Aware Wolf
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Posts posted by Aware Wolf
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1 hour ago, Mandy said:
It's not a negation just like unconditional love doesn't turn a blind eye to anything, it is unwavering nonetheless.
Zen doesn't consider, nonduality is not a stage, level or a school of thought.
No self isnt a negation?
Zen considers nonduality none of that either -- are you saying it does? I'm a bit confused
1 hour ago, Mandy said:I was trying to point out in a new way the illusory nature of thinking "that's how so and so is". It's like how when you have kids people who see them infrequently won't stop talking about how it's impossible that they are that old/in that grade/ that tall, etc. Thought likes to keep things the same. It only sees how things appear and even then only takes a snap shot and holds on to it instead of seeing it in the now, in real time. If I look out at the hardwood trees right now, they look the same that they have all winter, but through means of which humans through science and physics don't even yet understand sap is being pumped through the roots to the entire tree. It's come back to life completely but there are no external proofs.
Now is IMO the most common sense, direct way to point to non thought. Inseparable from awareness. Making it about people who read Eckhart Tolle instead of now is super sneaky. Shame on them LOSERS. Huh, where have I heard that kind of sentiments before??? Now is mind blowing, euphoria, magic, mystery, creation, but we're imagining people who read Eckhart Tolle.
I didnt know Eckhart Tolle was such a bad word to you.
I believe i said Now was a delusion, but not a big deal. Some people cherish the whole Now thing , see it as some great awakening truth. It's not. But each their own.
1 hour ago, Mandy said:Ok. The ash tree outside is dead, it has no leaves, chop it down.
Or thinking oneself superior because of amassed knowledge and experience?
So there's a tree then?
Who is seeing it?? (Sorry but how do it feel?)
Oh. Thats me? The knowledge and experience bit? Ouch. How do you know what I think?
1 hour ago, Mandy said:"Phil is a nondual bear", that's your snapshot, the tree is dead. The bear is dead. Your polaroid shot is not the polar bead. No matter what Phil writes he's a nondual bear, a separate self. Powerplay and on upmanship is only played by separate selves and all that's being said is there aren't.
So Phil can't nondual bear or be one (i never said he was a nondual bear) because that would be a seperate self. And Phil don't have seperate self.
1 hour ago, Mandy said:I personally have heard that story at least 30 times. Probably more. You repeat the story about the people who repeat the SAME things. Do you see the mirror? The cycle. The "I'm the only one doing it right now." THE TREE IS DEAD. Jim Newman, Conner Murphy, separate selves snapshots, killed em'.
Could be. The story is relevant. Most good stories get repeated. You're the only who has heard, read, and remember it most probably.
How many times do I see Leo Gura drama rehashed here? LoA? Vision boards? The emotional scale? Do I post omg Mandy going on about LoA AGAIN? How many times have I heard that? At least 1000. So i beat you there.
But you do you
1 hour ago, Mandy said:No the Universe is you. No separate you, you which leaves unwavering and totally orgasmicly impotent.
?
Well it's a view, i suppose. There are others. But it's not you saying it, right?
1 hour ago, Mandy said:The idea of something isn't the open observation of the experience. Which can only be now.
Define this "Now" you speak of? This minute? This second? This millisecond? All already passed. How do you know of this Now "moment" ? Thru senses? Senses lie all the time. We live in a reality tunnel.
I don't know why I typed that. I think we are past having any sort of dialogue. Ah the Internet, strangers shouting past each other.
1 hour ago, Mandy said:You view the tree as dead. The tree is alive. All that's said is you don't know. "I don't know" is not a view. You can't go into the northern woods in early April with your chainsaw and tell which ash trees are alive and which are dead. Put down the chainsaw. Put away the thoughts and beliefs about Eckhart Tolle, and investigate the now, or the Phil and the dream board or the Jim Newman and the hilarity and relief of his talks or the nondual bears. The bear is dead.
