in a sense, if it can be seen, the highest glorification of
'Self'. It is 'making a joyful noise unto the Lord'. And it is also
the very embodiment of 'the end of seeking'.

>The kind of statement above by Papaji represents what I would call
>"dualism in practice," which is pretty roundly condemned by any sage
>worth their salt. In other words, "I" am supposed to "purify my
>mind" by "removing all concepts." Yet this "I" is itself thought and
>concepts, and the "I" cannot remove anything.

Contrary to popular (here in NDS) opinion, the 'I itself' is not
thoughts and concepts; thoughts and concepts are static, while the "I"
is movement.

"I" can remove anything. Conceptualize stepping out of one's clothing.

"I" can remove my shades.

>Also, what's this B.S. about "purifying the mind by removing the
>concept of purity?" Is this supposed to be some sort of "Gee, I'm
>cool because I can speak in paradox that makes no sense either
>'dually' or 'nondually'" thing?

The mind is an engine of unceasing movement. This engine, simply
processes 'concepts' and makes 'meaning' out of it, as yours has done,
as it processed Papaji's statement.

A question is this: Is the 'output' of the engine, an improvement on
the 'input'?

( a reminder of the 'sausage factory' is appropriate here.)

>So what's up with the above quotation? It's confusing, nonsensical,
>obfuscating and meaningless both as a "beginning teaching" and as an
>"advanced teaching" (apologies to Papaji's fans and followers, but
>he really should be more careful). > >Peace, > >Tim (Omkara)

I am not a fan of Papaji, but the quote you have offered, is not one
that I would take issue with, personally. More likely, it would be one
that was uttered, out of the context of formal presentation.

Even then, one may pick bones, taking care to avoid breaking teeth.

DAN BERKOW

Dear Gene and Tim,
Tim, you raised a useful question. Gene, you provided an answer with
clarity.

Papaji's words might or might not catalyze something. Although clarity
of words is helpful, there is a question as to whether the
transformation actually is catalyzed by anything. That is, one can say
the transformation is no-transformation, as the *clarity* is that there
is nothing to be transformed.

Words seem to catalyze because they can, like acid, erode a position
that "held" a criterion or conditionality to being, including day to
day experiential being.

Yet, how real is the position that is being eroded?

Is "reality" dependent on anything? Is "reality" only there when
positions are eroded and holding is not?

The unconditioned can never not be, because it never has claimed a
position in the first place.

Words such as these, Papaji's, yours, and theirs all amount to a dance,
a game, which can be mud-slinging, graceful ballet, hip-shaking boogie,
or sophisticated waltz.

Take your pick (or, more precisely, choicelessly the dance dances
itself, including the dance-step known as "choice").

The unconditioned, never being subject to conditionality, doesn't
depend on the "right" words to be said.

There are no "right" words and "wrong" words, just words.

Of course, "we" determine the rightness and wrongness depending on our
perceptions of situations and what "fits" the situation. Yet that very
perception is the dance dancing itself.

WILL
Another View: (practical)

Is Conscious Reasoning Logical? (from http://www.medfaq.com/intc1.htm)

When people engage in conscious reasoning, they almost never follow the
rules of logic. Not only is it unfamiliar to most people,
experimentation has shown that most people cannot do logic.

In one of my experiments, subjects had to solve 16 logic problems.
These problems were about as simple as logic problems can be — they
contained only two premises, and the goal was simply to derive the
claim that followed from the premises. Most subjects in my experiment
didn't even get a quarter of these problems correct.

The following is one of the most difficult of these problems. You know
that there is a room full of people, and somewhere in the room are
people who are bankers, farmers, and artists. The two premises are:

No artists are bankers All bankers are farmers.

What can you conclude about the relationship between artists and
farmers? Your choices are:

1. All artists are farmers.
2. All farmers are artists.
3. No artists are farmers.
4. No farmers are artists.
5. Some artists are farmers.
6. Some farmers are artists.
7. Some artists are not farmers.
8. Some farmers are not artists.
9. none of the above—there is no valid conclusion

In one study by Marvin Levine, 40 subjects tried to solve this problem,
and none of them got it correct. (The answer is at the below.)















Don't feel bad if you didn't get the answer to the logic problem, which
was that some farmers are not artists. Did I mention that people are
not very good at logic?


________________________________________________________________

DAVID (AWAKENING MIND)

Greetings Beloved One,

I celebrate this Moment with You! Holy are You as a Child of Divine
Love, Pure Oneness.

I am so very happy to share that our Awakening Mind Musicians'
Pavillion is now open and you can enjoy a free holiday concert of
profound and inspired music through your computer.

Some truly God inspired musicians (Oman & Shanti, Donna Marie Cary,
Susan McCullen, Christian & Julien, MaryBeth Scalice, & Angelica) have
granted us permission to share what God has expressed through them, so
sit back and turn your computer speakers up and let some of the most
inspired music on this planet wash over you, as you bask in the Glory
of God's Love. This music has always been in your heart and you will
recognize it instantly.

