it's truly impossible to translate into words/something tangible lol but you definitely expressed it in a way that could trigger someone's awakening! love it! :)
Who would awake? a “i” thought? There is nothing/no one to awake. The only thing that has to be “done” is that one drops the fictional one. But even that is an appearance appearing to happen. Part of the leela/the play.
@@3001narrowpathYes, it is not the meal but the recipe on how to make the meal. It is the finger pointing. When you realise what the guys is trying to explain in the video even this so called “non duality” goes. For who is there to follow it?
@@jennybengtsson1223 Nobody can do anything about seeing this because there is no one to do anything. But at the same time, nobody can prevent it either, if it is meant to happen. So, some might follow this and wake up to the reality that there was never a path to awakening-or anybody to wake up. This is a paradox. You can go on and on... or just let the play unfold naturally. If you want to support that unfolding, you can do so by showing people a way-or by telling them there is no way. It doesn’t matter; nobody can stop it anyway. It’s just a question of what tendencies you have, and others have theirs.
Your sheer joy translates effortlessly here, with such a beautifully simple yet profoundly powerful example of the teaching, This could be a glorious way to teach the message to children. I felt like a child again just watching it. It was mesmerising in the way it can often only be when in that state of such innocence, x 🙏
Also, there is a Self. When you turn your toy around and see the hand in print that is the Self. The Self is an inherent mechanism that is there to Protect, Produce and Promote. Science meeting spirituality. 🙏🏼❤️🧠
@@jgarciajr82 Remember, it was just a metaphor. Don't attach to specific words. What I said is (and in the tradition of Buddhism): that form IS emptiness AND emptiness is form. The original Sanskrit word is Sunyata and although it has been translated in multiple ways, such as emptiness; nothingness; the void; the deathless, etc., in Mahāyāna Buddhism, śūnyatā refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (svabhava)". What we are is both (simultaneously) the entire phenomenological universe and without substance. I like David Hinton's translation (in his book China Root) as "Absence". The idea of a self or Self or even of a not-self or not-Self is dualistic and not consistent with non-duality or Buddhism. Rather than definitions, however, the practice of both traditions is to directly experience your true nature. It is no-thing (not nothing; but NO THING. Thus, words are mere pointers. Not the truth.
@@PPP-on3vl Than you PPP. What a wonderful Zen koan. I tried to attach a photo of my answer, but could not. (Visualize a hand.) However, a more intellectual answer would be that, as stated in the title of the video itself, the handprint is just a metaphor. A metaphor for what, you might ask? For what you are. Call it emptiness, nothingness, the absolute (see my response to jgarciajr). Some non-dual teachers call it awareness or awareness. It is what you are prior to thought and manifestation; but is none other than the entire manifested universe. You are that too. Both/and. Don't think about it. You are it. Thank you for your comment.
I believe I was guided to your video! I am a very visual learner. I have been troubled by my ego lately and I couldn’t get out of this spiritual funk . This has blown my mind . Thank you for a wonderful explanation ❤
Thank you for your comments. I'm glad you found the metaphor effective. Now go deeper with this. For example, close your eyes and focus on a sound. Where does the sound arise?
That’s so funny; I thought of using this very sculpture the other day to explain the exact same thing!!! I nearly ordered one tonight. Now I don’t have to! I can’t believe I had this video in my feed!!!
Brilliant....an absolutely brilliant way to conceptualize such a "complex thing" (depending on your understanding) to normall sensory beings...especially the visually sensory part of us to digest the concept on hand 😊
Something is everything Everything is nothingness Nothingness is emptiness Form is emptiness Emptiness is form Thank you 🙏 for explaining with example.
Thank you for your comment. Now that you get the metaphor, direct your attention to the following question: where does the inside of you meet the outside of you? (Don't think about it; meditate on it.)
