Nonduality
From Freepedia
Nonduality is the absence or belief in the absence of dualism or dichotomy. Examples of dualisms include self/other, mind/body, male/female, good/evil, active/passive, and many others. Nondualism assumes that these dichotomies are illusionary at worst or inaccurate conveniences at best.
A nondualistic state is the nature of reality according to teachings (generally originating in Asia) including Advaita, Buddhism and Dzogchen, and probably Taoism as well. Many postmodern theories also assume that the dichotomies traditionally used are invalid or inaccurate. For example, one typical form of deconstruction is the critique of binary oppositions within a text while problematization questions the context or situation in which common myths such as dualisms occur.
In the context of postmodern feminism and Tibetan Buddhism, Anne Carolyn Klein (1995, p.151), defines "dualism" as "an opposition that presumes a differance or tension that goes beyond taking account of qualities unique to logically related categories, for example, subject and object, sacred and profane, ore enlightened or unenlightened." She defines cognitive, ontological, and evolutionary nondualism. Simultaneous perception of self and other or joinging of subject and object, simultaneous perception of one's conditioned and unconditioned aspects, and one's potential or inherent enlightenment, respectively.
Nondualistic beliefs also include monism and pluralism. While attitudes towards the experience of duality and self may vary, nondual traditions converge on the view that experience does not imply an "I".
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In Buddhism
In the Buddhist canon, the Diamond Sutra presents an accessible nondual view of "self" and "beings", while the Heart Sutra asserts shunyata — the "emptiness" of all "things". The fullest philosophical exposition is the Madhyamaka; by contrast many laconic pronouncements are delivered as koans. Advanced views and practices are found in the Mahamudra and Maha Ati, which emphasize the vividness and spaciousness of nondual awareness.
Not Two, Not One
Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, tempers the view of nonduality (wisdom) with respect for the experience of duality (compassion) — ordinary dualistic experience, populated with selves and others (sentient beings), is tended with care, always "now". This approach is itself regarded as a means to disperse the confusions of duality (i.e. as a path). In Theravada, that respect is expressed cautiously as non-harming, while in the Vajrayana, it is expressed boldly as enjoyment (especially in tantra).
Theravada
It is, however, important to note that Theravada denies the principle of nonduality. In Dhamma and Non-duality, Bhikkhu Bodhi states the following:
"At the peak of the pairs of opposites stands the duality of the conditioned and the Unconditioned: samsara as the round of repeated birth and death wherein all is impermanent, subject to change, and liable to suffering, and Nibbana as the state of final deliverance, the unborn, ageless, and deathless. Although Nibbana, even in the early texts, is definitely cast as an ultimate reality and not merely as an ethical or psychological state, there is not the least insinuation that this reality is metaphysically indistinguishable at some profound level from its manifest opposite, samsara. To the contrary, the Buddha's repeated lesson is that samsara is the realm of suffering governed by greed, hatred, and delusion, wherein we have shed tears greater than the waters of the ocean, while Nibbana is irreversible release from samsara, to be attained by demolishing greed, hatred, and delusion, and by relinquishing all conditioned existence."
In Dzogchen
Dzogchen is a relatively esoteric (to date) tradition concerned with the "natural state", and emphasizing direct experience. It is independent, yet closely allied with the Buddhism of Tibet, particularly the Nyingma lineage and the Maha Ati teachings. In Dzogchen, the primordial state, the state of nondual awareness, is called rigpa.
In Advaita
Advaita (Sanskrit a, not; dvaita, dual) is a nondual tradition from India, with Advaita Vedanta as its philosophical arm. The theory was first consolidated by Sri Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century AD. Adherents to this theory of the nature of the soul (Brahman) are known as Smartha's.
According to Ramana Maharshi, a well-known saint of modern times, the jnani (one who has realised the Self) sees no individual ego, and does not regard himself (or anyone else) as a "doer" of actions. The state of nondual awareness is called jnana.
In Taoism
Taoism's wu wei (Chinese wu, not; wei, doing) is a term with various translations (e.g. inaction, non-action, nothing doing, without ado) and interpretations designed to distinguish it from passivity. From a nondual perspective, it refers to activity that does not imply an "I".
See also
External Links
A Western approach to nonduality:
Source
- Klein, Anne Carolyn (1995). Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self. Boston, Beacon Press. ISBN 0807073067.
References
- Castaneda, Carlos (1987). The Power of Silence. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-50067-8.
- Godman, David (Ed.) (1985). Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi. London: Arkana. ISBN 0-14-019062-7.
- HH The Dalai Lama (2000). Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-157-X.
- Kongtrül, Jamgön (1992). Cloudless Sky: The Mahamudra Path of The Tibetan Buddhist Kagyü School. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-694-4.
- Norbu, Namkhai (1993). The Crystal and the Way of Light: Sutra, Tantra and Dzogchen. London: Arkana. ISBN 0-14-019314-6.
- Trungpa, Chögyam (1987). Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-050-4.
- Watson, Burton (Trans.) (1968). The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03147-5.