Phil says there is no tree. But you say the bear is dead, and the tree is alive. (Shrugs).
I'm gonna see myself out. I understand a little what some of you guys went thru at Actualized dot org now. Forums are rarely conducive to spiritual growth.
Best of luck to everyone. No hard feelings.
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1 hour ago, Phil said:
No. The illusion is that of a separate self. So called reality is apparent.
There’s definitely no tree, but you’re what’s so beautiful.
This thread is entitled ‘What Is Nonduality’ btw.
No?
I could swear I saw someone with your username talking about Vision boards, some emotional scale, LoA, and all that other stuff.... Huh.
I'm aware the thread is called Nonduality. There's a difference between talking about nonduality and talking nondual cliches, platitudes, and just on the Absolute level. For example, I like listening to Rupert Spira. He listens to people and talks to people in a plain more down to earth way. Although he's just as much nondualist as Jim Newman. Who when asked to describe his background and influences, said Jim Newman doesn't exist. There's no Jim Newman. (sigh).
You saying there's no tree makes me wonder how good a driver you are.
I think I'm out of here. I try not to argue with non existent people ! Peace+
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36 minutes ago, Mandy said:
Isn't that a self-debunking statement in itself though? It's ironic and funny. It's like the famous statement "There are still others for Rupert Spira." It's hysterically funny, because you're the only one doing it and you're only doing in now.
It is paradoxical but only if "no one" , negates EVERYTHING. Negation is not denial.
Denial goes too far. Thus, the third turning of the wheel was necessary.
Zen considers nonduality and Emptiness very important. But those stuck on it are in a Devil's Cave.
You lost me in talking about being never in anyone elses now....
Its not now. Never was. Never will be. Now is just as much a delusion as past or present. Maybe more since people who read Eckhart Tolle fetishize it so much. I don't think Now is part of nonduality.
But whatever. If Now belief is working for you or anyone -- great. Not a big deal.
36 minutes ago, Mandy said:Ever notice how we can never be present in anyone else's now? We're the only one that engage in ridiculous misunderstandings, because the separate one is the ridiculous misunderstanding. And it's always now.
You are though, no matter the name, and what a fantastic, ornate, elaborate enchanted talking mirror it appears to be.
Okay. I'm Leo. Sure. In a way. But i didn't check my (Leo's) bank account or try to withdraw funds. I bet Phil didnt either. So it's an example of nondual bear-ing and being stuck in Emptiness.
If I remember correctly, it was @Joseph Maynorwho said Phil was reminding him of being like Leo.
Phil responded that he wasn't like Leo... -- He was Leo.
Now in the context of this conversation was going all nondual bear here relevant to what Joseph was complaining about?? There's ways to valudate another -- then there's
"Who is asking the question" which can be a nondual bear power play. It stops and derails the conversation.
Going nondual when not called for seems to me to be nondual one upmanship.
It's similar to those guru who get caught with their pants down in a sex scandal and then appeal to Emptiness. There's no one having sex. Because the guru has no self.
Or when I try to put in my .02 worth, my pov, my view, warning about being stuck on Emptiness, having wrong views post awakening -- I get asked basically the same thing.
My Warning about nondual bears who refer to The Absolute when not called for -- I get some Absolute-ish replies! I really am Leo! Jesus!
Do you see how ridiculous and hysterically funny that is?? :-D *
"A wrongly viewed emptiness destroys the weak intelligence, like a clumsily held snake or an ill-worked spell. "
-- Nagarjuna
(No offense meant, seriously)
* Seriously I love it.
36 minutes ago, Mandy said:Why is this your favorite thing to tell people? See the mirror there? See the hilarity? IT'S ALL FOR YOU.
Why -- why what?
Why the Advaita Trap Nondual Bear Cartoon is a favorite? -- because its a great cartoon and It caricatures those stuck in Emptiness fairly well.