Mirror of time Drop a mirror of time into infinite timeless potential and you will achieve consciousness.(awareness)(existence) What are the color of your eyes? Only the potential of color exists, until it is realized. It is when you experience your own eyes in a reflection, that the potential of the color is then realized. The reflection cannot be created without the source, and the source cannot be realized without the reflection. Both are created(simultaneously)out of potential, by the mirror of time.
That is the paradox. It is also the heart of the Heart Sutra (pun intended). Form IS emptiness; emptiness IS form. Both/and. (It is also the basis for the theory of MindTime, published by myself and John Furey: the applied aspect of the theory can be found at mindtime.com).
Perfect! Wow, I'm so glad I saw this video today. I had a "near death" experience years ago and sort of "groked" this. But I haven't been able to put the experience of it into words quite so well. This is so perfect ... it so perfectly describes it and in such an amazingly simple way! HAHA! (I'm laughing 'cause it's so spot on!)
It's all about perspective. It's like "I'm always here and you are always there" but you can say the same from your perspective. Therefore we are both here and there at the same time.
Try meditation. Most Eastern traditions have some form of meditation that includes inquiry, such as asking the question "what am I?" Another inquiry question might be to look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you. Take a look at the videos on this channel titled Mental Distancing (Part 1, in particular).
Great one. Thank you. As I understand it - to fill the cup, it needs ti be empty. To fill the form with human story the form needs to be empty. Emptiness is true nature, substance the play possible because there is emptiness, shunyata. Life is a process of dance, a narrative in beetwen both. 🤗
Thank you for your comment. Don't overthink it. There's nothing 'you' can do; just live the life being lived. The universe is experiencing itself through these apparent human beings.
You look really happy, that’s unusual (most people don’t look this happy). It’s like you have that happiness in your eyes, you can see it. That’s pretty cool 😄 Also nice instructions on what to focus on - the attention itself 😊Nice video
THIS is completely AMAZING!! what an absolutely breathtakingly brilliant visual of this situation we find ourselves in on this earth, in this eternal Infinity🙌🙌🙌… completely outstanding!! Defffffintely new subscriber!! brilliant brilliant brilliant.. thank you, truly👏👏💕🔥💕🔥💕
@@vincentfortunato hmmm… well… i guess with much more freedom; more ease; waaay less worry and waay more joy?!!! maybe, Vincent, you will create a follow-up video addressing this??!!👏👏👏😃
Okay... You got me.. Well done sir 👏 As a well studied Mahayana buddhist, I have seen a lot of non duality videos and they are just not "there", I almost shut it off when you were talking about the "one Ness" and then you flipped it around and I'm like OHH HE'S GOT IT, AND HOLY SHIT THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE VISUAL REPRESENTATION. Nice work, me.
Now that's just your ego talking. And it is the egoic function (as I call it) that creates the separation into duality in the first place. Look beyond thoughts of 'me' and 'outside of me'. What's left?
Yup. Exactly. Non-duality is not to be understood; but to be experienced. The irony is that non-duality is our experience; but most don't think it is because when we think about it our experience, suddenly it appears to be one of separation. 'Realization' or 'awakening' to our true nature (i.e., of being non-dual) merely requires having a 'me' free moment.
Ah, now you get to the heart of the inquiry! Keep in mind that although I used the word nothing (as in "There's nothing there), think of it this way, "there's no thing there"! So, what is this no thing that IS everything? This is the inquiry. Keep meditating.
Thank you for your comment. To answer your question: it doesn't, because there is no 'you' who needs to live life better. You are the universe manifesting as the individual you think you are. When you realize this with the whole body and mind, action, speech, thought, etc. all arise in a way that is in accord with that sense of unified interconnectedness.
I like to think of it like this: The whole universe is water and we are ice cubes. Enlightenment is like when you, the ice cube, melts and realizes "you" can't be differentiated from all that IS. Or you could be on an acid trip and unexpectedly the title of an Alan Watts book, "This Is It" serendipitously traipses through your head four or five times. And then you smack your forehead, like DUH! And the next day you happily frolic in The Maya. You DO try to tell people - but you also realize the Taoists' description that the Ultimate Reality is: "That which can't be named."
