| The perennial philosophy "nondual" spiritual traditions | | | | lose our innate equanimity and freedom. Vipassana |
| (such as Nisargadatta's Vedanta, and Tibetan | | | | gives us many insights that we need if we are to |
| Buddhism's Dzogchen) hold that existence involves a | | | | understand how trapped we usually are in this relative |
| monistic, enduring, unchanging, absolute reality and a | | | | realm. |
| dualistic, ephemeral, constantly-changing relative reality. | | | | Although Vipassana does not introduce us to the |
| Through the practices that I describe in my book | | | | absolute, it is designed to help us see much that must |
| Toward Wisdom, I too have come to see that this is | | | | be seen, and in my view (and that of most Buddhist |
| the way it is. Describing the situation in words has | | | | teachers) it is the place to start. We first need to learn |
| always been tricky, but I found that certain "information | | | | to quiet the mind and look with detachment at the |
| age" concepts clarify the situation. | | | | relative reality into which we are heavily immersed and |
| The way I put it in a Zygon paper and in Part 1 of my | | | | identified. The Tibetan Buddhist practice of Dzogchen |
| 2004 book Matters of Consequence, the absolute | | | | and the Advaita Vedanta of Nisargadatta, on the other |
| reality, the foundation of all that is, is a oneness that | | | | hand, seek to introduce us to the absolute. Yes, |
| has both a physical aspect we call energy, and a | | | | underlying the relative world of mental information, and |
| mental aspect we call awareness. Energy and | | | | allowing it to exist, is that enabling something we usually |
| awareness are carrier-like in nature. That is, they can | | | | call awareness. It is contentless, yet supportive of all |
| be shaped, or formed, or modulated by information | | | | content; informationless, yet supportive of an infinite |
| without their own nature being in any way changed. | | | | variety of informational modulation. It is clear, |
| Although informational modulation does not cause the | | | | transparent, not a thing. Other terms for it include: |
| intrinsic nature of energy-awareness to change, it does | | | | • innate wakefulness |
| cause a relative reality to arise. This relative reality is a | | | | • natural mindfulness |
| transient, insubstantial informational reality. Physical | | | | • primordial awareness |
| reality is a relative world of information supported by | | | | • empty, luminous cognizance |
| the absolute-reality-carrier we call energy. Mental | | | | • everpresent, inherent, utterly spacious |
| reality is a relative world of information, supported by | | | | openness |
| the absolute-reality-carrier we call awareness. | | | | • inexpressible beingness |
| The evolutionary process, with its pass/fail criteria of | | | | • isness |
| survival and reproduction, designed the human brain | | | | • one's own true nature |
| and its associated mentality with survival and | | | | • rigpa (Tibetan for this reality) |
| reproduction as primary considerations. The cognitive | | | | • nondual awareness |
| system that evolution designed helps us to understand | | | | • total presence |
| relative reality because it is in this arena that the drama | | | | • open presence |
| of survival and reproduction is played out. Human | | | | • spontaneously present awareness |
| mentality was not designed to allow us to understand | | | | • the cognizing power of emptiness |
| absolute reality with ease because there was no | | | | • one's own innate wakefulness |
| survival or reproduction payoff in that. Now, in kinder, | | | | In Dzogchen and Nisargadatta's practice the aim is to |
| gentler circumstances, we want to understand the | | | | become cognizant of this absolute aspect of mind, and |
| deeper truth - absolute truth - and we find that very | | | | in some sense to become it - to relax into it or identify |
| difficult. And why shouldn't it be difficult? We're trying | | | | with it and to view the relative world of information |
| to use the human cognizing system for a different | | | | from that vantage point. Awareness is |
| purpose. It was designed to give us a handle on | | | | noninformational, so it doesn't appear as the normal |
| relative, informational truth, the truth about the cosmic | | | | kind of mind content. Even in meditation, the colors we |
| message; not absolute truth, carrier-related truth, the | | | | see and the bliss we feel are still part of the relative |
| truth about the cosmic medium. | | | | world of brain-generated information. Allowing us to |
| Spiritual practices are tools that give us some hope of | | | | sense those colors and feel that bliss, however, is this |
| seeing through the relative to the absolute. Vipassana | | | | primordial awareness, this cognizing power that |
| meditation is a practice that gives us a better handle | | | | belongs to the realm of absolute reality. Our deep true |
| on the nature of relative reality. We watch, with as | | | | nature is that primal awareness itself, and not those |
| much detachment as we can muster, the informational | | | | things in the informational, relative world that we take |
| show that the brain generates. Despite our best | | | | to be our selves. The problem is that mental |
| efforts, however, we frequently get lost in that show - | | | | information, mind content, is so powerful and |
| we lose that sense of detachment from it. | | | | overwhelming, and our identification with it so tenacious, |
| Experiencing both detachment and | | | | that letting go of our identification as a |
| lost-in-the-showness, we eventually come to realize | | | | thought-dominated person and surrendering into our |
| that this lost-in-the-show state is where we spend | | | | true nature - into our own innate wakefulness - does |
| most of our lives. The normal human condition is to be | | | | not happen easily. The detachment we develop in |
| identified with informational patterns, with the relative | | | | Vipassana readies us for this. Then, (as I see it) at |
| reality that the brain creates. In Vipassana we are still | | | | some point it makes sense to switch to one of the |
| paying attention to the relative, but because we are | | | | absolute-reality practices. |
| more detached from it than before, gradually, bit by bit, | | | | In one sense, the difference between Dzogchen and |
| insight by insight, we begin to see the nature of relative | | | | Vipassana is quite subtle. In both practices the |
| reality. We begin to see the impersonal nature of the | | | | informational arisings in the mind are watched with |
| brain's churning out of information. There is no "I" that is | | | | detachment. The difference is that in Dzogchen and |
| doing it. It just happens mechanically, automatically. We | | | | other nondual practices one is also cognizant of the |
| also discover that the informational stuff that arises | | | | underlying ground or carrier of that information - that |
| has no inherent power. With practice we learn that it's | | | | "primordial awareness," that "utterly spacious |
| possible to watch even physical discomfort and heavy | | | | openness," that "empty, luminous cognizance." It |
| emotions such as fear and anger without suffering | | | | remains, enduring and pure, unaffected by the coming |
| when we accept that informational reality and refuse | | | | and going of the modulating forces applied to it. Primal |
| to give it power by trying to get rid of it. We see that it | | | | awareness watches the show of relative reality. And |
| is our reaction to the information that binds us and | | | | that pure contentless awareness is the true me. I can |
| disturbs us. Pleasant or unpleasant stuff has no power | | | | choose to participate in the show at any time, but I am |
| as long as we remain detached and simply watch it | | | | not of that show. I am of the realm of absoluteness. |
| arise and disappear on its own. It is when we cling to | | | | That is my true home, and my refuge from domination |
| the present, wanting it to continue or push away the | | | | and control by mental information. |
| unpleasant, wanting it to disappear, that we suffer and | | | | |