Why2: The cafe story -- I guess it's because I've had my full of nondual bears. Other people may think speaking in nondual cliches is profound. I'm immune to it because after the fiftieth time, it loses any charm. Also I think like Nagarjuna warns, getting it wrong is not good. Maybe one is just obnoxious and annoying and unable to have a basic human conversation like Jim Newman. Or maybe one is like Connor Murphy who goes off the nonduality deep end and gets committed twice.
Naw it's not all for me... I'm not so egotistical to think it's all for me, the Universe revolves around me, or is trying to teach me a lesson, or everything is ultimately working towards my best benefit. Those are all views, btw.
Vision/dream boards -- are a view.
Law of Attraction -- is a view.
Even Nonduality (!) Is a view!
Now, asking @Philquestion to you and him -- IS THERE ANYONE TO HAVE YOUR VIEWS ?
It's a bit strange to be moderators of a nondual forum, which divides into topics the vast majority which deal with duality (eg Relationship), which require login names, which divides into moderators and users, which issue warnings (who are you issuing warnings to??) And yet we seem to get stuck nondualing people as if nonduality is some ultimate answer to everything or to use as a weapon.
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8 minutes ago, Phil said:
If ‘it’s all’ an appearance, and the separate self is / was what was illusory… is there anyone to fit anything into a conceptual frame work?
You tell me. You have a distinctive style of nondualism. You seem to hold views. (You believe in nonduality, right?). Mayhaps you've transcended the self and there's not anyone -- but still there's a Phil that cooks, drives, runs the forum, answers questions, provides advice. This "no one" is different from Mandys no one or Ruperts or Leos. It seems if you teach especially you've got to have a framework. People ask questions. Maybe Ariana had a real legit powerful awakening. But she'll get asked what happens when we die. Now how would she really know? She don't! She's got to extrapolate based on her framework. Maybe she uses the wave/ocean analogy. Or maybe she says there's no self so no one is born and no one dies. Or the candle transferring a flame to another candle.
You wrote in one provocative interesting post:
"I am Leo."
Thich Nhat Hanh has a famous poem, "Please call me by my True Name" which has a similar theme. The Heart Sutra there's no Path, no enlightenment, no views. This was the second turning of the dharma wheel, Emptiness and the non clinging to self. Cool.
I'm aware of this, and even appreciate it as long as they dont nondual bear me (See Advaita Trap Cartoon on Youtube posted earlier). I've spent time at Ramana Ashram and it's my karma to suffer people who've read a Ramana book, meditated a couple weeks, and now know the Truth and want to tell me all about no self. This is why i wear headphones to cafes in Tiruvannamalai now. God bless them.
Where I am at, mostly, is the third turning of the wheel, which is non-clinging to Emptiness.
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There's two ways to approach non duality:
1) Realize it's beyond words.
The Tao that can be talked about is not the Tao.
As Wittgenstein also also says,
"What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence."
Those that talk about it can sound like the nondual bear here:
In the Advaita Bear school are Jim Newman and Ariana Reflects. Both who went on and on and on about it or some related nondual cliche. Despite no doer and nothing to teach, they both offered Zoom retreats. They'll tell you ad infinitum they don't exist, it's all an illusion -- but that won't fly if you try to loginto their Zoom retreat without a Valid credit card number.
2) Trying to talk about it the best one can, while avoiding cliches.
@MandyI think does a great job. I also like Rupert Spira and Adyashanti. Advaita Vedanta has a rich tradition and I wish more people knew of it. Instead it's like the blind leading the blind.
For example, lets say one experiences nonduality. Fantastic! Lucky Duck! But now not only is there stabilization and integration -- but also fitting it into some conceptual framework. WTF happened,??
If you're going it alone -- how likely is it that you'll have a fully fleshed out framework post awakening day 1 ,(or day 90)?
Maybe the framework will be stuck on emptiness like Jim Newman. Or akin to Nihilism like some of Ariana's youtube videos seemed. Or you become God like Leo Gura.