@@vincentfortunato- Your demonstration of "behind the screen so to speak behind the illusion of reality there's nothing there . .." reminds me of Alan Watts asking his audience this question: "From the standpoint of your eyes, what is the color of your head?" And he goes on to answer (and I'm paraphrasing): "From that standpoint, the true color of your head is the color of nothing". . . "But actually, you do see, you do know the color of your head it - it's everything in front of you."
It seems to me you can't "drop the perperctive of the self" as long as you have a self necessary to experience this. And you will always have a human self or human perspective as long as you live. What you can do is increasing your awarness that all are connected to all there is and that ultimatly all is one or connected. Having "no self" while on earth is "technically" impossible.
The self is an illusion. Yes, there is a sense of self. However, if you examine your mind closely, you will see that all that you think you are, are just thoughts. What you are is prior to thought. From a more down to earth perspective, all life (at least on this planet, as we know it) exists without a self. Why are you any different? Only because you think you are.
Seeking control is an endless journey to a destination never reached. Seeking to fully comprehend the extent to which all Complex Truths break are Simple Illusions is an endless journey to a destination never reached. Ignorance is bliss. Enjoy the journey, not the destination. What if near death experience was the closest you ever get to the experience of death?
Very good Vincent. Emptiness is Form and Form is Emptiness. Nothing is everything and everything is nothing. This is timely because just last night I was again pondering how quantum mechanics comes to the same conclusion (I used to teach physics and love pondering the connection between quantum mechanics and nonduality) Interestingly there are two main interpretation lines in quantum mechanics right now. 1 - Copenhagen Interpretation - orthodox. (Heisenberg had the best understanding I feel) 2 - Many Worlds interpretation of Hugh Everett - popular with many leading thinkers today. 1) [Copenhagen] Here is the punchline applying it to the Universe. In the orthodox approach, according to Werner Heisenberg, this universal wavefunction would be a superposition of all possibilities. Nothing exists until measured or observed and upon observation the likelihood of a "seen" result is calculated by the Born rule (amplitude squared for each possibility gives its probability for "occuring"). But here is the rub. What Heisenberg called Potentia is this quantum spectrum of possibilities that don't have an actual existence until measured or observed. THIS is the source of the weirdness of quantum mechanics. Electron cloud models of the atom are NOT the electron "smeared out" around the atom in the various geometries seen in chemistry book orbitals, rather they are pure weighted probabilities of the likehood of an electron being "seen" upon measurement at a particular location. But before measurement, the electron DOES NOT EXIST! Take this to the universal or multiverse wavefunction (being One without second), before observation, the Universe does not exist! AND because there is nothing OUTSIDE the wavefunction of the universe, there is no last looker to collapse it! That is, the universe does not really exist. Form is truly EMPTINESS! Everything is nothing. Any collapse or creation is an illusion seen by an illusory separate self. 2) The many worlds interpretation, basically takes all these superposition states at face value. The mathematics is IDENTICAL, the interpretation is literally the diametric opposite. In this model each superposition state ACTUALLY EXISTS, so what you get is a multiverse where every possibility is playing out in parallel dimensions. But there is no quantum collapse, every moment the universe keeps branching into other universes dictated by the same laws of quantum mechanics. Here the weighted probabilities point to actual universes, not just possibilities. In the electron example, the electron simultaneously exists in all its possible states in parallel realities. Here EVERYTHING exists! Emptiness is Infinite Forms. Nothing is Everything. And it is worth noting due to quantum entanglement, everything is interconnected in BOTH models. There is just One without a second, but it is interesting that like the toy in the video, quantum mechanics like nonduality can be seen from two perspectives. To me nondual understandings of ultimate reality bring in clarity to the mystery of quantum mechanics which itself is nondual as stated above. But, like quantum mechanics, nondual philosophy is very counterintuitive, because the world seems very much dictated by common sense Newtonian or Classical physics, much like Realism philosophy (which are both inherently dualistic). But this worldview has been disproven now for over a century. The universe is Quantum and Nondual to the core! Ultimately I think both Nonduality and quantum mechanics can only "truly" be understood by "waking up" to this illusion of separation.