The concert has 10 songs, an intermission, and 10 more songs. You will
need RealPlayer to enjoy the concert, and a button link is provided on
the Musicians' Pavillion to download the Player for free if you don't
yet have it on your computer. Once RealPlayer is installed on your
computer and your speakers are turned on, sit back and allow yourself
to feel the Love of God. The concert is truly a meditation on the
Divine.

You can enter the Musicians' Pavillion from clicking on the link on the
left hand column near the top of our Awakening Mind web site at:

http://www.awakening-mind.org

All of the videos and songs and thoughts are inspired by the Spirit.

Be prepared to be Graced and Blessed. Bask in the Glow. You are Beloved
Holy Child of the Living God.

Peace & Blessings always,

David

______________________________________________________________________

JAN BARENDRECHT

As a rule, I take for granted that the majority of books is relating to
specifics, regarding disciples. Ramana however stated various simple
views meant for the "general public" and they are very clear (like the
one of the projector, the screen and the movie). Nonduality could be
called "ultimate simplicity" and it would be strange indeed if
"factual" realizing that would require "a great deal of complexity,
whether from teachers or books".

___________________________________________________________________________

MARK OTTER

Hi Andy,

It is so refreshing to hear your questions. You mention knowing deep in
your heart, but at the same time claim total confusion. You are not
alone in this, so relax and enjoy. I love the way you point out that
the size of the hole matters in the square versus round peg metaphor.
That is such a clear and enlightening point. I believe we (humans) love
to make pretend we understand the universe by grabbing hold of one
aspect of it and repeating it over and over until it sounds like a
summary of the whole thing. So, while it's true that similar sized pegs
of different shapes don't fit easily into each other's holes, it is not
true that all square pegs cannot fit into all round holes. Bingo! If
the hole is big enough, any peg fits. I find that to be a far more
interesting metaphor than the standard one about not fitting. The whole
of NDS is large, so for my money, we all fit. (and I rather enjoy
showing off my odd shape here, as you may notice now and then.) So when
you say " I do not even know whether it is right or wrong to post this
silly writing of mine in this list that is full of enlightened
people.", I say that you are bringing light to the discussion, and that
we are all enlightened by that. (so thank you.)

As for your very important questions "If we are poor and lead a
miserable life now and,OK, we let the so-called Source lead and guide
us to a happier life. Will it happen just like that? Is the Source the
same entity as us (nonduality)?", the only answer I can see clearly is
another question "What happens when you try it out?" No one can tell
you. (It's a mystery)

If you have been reading the list awhile, you may know that I am in the
process of losing my job and (hopefully) making a major change in what
I do to support myself - moving from bioengineering to experiental
(transpersonal) psychotherapy. Well, I can tell you that I have done a
fair amount of kicking and dragging my feet during the process, and
that it has increased my angst. I can also tell you that now and then I
sit down and relax and trust the process, and when I do that, I feel
much better. As for how it will all play out, I don't know. (and I'm
glad about that because it makes it interesting.)

Love, Mark

__________________________________________________________________

JAN BARENDRECHT

See message 48209:

<http://www.egroups.com/message/NondualitySalon/48209>

___________________________________________________________________

Even the scientists are getting close to the destruction of time. Just
as the world was once flat, we will laugh at the belief that time
really existed! So we loose this opportunity... not to worry, it will
come to us. :-)

Dave

When it comes to a nondual theory of time, Dogen rules. His text the
Uji chapter of Shobogenzo is here; <http://www.zenki.com/time01.htm#UJI>

I recently found this website with a commentary;
<http://www.wwzc.org/teisho/wildTime.htm>

Andrew

_______________________________________________________________________

MATTHEW FILES

Hi Matthew,

Please tell me more. I am intrigued. (how is "allowing" a deeper
phenomenon than "relaxing"?)

Love, Mark

MATTHEW:

well they could
be the same thing depending on how the words are used. But when
relaxing is used in context with uptightness i take that to mean it is
being used in referring to our psychology, not to a true surrendering
to god. Then again "i" ("you") cannot surrnender. Ego cannot undo
itself. Ego will not (cannot) give itself over. What ego can do though
is cause us to believe (in our heart of hearts) that there is no longer
any self-referencing going on, (no self-sense). Ego can and will do
anything to maintain control over the organism, the machine. So, back
to relaxing. Non duality is a given. Enlightenment is all there is,
ever was or ever will be. But we don't live that. We live as a knot of
contraction, of vital recoil from life itself,(even if appearances are
happy,happy, happy) based on the false assumption that we are separate,
that there is "other". And there is no way that "you" (or "i") could
ever relax enough to loosen this knot one smidge. All techniques are
useless, as they propogate the search for something we feel we don't
have. "what you are looking for is what you are looking with"-werner
erhardt .............................matthew

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