If you get it right like Mandy or Rupert Spira -- congrats ! Om Namah Shivaya!
-- but a lot of people fly to close to the sun and get burned. Like Ariana and her boyfriend Occult Theo. Too Early awakening experiences can be bad because people don't know how to deal with it. When the seed sprouts, there should be fertile loam waiting. Even Ramana had teachers. Ramana had a deep awakening NDE at 16. But he didn't teach until decades later. After he hung around other sadhus and learned the Upanishads. If Ramana had started a Youtube channel at 17 and cut his spiritual teeth on the Actualized Dot Org forum -- well. Imo he'd be F*cked. Kinda a funny picture. Ramana watching Leo',s pickup videos and imitating Leo's strut thru a Las Vegas party. Ramana considering that perhaps he should watch porn. Ramana spouting off about "Spiral Dynamics" to other sadhus and pissing them off.
"The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight."
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On 3/29/2023 at 5:13 AM, Joseph Maynor said:
Make sure that hand wave has no meaning attributable to it too. That's why winning koans is complicated but remarkably easy too. A throat clearing might work too as long as it's not dismissive. I like the chop wood carry water famous response. It's a demonstration of awareness of the issue between language and nonduality. Can you imagine a Zen Master listening to Leo Gura go on and on how he's God or Alien Consciousness? That dude would be sent out indefinitely to paint the fence.Lol. Yes.
I can see:
A) The Zen master sees a very delusional person who needs a careful approach.
If a prospective Zen student is a big fan of Leo Gura (or some other almost cult like teachers: Teal Swan, Daniel Ingram, Culadasa) -- it's a huge red flag. As they'll probably experience a discrepancy in Zen practice and what they've been told. So who will they believe? Leo Gura, the God man? -- Or the unimposing Zen teacher who isn't anything.
When told say, "shut up and sit", theyll bitch their safe space was triggered.
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How to Awaken (with Book recommendations)
On Actualized, Leo Gura has a sticky where he recommends one do self inquiry, hours a day, until one finally breaks through.
Self-inquiry was made famous by Ramana Maharshi. It can work. But Ramana, while an inspiration, wasn't a teacher (He never said he was either). People loved sitting with him, but few awakened. Ramana left behind very few teachers.
Trying to power your way to awakening through months of ruthless self-inquiry is not likely to work. It's liable to lead to frustration. And even if it does work the realization needs stabilization and integration.
Plus different methods work better for different people.
Books are available either on Amazon (paying) or on Libgen (free).
Here are some of the best methods I've found across a few different wisdom traditions:
Note: Try to relax and have a sense of humor on the Path.
Waking Up App might be a good start for beginners. There's also series on the app for more advanced people. It costs, but if you can't afford it, they are generous in offering a free subscription.
1) Lojong. Simple, powerful, and profound. What's not to like? See books on Lojong by Pema Chodron and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Watch Tenzin Palmo Youtube lectures on lojong.
2) Metta (Kindness) & Equanimity. See Karen Armstrongs Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. For Equanimity, study Stoicism. See books by Donald Robertson. Practice kindness and equanimity in your daily life. A metta and equanimity practice works well for busy people with jobs (and stress) as there's plenty of opportunities to practice. As the lojong slogan says, Use all obstacles as the Path to awakening.
3) Satipathanna. This was described by the Buddha, the Maestro of Meditation, as a direct path to liberation. See Bhikkhu Analayo's trilogy of books on the Satipathanna and his guided meditations on YouTube.
4) Mahamudra & Dzogchen. The pinnacle of Tibetan teachings, direct pointing to the true nature of mind as it is.
Reggie Ray has a CD series, Mahamudra in the Modern World, available from Sounds True. Great series.
Samaneri Jayasara on Youtube is a fantastic channel. Direct pointings abound. A favorite are her Longchenpa Dzogchen readings.