To clarify a little (hopefully..lol) If there is only One interconnected everything, then because of its interconnectedness, and because there is nothing outside of It (Being One without a second), there is no thing or nothing to be "seen". This is because there is no vantage point to see the whole as a thing, because such a vantage point would predicate something outside of the whole, which is not possible (to be outside of everything). In quantum mechanics the wavefunction of the universe is this everything, and because it is not a subsystem of some greater system, there is not vantage point to observe or measure this whole, therefore, it does not exist, except as both nothing and everything (emptiness is form and form is emptiness). To me this quantum/nondual logic is sound and somehow makes sense, yet it also does not make sense (probably because Mr Bryant the illusory ego still is here..haha). I think direct experience is truly needed to understand both nonduality and quantum mechanics. But the mathematical logic of quantum mechanics is better than dualistic words, so it is a step in the right direction (quantum computers/quantum logic > Newtonian/Classical Boolean Logic). It is fun writing all this because in a way quantum mechanics is one big Zen KOAN...lol.
Thank you for your explanations of both the Copenhagen and Many Worlds interpretation. I do not have background in quantum physics, but have, like you, marveled at the parallels between quantum physics (especially the Copenhagen interpretation) and non-duality (and Buddhism). I remember reading two books many decades ago: The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukov, and Shifting Worlds, Changing Minds by Jeremy Hayward. The weakness of the Many Worlds interpretation is that it assumes all possible 'worlds' exist independent of the observer, whereas the Copenhagen interpretation specifically requires an observer for the quantum wave function to collapse. The paradox of non-duality in the context of quantum physics is that that which collapses the wave function itself exists as part of the collapsed wave function. The materialist (physicalist) view of consciousness holds that consciousness arises as a result of neural networks; whereas, the alternate view posits that consciousness is a priori. Neither is correct. I believe it was Niels Bohr who once wrote that the observer and the observed co-arise in a mutually creative fashion. Thus, neither exists without the other, which is the paradox. Consciousness (awareness) is unit (body) dependent; but the unit cannot be perceived without consciousness. This is why the statement "Form is emptiness; emptiness is form" is so paradoxical and profound. The key is to stop trying to understand non-duality with the mind and to directly realize (experience) the non-dual nature of existence and non-existence (as you stated in your next post). This is why the practices of Buddhism, non-duality, and other mystical lineages are so important. Anyway, thank you for your comment. There are so many interesting aspects of quantum physics and its correlates with Buddhism and non-duality that we can discuss, but my reply is already too long. My colleague and I wrote a paper published in Cosmology, which I wish I could attach here for you. You might find it of interest, especially the closing comments. (Finally, I highly recommend The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman.) Furey, J. T., & Fortunato, V. J. (2014). The theory of MindTime. Cosmology, 18, 119-130. Retrieved from cosmology.com/ConsciousTime102.html
It does nothing for me because there is no me! 😆 However, life as this apparent person was completely transformed upon having realized true nature direction (i.e., the non-dual nature of life and existence) and seeing through the illusion of the self. This is why the practices of Buddhism, especially Zen, and non-duality are no important.
Hi Vincent. Regarding our minds function, are our minds tools required for a separate material world, or should these tools only be used to resist a separate material existence? So let us imagine consciousness fills our body mind and we filter from it all experience. What is consciousness trying to do by looking in on itself then? What function are we finite minds meant to have or know of? Most actions that take place in the material world such as even giving credence to the idea that we live in material world, in which we must exist and function, only serves to further separate us from being. How can we bring our dual existence into complete harmony with the non-dual ultimate reality. "Just being" is not sufficient to address this seemingly impossible question or dual state of being. "Just being" in the perfect sense would prevent consciousness from looking in on itself, as by being, we would then return to pure consciousness and nothing else ever. And we understand, that is not what consciousness is trying to do as evident in our experience of life. Thank you.
