Knower: Self and non-self?

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SilenceMonkey
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Re: Knower: Self and non-self?

Post by SilenceMonkey »

LastLegend wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 1:52 pm I am not sure if I agree with nondual awareness...maybe non conceptual...
Maybe it depends on what is meant by nondual... what is the duality referring to?

What duality means is essentially treating things as separate from one another. The “two” of duality is a separation of space in our minds, maybe to carve out space designated for one thing or another, this person or that, good and bad, etc... This is just my understanding of it. Yesterday I was driving and As I was watching the lines between lanes I felt like I shouldn’t cross the dotted line on the road. It was “bad” to go outside of the boundary. It was sort of boxing me in. Then I thought, maybe if I realized nonduality I wouldn’t have this limitation imposed by my mind.

Anyway, people may mean different thing s when they talk about nonduality. There’s the chapter in Vimalakirti Sutra where Vimalakirti is questioning all of these celestial bodhisattvas on their understanding of nonduality (ie. Emptiness). Each has a different explanation, but Vimalakirti’s was the most profound!

And even different philosophies within Buddhism mean different things by nonduality. For example, in yogacara it might be the nonduality between subject and object, perceived and perceived... somehow feeling like this thing you’re seeing is somehow something separate from you. Then in madhyamaka, nonduality might refer to not falling into ANY extremes. This maybe has to do with projection of intrinsic reality onto the world.
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LastLegend
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Re: Knower: Self and non-self?

Post by LastLegend »

We can experience a very calm silent comfortable and soft state with no appearance of the knower, and everything is empty and clear...but there is still distinguishing capacity almost not recognizeable as if it’s not there like hidden. This is the simplest state. This state is very close to enlightenment...but because of that capacity to know the experience of calm and comfortable experience, and still know you from me. There is nothing wrong with this state, and this is where we should be but it’s not final. The distinguishing capacity has to be gone for once...to be in what sixth patriarch said ‘originally there is no thing.’ I think it should be ‘nothing’ but fear of nihilism. The reason why one needs to reach that is because so they can come out to remain in the simplest state with no issues and use the functions to benefit sentient beings essentially entering the path of Bodhisattva.
It’s eye blinking.
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LastLegend
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Re: Knower: Self and non-self?

Post by LastLegend »


Sāriputra, without differentiation, there is no knower.


It’s not really differentiation as translated there it should just be simply differentiate because the state is very simple. It doesn’t have the process of differentiation.
It’s eye blinking.
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LastLegend
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Re: Knower: Self and non-self?

Post by LastLegend »

Why are there variations of good feelings in the subtle state?
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