Nondual Teachings:
The Core Message
The core message of nondual teachings can be difficult to discern.
It's frequently shrouded in mysterious practices of the world's wisdom traditions and distorted by systems, rituals, and various practices created by human beings. Separating the message from the cultural practices surrounding it can be quite difficult.
Moreover, when the message of nondual teachings becomes clear, our minds revolt. People frequently become angry, overly intellectual, or simply say, "Huh?"
On this page, I'll write as clearly as I can about the core messages of non-duality and will point you to some excellent resources.
Nondual Teachings As Pointers to Truth
Most teachings on non-duality stress that their teachings are not "true," since words can never fully describe Truth.
For example, the Tao-te-Chang begins:
The way that can be spoken of is not the true way;
The name that can be named is not the true name. . .
Quite simply, they mean that no matter how articulate you are, words can never fully describe God, the Universe, or the Nature of reality.
So, think of nondual teachings as simply pointers or signposts. They point you in a certain direction and and say, "Go and look for yourself."
The Core Message
Many traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and others, have nondual teachings and branches. These nondual teachings all point to the same truth.
Or, as I've heard it said, "There are many paths up the mounatin, although the view from the mountaintop is the same."
In a nutshell, here's the core message:
"All there is is consciousness. Consciousness is all there is."
You can replace "Consciousness" with God, Providence, the Divine, Jesus, Shiva, Buddha, whatever.
The idea is that reality is "not two,"; there is actually no separation between you and God. You - and everything around you - are simply God playing.
Now, when first encountering these teachings, the mind revolts, particularly from two implications.
First, nondual teachings imply there is "no self"; you are simply part of the universe. As my teachter Tom Thompson has shared with me, the nondual teaching does not mean there is no self. It means there is no separate self divided off from the rest of reality.
To illustrate, he uses the metaphor of the "ocean and the wave." The wave is like the self; the ocean is like everything that is. Waves exist, surely, but they do not exist separate and apart from the rest of the ocean. We - and everything else - are just part of one big ocean.
Second, the mind wants to know, "If everything is God, how can there be evil in the world?" Nondual teachings respond that the universe does not operate according to human morality, that "evil" depends on your viewpoint, and that everything is simply the dance of consciousness. This is a tough roadblock for the mind, and it's one my own mind wrestles with.
Although the mind revolts, teachings on non-duality point at a truth prior to the mind, and so they cannot be understood intellectually; they must be seen.
"Seeing" Nondual Teachings:
These teachings make no sense to the mind. As we mentioned, the mind becomes filled with all sorts of logical arguments, justifications, and questions like the ones mentioned above.
Awakening, as it is described in the wisdom traditions and articulated by nondual teachers, occurs when one permanently "sees" that everything is simply a part of the one big Something.
Nondual teachings are not something you figure out, analyze and conclude to be so. Rather, all of the wisdom traditions teach you to be quiet, turn inward, and see the truth for yourself. Once you see it, apparently, it's not possible to not see it.
As I understand it, the best type of meditation for this is natural meditation. In natural meditation, you sit in meditation yet you take your hands off the steering wheel. You don't do anything. You simply breath and rest as the Observer or the Witness of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. You rest as silent, choiceless, and effortless awareness. You simply notice that you are "being breathed" by something greater than you.
It's like trying to see the bottom of a lake; once you let the water become still and undisturbed, you can see clearly to what's really at the bottom.
With other active and concentrative types of meditation you're still messing with the water, so to speak; in natural meditation, you let it all be as it is so you can see clearly.
For more, please check out the Natural Meditation directions at the Awakened Heart Center site.
Other Resources and Writings
If this article is unclear, that's because words are simply pointers. I know that sounds like a cop out, but it's like saying, "Describe the essence of God." Words are pretty useless tools for a task like that.
But, here are a few resources with nondual teachers who can articulate this much better than I can :)
- Integral Theory: Ken Wilbur's philosophy has aggregated many of the wisdom and development traditions of the world. I would recommend checking out his book A Brief History of Everything, his website "Integral Life," and his practical book Integral Life Practice. These works are full of solid research and theory that ease you into nondual teachings.
- A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. Eckhart presents teachings about reality in plain English. His teachings address both the ocean and the wave aspects of our existence.
- Acceptance of What Is, by Wayne Liquorman. This book presents nondual teachings in extremely clear English. These books have little jargon and the teaching is direct.
- The Gift, by Hafiz and translated by Daniel Ladinsky. 13th century Sufi poetry beautifully illustrating nondual teachings.
You may also like contemporary writings from Adyashanti, Gangaji, and the Indian sages Ramana Maharshi, Ramesh Baleksar, and Krishnamurti.
And, of course, there are the books from the world's wisdom traditions including The Tao-te-Chang, the The Bhagavad Gita, and writings from Zen Buddhism, and Advaita Vedanta, among many others. You can also read the Bible from a nondual perspective. Actually, much of the worlds great wisdom literature can be read from a nondual perspective.
To close this article on nondual teachings, here are two quotations that, for me, point at the essence of nondual teachings clearly.
Enjoy.
From the Color Purple, by Alice Walker
I believe God is everything. . .
Everything that is or ever was or ever will be.
And when you can feel that,
And be happy to feel that, you've found it. . .
My first step from the old white man was trees.
Then air. Then birds. Then other people.
But one day when I was sitting quiet and feeling like a motherless child,
Which I was, it came to me:
That feeling of being part of everything,
Not separate at all.
I know that if I cut a tree,
My arm would bleed.
And I laughed and I cried
And I ran all around the house.
I knew just what it was.
In fact, when it happens,
You can't miss it.
Laughing at the Word Two, by Hafiz
Only
That Illumined
One
Who keeps
Seducing the formless into form
Had the charm to win my
Heart.
Only a Perfect One
Who is always
Laughing at the word
Two
Can make you know
Of
Love.
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