What's still tripping me up and is kind of amazing is that there is still Your hand making this all happen! Like a greater entity observing & creating the whole entire thing 😂🎉
Remember, the Pin Art toy is just a metaphor. However, the question as to why there is even experience of a reality in the first place is not one anyone can answer. Sure, the easy way out is to invoke a separate entity like many do; but that leads to all sorts of other questions. But for now, why there is even experience or the sense of subjectivity or consciousness in the first place is the great mystery.
Wonderful! Thanks Vincent. I understand the concept of a single consciousness creating seemingly separate form; but I don’t understand how emptiness is form. I just can’t get my head around that. What does it imply? That we are all totally insignificant ? That’s a bleak outlook but maybe the truth !
Thank you for your comment David. When you realize that what you are is prior to, but includes thought, then one realizes that "trying to wrap" one's head around that which is larger than cognition (i.e., thought) is impossible. Also, I did not state that there is a single consciousness. I have no clue. But it is possible to have a David free moment and see that what you are exists before even the idea of David and includes all things. Meditate on this.
The pin art is just a metaphor. The question as to why we are even here as conscious self-aware beings cannot be answered. No one knows. The focus here is on direct experience; not your thoughts. What are you? What is prior to thought? Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you. How do thoughts arise? How do you know that you are aware? Shakyamuni Buddha held up a flower. Mayakayashapa (sp) smiled.
It's a metaphor, is all. Don't overcomplicate it. What you are is already oneness. A couple of good meditations for you: What is prior to thought? (That is, from where do thoughts arise and fall away?) Another: Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you.
That's enormous- the mind = interact with the world, that's huge, sometimes we can feel disconnected or theres too much in the mind.. to be thankful for the beautiful mind.. good to know how to operate us, how the body functions and when theres some obstruction, how to deal with it and let the energy flow freely..
There's a famous Zen koan: Two monks were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind: "It's the flag that is moving", said one. "No, it's the wind that's moving", said the other. Their abbot overheard them and said, "No, it's your mind that's moving."
The word duality merely represents the apparent phenomenological universe that is perceived as separate from that which observes it. It arises with the first thought of "I am". Non-duality, in contrast is a word that represents the experienced collapse of separateness. No more observer or observed; subjective or objective; etc. Duality arises with thought. Non-duality is that which is prior to and contains thought. Bottom line: don't try to understand non-duality or duality. This is not a conceptual exercise. It is to be experienced directly. It is what 'you' are. Just this.
If everything is an illusion, i.e. dream/mirage/illusion, then isn't this video itself and all objects illusion? What's the difference between me listening to this video on TH-cam when awake, and when in a dream, the dream could even feel more real than the waking state!
That's the paradox. It's an illusion only because our hardwiring is what creates the universe we perceive. And the universe that we perceive, including the hardwiring, is created by that which observes it. A good (non-spiritual) book you might check out is by Donald Hoffman called "The Case Against Reality." Regardless, lives are being lived through these characters and neglecting these lives may also lead to suffering.
Duality arises from magnifying polar micro-aspects of a single thing. For example, there is a complementary duality between the pillar of Mercy and the pillar of Discipline/Severity. Both are left and right aspects of the same thing that leads to the central door; righteous authority. Without one pillar, the structure cannot stand. However, the "shadows" of the pillars of Mercy & Discipline appear very similar to the actual pillars because they are the exact opposites; Cruelty and Lawlessness. Evil gets them confused. Good and evil on the other hand are not one in the same; they are seperated into superior and inferior. Good will always be better than bad and that is self-evident in the definition of the words. Evil is the cheap immitation of authentic goodness Yet still, under the sun, the Left and Right pillars of Good will always cast a shadow on the person standing with a pillar directly between them and the Source of Light.