5) Direct Path. Stephan Bodian's book, Wake Up Now. Greg Goode also has some direct path books.
Ilona Ciunaite has a book Gateless Gatecrashers. It's a great book for grokking No Self.
6) Advaita Vedanta. Advaita Vedanta can be pretty philosophical but has a good track record going back thousands of years.
See Arsha Boda's Introduction to Vedanta youtube and podcasts.
After Introduction to Vedanta, listen to:
Atma Bodha
Drg Drsha Viveka
Tattva Bodha
Bhagavad Gita
MandukyaFor a book, see Dennis Waite's, Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita Vedanta. Swami Sarvapriyanananda also has a good podcast.
I hope this helps someone. If you have any questions, feel free.
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18 minutes ago, Mandy said:
@Aware Wolf That you think you're a human is the misunderstanding, the following projection is then that a cockroach is a cockroach and the sky is the sky. It's still entertaining flawed premises.
Yes.
Relative or provisional truth, yes, I'm human. I'm not a bear, though I envy Cocaine Bear. I'm not Leo -- he's a different bucket.
Ultimately, no. Aham Brahmasmi. I am Brahman.
How to realize this truth? What type of bucket (see the bucket analogy I posted) is more likely to realize it - the human bucket or the cockroach bucket?
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7 minutes ago, Mandy said:
I really do not get the "being human is preferable to being an animal" in general. Even less so do I get the "being human is preferable to being an animal because of the possibility of enlightenment"... when enlightenment is the recognition that you're not human and not embodied.
Okay. If as you say, enlightenment is the recognition that you're not human and not embodied....
-- which can recognize this better -- the human or the cockroach?
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I posted similar but it got lost
Heres another analogy similar to the movie and screen:
"An analogy given here is a series of buckets with different shapes and colours containing clear or muddy water of varying degrees. The same sun is reflected in each of them. The reflected sun together with the colour and contour of the bucket and the tardiness or clarity of water constitute an individual ego sense or jiva. It associates itself with the bucket contour or the water quality and thinks itself to be the bucket or the water. But all the while it is the sun outside that gets reflected. When the reflection knows itself to be the reflection of the sun outside, the association between reflection and the real sun breaks as there is no longer any reflection. The same sun of consciousness is reflected in millions of buckets of individual souls or jiva."
There is the sun. Or screen. True Self. Brahman. God. The Absolute. Etc.
The Unborn, the undying, the unfabricated...the Unconditioned.
True, the Absolute has no personality, gender, genetic characteristics. Let's not get stuck here.
Our problem is that we identify as the bucket. Not as Brahman!
So how can we realise our True Self?
There's different paths here. One path recommended by the Bhagavad Gita is Bhakti.
But I'll take Advaita Vedanta as the bucket is their example. AV says we realise our True Self by removing our ignorance through education.
Now to the theme of the thread. As human beings, who suffer, we have relative strengths and weaknesses. Some may help in learning, understanding, and grokking the Truth here. All sentient beings have Buddha Nature. Human beings have a better chance of realising it than a cockroach.
As Nagarjuna says, we obtain the Absolute Truth through the relative truth.
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39 minutes ago, Blessed2 said:
How can the movie play a part for the screen being the screen?
Does the screen become the screen, in the movie?
That's the movie. 🤔
How do you know this? How can one recognize this?
What language are you typing in?
You're ignoring duality. If you nonduality doesnt include duality, it's incomplete. Although there is the absolute, as you point out, we attain awakening through the relative (Nagarjuna).
See Advaita Vedanta too. There's a list of requirements for the student to be able to learn and recognize the truth.
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1 hour ago, Mandy said:
@Aware Wolf Doesn't that answer that it's "above my pay grade" assume intelligence is required to know? Can "I don't know" be an answer let alone correct or preferred?
Nawww. Because usually pay grades above mine are dumbasses. Re: The Peter Principle.