I have no idea what you are saying. Too much conceptualization going on. Drop it all. Just allow awareness to become aware of itself. Simple as that. Then observer and observed fall away and there is just this.
@@vincentfortunato well it was a little off-topic, poorly-worded and written quickly but there is definitely some relevant information there. I won't drop it yet The definition of duality is actually pretty vague and can be used in different ways. There is a type of duality or non-duality where polar opposite aspects actually comprise a single thing which was symbolized by the Mercy & Discipline allegory. "Beauty" or Righteous Authority as I referred to it is the balance between the Two Pillars and the door to the Inner Temple; also the symbolic Third Pillar which is a union of the other two. However Good, and Evil which is an inversion of beauty, are eternally separated and cannot be viewed as one in the same. One is like light, the other is absence of light. Evil is the absence of Good. I guess part of the point in my rambling here is that really, dualism/non-dualism can be a very complicated trivial thing that can be easily confused which I might have demonstrated in at least one way
OK ... wonderful metaphor for a profound Truth, Vincent, but how does this comfort me in light of all the horrors that have and continue to blight this world?
@@vincentfortunato This presence that FEELS the pain and sadness, and sees others do the same. Even if it is all an illusion or a dream, they feel real enough! Advaita, like all other schools of metaphysics I've studied, does not comfort. Knowing the fundamental nature of Reality to be Emptiness doesn't do anything to assuage the suffering here-now. In short, It is all Mystery, and to paraphrase Wittgenstein, whereof one cannot speak, it is best to remain silent. OM
What you are IS nothingness. The ego, however, cannot experience that nothingness that you are. It must fall away to directly realize your true nature.
@@vincentfortunato I has a non local experience once were I was everywhere and nowhere, I also simply disappeared once through meditation, so Objectively I have experienced this but they were both fleeting. I suspect its impossible to be in the state in this place by design
@@MrNiceHk Yes, having that non-local experience is wonderful. However, more than likely, you had a 'me' free moment. Now that the 'me' is back, it wants more of the experience. It is the 'me' that is grasping onto what requires the absence of the 'me'. It is impossible for the self (ego, 'me') to be in a non-local state. A good book to read is Adyashanti's "The End of Your World". It is possible to live one's live in a state of non-locality. Adyashanti calls that abiding awakening. What happens is that there is a recognition that life is living itself through the character. Bills are paid; the lawn is mowed; dishes are washed.
even if the whole non-dual bs was real I still have to clean my dirty laundry and dishes in the sink anyway 🤣 so for practical purposes, we might as well ignore the whole non-dual bs
@@aiya5777 I agree. It's all bs. Just pointers. But if there is suffering, then those pointers might lead someone to actually see what's really going on.
No, neither is there up or down; you or me; right or left. Distinctions are the function of the mind that creates separation between the observer and observed. Also, don't confuse non-duality with "not two [or many]" and forget that it is "not one" either. Just this: Hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, etc. Even thinking.
I intuitively sense that what you’re describing is true, but I wonder about / get tripped up on sensory closure - you seem to be talking about all beings (and “things”) as individual pins that are parts of the whole hand, but I only know my own point of view, and in my experience, other beings and things are basically sensory appearances … is it that the minds of others, which I don’t know directly, as well as my own are expressions of one mind, or rather that all the appearances are expressions of one mind? Does that make sense? It sounds intellectual but it is a felt thing for me…
Your question is multi-faceted. First, you are asking the question from the perspective of the mind (the ego; the character). Realization requires dropping the mind and body and experiencing your true nature directly. Thus, inquiry questions, such as "Who (or what) and I?" "What is prior to thought?" "Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you?" As to your second question; I reserve the word 'mind' to refer to the type of mental activity we call cognition. Thus, there is no such thing as "one mind". The appearance of multiple minds are like waves on an ocean. They are none other than the ocean itself.
I experienced something so indescribable earlier this year for a split second in meditation, that short moment was so profound and i still haven't found words for it but i think it could be referred to as nonduality, i think i'd go insane being in that state as its nothing i've felt before or can properly describe to anyone, i want to get back to that but at the same time i wonder if that was even meant to be experienced longterm...but weeks after my experience i got unstuck and got my big break from the depression i was wallowing in and the grief of my brother. This video gave me goosebumps cause its like i started to remember at least a fraction of what that was, do you experience this all the time? What do you even do with yourself once you realize it was all just a dream what you thought was so solid previously
What was experienced was a 'me' free moment (insert your name for 'me'). What returned was the 'me' with all of its conditioning and beliefs, including what 'realization' or 'enlightenment' is supposed to look like. It is possible for life to live that way without the mind going insane. Rather, insanity is the mind (or 'me') thinking or wanting to 'return' to what state - a state that is always present. The 'me' cannot obtain or achieve something. What you are is all this. You are a verb: experiencing. In that moment, experiencing was experiencing (as I wrote), a 'me' free moment. There is nothing to remember or to try and remember. But what 'you' can focus on now is paying attention to your own attention. Notice that noticing is happening. Notice that thoughts arise like birds singing in the trees. Just don't take delivery of them. I highly recommend the book "The End of Your World" by Adyashanti. It addresses quite clearly the post-awakening process and its pitfalls (e.g., "I got it!" and "I lost it." Awakening to the illusion of the 'me' (i.e., realizing true nature) is just the first step in the entire process that involves awakening, clearing, and embodying (also referred to as wake up, grow up, show up). As for what to do: eat when hungry; sleep when tired. Be sure to wash the dishes and make the bed. Life goes on, and what you are is that life. Nothing changes except you can now laugh at the cosmic joke that there was something to attain. I hope this helps. Contact me via my website www.dragonspearl.org if you like.
Your 'you' will never get it. To realize your true nature, the idea and belief in a 'me' must be suspended. This is why meditation is so important. There are many points of entry here: Inquiry: What are you? Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you? What is prior to thought? Are perception and awareness the same or different? Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you.
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BEAUTIFUL = Be-you-to-the-full
BRILLIANT VISUALIZATION AND EXPLANATION!!!’ 👏
Thank you for your comment.
Love the joy you having while explaining it😁
It's so simple! 😂
Your toy is an excellent tool that covers all scriptures. Excellent! Love it !
Definitely non-sectarian. Thank you for your comment
it's truly impossible to translate into words/something tangible lol but you definitely expressed it in a way that could trigger someone's awakening! love it! :)
Glad you enjoyed it!🙏🏼
nonduality is a mental construct and not awakening
Who would awake? a “i” thought? There is nothing/no one to awake. The only thing that has to be “done” is that one drops the fictional one. But even that is an appearance appearing to happen. Part of the leela/the play.
@@3001narrowpathYes, it is not the meal but the recipe on how to make the meal. It is the finger pointing. When you realise what the guys is trying to explain in the video even this so called “non duality” goes. For who is there to follow it?
@@jennybengtsson1223 Nobody can do anything about seeing this because there is no one to do anything. But at the same time, nobody can prevent it either, if it is meant to happen. So, some might follow this and wake up to the reality that there was never a path to awakening-or anybody to wake up. This is a paradox.
You can go on and on... or just let the play unfold naturally. If you want to support that unfolding, you can do so by showing people a way-or by telling them there is no way. It doesn’t matter; nobody can stop it anyway. It’s just a question of what tendencies you have, and others have theirs.
Your sheer joy translates effortlessly here, with such a beautifully simple yet profoundly powerful example of the teaching, This could be a glorious way to teach the message to children. I felt like a child again just watching it. It was mesmerising in the way it can often only be when in that state of such innocence, x 🙏
Thank you! I appreciate your comment.