"I don't know" imo can be a good answer. We often eff up thinking we know something but we really dont. For example, we believe a snake is harmless but it's really venomous.
As the Buddha said,
Therefore, o monks, do not brood over [any of these views] Such brooding, O monks, is senseless, has nothing to do with genuine pure conduct, does not lead to aversion, detachment, extinction, nor to peace, to full comprehension, enlightenment and Nibbāna, etc.
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2 hours ago, Blessed2 said:
So I saw this mentioned in another thread and figured it would be a good subject to contemplate, and a good way to perhaps question some assumptions and beliefs about the nature of enlightenment, and materialist paradigm.
It's this idea that enlightenment has something to do with genetics. That you might have good genetics that make enlightenment easy for you, or bad genetics which makes it almost (or completely) impossible.
Is it really so? Is enlightenment connected to genetics? Let's discuss!
Sure personality characteristics can play a part. But since we can't do anything about genetics , its kinda irrelevant. I was pissed at Star Wars when they did the whole midichlorian bullshit. Instead of a farm kid Luke finding his hero,'s journey, we gotta have the royal family genetic connections.
What we can do is to what we can do. Volition is huge. Even if someone at a retreat is a genetic super meditator and sees auras and colors and shit -- but can't get up in the morning to sit, bitches at the cooks, and is afraid of dogs -- I'll take my run of the mill practice.
My experience is that super meditators often crash or burn.
The other take away is from a book I read recently by Henry Shukman, One Blade of Grass. If you are gifted and have an early awakening -- it can be problematic. As Henry puts it, when the seed germinates, there should be ground of loam waiting for it. But how often does that happen?
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This is the question of Maya.
Or where (how) does Buddha Nature come about.
I was recently asked this in a satsang.
I said "it's above my pay grade"
My answer was rejected.
The correct answer or preferred one was "I don't know."
To me, they are similar answers but whatever.
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23 hours ago, Blessed2 said:
No not a good question! Assumption, thought-attachment and separate selvery!
The intention here was to bring to light the assumption / thought-attachment / separate selvery which creates the doubt.
So good reflection then.
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Ya. Good question.
It's easy to be all spiritual on retreat, but what happens back at work and with family?
How do we integrate?
If I did receive cancer diagnosis, or there's an evil alien invasion, I hope to respond appropriately. There might be some crying or screaming too, I dunno. I think it's allowed.
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@Joseph Maynor that's a good take away. Let's share that cookie!
But still reading your stuff does seem to read like written by someone who is suffering...
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@Joseph Maynor Ya. I remember. If someone is triggered by an Internet forum post it can show where they are at on the path. Can they let it go?
You too have excellence. I was sad to read you were thinking of leaving just when i got back on. However, geez Loise, you enter into a some feud with Lester. I wanted to say, dude just block him if he's irritating you. Done. Also my take a break from Internet was meant kindly. Even my "wanna cookie" poke was to show you how you can come across. How is asking me if I know Phil relevant to my referring to something he wrote in a thread?? I think it's nice to refer to other people's posts. It helps community.
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Ya. We all want this.
But suffering seems to be part of the path. I've done retreats where Buddhist teachers were participants and they cried like anyone else, perhaps more so.
I'm a big fan of practicing Kindness, resilience, and equanimity. Great stuff, very useful. "Use all obstacles as the path to bodhi" , is a lojong saying i like.
"Do not be a bodhisatta; do not be an arahant; do not be anything at all. If you are a bodhisatta, you will suffer; if you are an arahant, you will suffer; if you are anything at all, you will suffer".-- Ajahn Chah
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Just now, Joseph Maynor said:
But what do you think? Do you know Phil personally?Naw. But you do I take it. Good for you. Wanna cookie?
What do I think about what? I wrote what I thought. My post? -- it's alright. Works for me.
@Joseph MaynorI remember you from before I left and had a favorable opinion of you and your posts.
Now it seems you've gotten dogmatic and this whole Divine Feminine / Masculine reads tiresome and a bit pedantic. You've talked of taking a break on here and ya, chill out and go for a walk, meditate, play with the cat.
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Self Inquiry is fine. But like Phil said I wouldn't dump everything else and just do self inquiry.
On Actualized, there are (were?) Old Leo Gura posts on How to get enlightened.
Basically Leo said do self inquiry for months, hours a day meditating on Who Am I? -- until it pops. However long it takes.
I thought this pretty bad practice advice probably leading to frustration. If you can do it at all as most people have obligations. It's limiting and sounds like one is trying to bull one's way to awakening.
Ramana Maharshi recommended self-inquiry. And he's a saint -- but he wasn't a teacher. People would come and sit with him and out of compassion he'd try to answer their questions. Or sit in silence.
While Ramana is an inspirational model, very few teachers came from his lineage. Although people claim to be inspired by him (cool), or have sat with him for brief periods of time -- it's a very rare teacher who was at Tiruvannamalai long enough there's actual records of them being a close devotee. If you ask at the Ramana Ashram who are the legit teachers -- it's a small list.
Self-inquiry may work for some people. It may not work for others. Probably thousands sat with Ramana and did self inquiry to some extent. How many of them do you think got enlightened? People were moved by the presence of Ramana, not so much the method.
Another path might work better for some folk.
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56 minutes ago, Faith said:
You exist and you're conscious, boom 💥 proven. 😉
Straight from Advaita Vedanta !
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Are figments of the imagination allowed to post? :-p
Self Inquiry:
Who (or what) is this "I" that you're talking about?
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There's the experience.
Imagine it. It's ineffable. But often it may involve: Oneness. Unity. Connection. Nature. Love. Consciousness. An underlying Reality.
There's different types of spiritual awakenings.
Now after the experience, which is not permanent, comes stabilization and integration. That's the hard part.
How do you integrate "Love" or "Cosmic Consciousness" into your life? Did it all just disappear when the experience did?
Although the experience is (largely) ineffable, now your own framework for where you go from there after the experience -- that's conceptual.
Did you speak to God or was it all the Void?
To take a common example, many nondualists say, "There is no You."
That's their framework. But like I think Phil pointed out recently on some thread i read here, paraphrasing, this No Self concept is the same as God in another's concept.
Here are some names for ultimate reality: Emptiness, Fullness, Buddha Nature, Rigpa, Brahman, God.
Caveat:
The experience is the experience and we have to be wary or aware of putting our own spin on it. For example, Leo taking drugs, thinking he's God and can cure all diseases. Sometimes experiences can mislead us. People get messages from God about the End of the World.
I contend if Leo had gone to any great teacher of any tradition -- let's say a Rabbi -- the Rabbi might have been able to help guide Leo and prevented the train wreck of delusion which happened.
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The nice thing about Advaita Vedanta and Swami Sarvapriyanananda is that the tradition is very strong on knowledge and answering questions, all questions, until the student is completely convinced that they are Brahman. Sat chit ananda.
Although I like Rupert Spira too and he answers questions too. Of course from his own framework, but it's a good framework, or good enough. Imo.
Example Advaita Vedanta Type Questions:
If I'm Brahman -- What about others? -- are they Brahman too -- how does that even work?
If this world is maya (illusion) why care about anyone else? What does anything matter?
How does this Maya come about? (A tough one...)
What about love, good deeds, meditation, and prayer -- do they lead to enlightenment?
It sure doesn't feel like I'm Brahman. Why am I suffering?
How can I become Brahman then??
What is nonduality?
in Nonduality, Consciousness, Awakening, Enlightenment, Self-Recognition
Posted
Thank you for the space. I appreciate the kind words. You're amazing too. You have a different style than me but let 100 flowers bloom.
@Mandyis a friend and i like listening to her videos. See Mandy on YouTube if you haven't. I like the way she explains nonduality in a fresh way.