Incredible, you explained beautifully,thank you so much ,immense gratitude ❤🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for your comment! 🙏
You can’t experience this. “You” ARE it. As long as there’s a “person” experiencing, life is identifying as a you.
Thank you for your comment!
Also, there is a Self. When you turn your toy around and see the hand in print that is the Self. The Self is an inherent mechanism that is there to Protect, Produce and Promote. Science meeting spirituality. 🙏🏼❤️🧠
@@jgarciajr82 Remember, it was just a metaphor. Don't attach to specific words. What I said is (and in the tradition of Buddhism): that form IS emptiness AND emptiness is form. The original Sanskrit word is Sunyata and although it has been translated in multiple ways, such as emptiness; nothingness; the void; the deathless, etc., in Mahāyāna Buddhism, śūnyatā refers to the tenet that "all things are empty of intrinsic existence and nature (svabhava)". What we are is both (simultaneously) the entire phenomenological universe and without substance. I like David Hinton's translation (in his book China Root) as "Absence". The idea of a self or Self or even of a not-self or not-Self is dualistic and not consistent with non-duality or Buddhism. Rather than definitions, however, the practice of both traditions is to directly experience your true nature. It is no-thing (not nothing; but NO THING. Thus, words are mere pointers. Not the truth.
@@vincentfortunato ok. My question is who made this handprint?
@@PPP-on3vl Than you PPP. What a wonderful Zen koan. I tried to attach a photo of my answer, but could not. (Visualize a hand.) However, a more intellectual answer would be that, as stated in the title of the video itself, the handprint is just a metaphor. A metaphor for what, you might ask? For what you are. Call it emptiness, nothingness, the absolute (see my response to jgarciajr). Some non-dual teachers call it awareness or awareness. It is what you are prior to thought and manifestation; but is none other than the entire manifested universe. You are that too. Both/and. Don't think about it. You are it. Thank you for your comment.
I believe I was guided to your video! I am a very visual learner. I have been troubled by my ego lately and I couldn’t get out of this spiritual funk . This has blown my mind . Thank you for a wonderful explanation ❤
Thank you for your comments. I'm glad you found the metaphor effective. Now go deeper with this. For example, close your eyes and focus on a sound. Where does the sound arise?
excuse me cutie pie...da ye mind if a pan yer back windaes in? wi nae gluvs an?
if you are familiar with your local dogging site i'm happy to meet there?
I also explain spirituality visually on my channel..
Thanks, Vince. Very cool.
Thank you Kathleen! 🙏
This was a really good metaphor.
Als I had one of these things as a kid and loved it. Had so much fun!
Thank you! So helpful as a visual aid for me, formless and form as one🤗🙏
thank you for your comment.
Good metaphor and great presentation. Saved this. Thank you.
You perfectly illustrated, negative/positive existence. (Yin/yang)
Both forming a perfect circle!
Great.
That’s so funny; I thought of using this very sculpture the other day to explain the exact same thing!!! I nearly ordered one tonight. Now I don’t have to! I can’t believe I had this video in my feed!!!
Thank you for your comment.
Brilliant....an absolutely brilliant way to conceptualize such a "complex thing" (depending on your understanding) to normall sensory beings...especially the visually sensory part of us to digest the concept on hand 😊
Thank you for your comment. So, how has this been experienced directly?
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Well done. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment!
Great example. Every-thing is no-thing. “It” just is. We just are, I just Am.
Something is everything
Everything is nothingness
Nothingness is emptiness
Form is emptiness
Emptiness is form
Thank you 🙏 for explaining with example.
Thank you for your comment!
Very clever, my understanding just went up a notch. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment. Now that you get the metaphor, direct your attention to the following question: where does the inside of you meet the outside of you? (Don't think about it; meditate on it.)
Mirror of time
Drop a mirror of time into infinite timeless potential and you will achieve consciousness.(awareness)(existence)
What are the color of your eyes?
Only the potential of color exists, until it is realized.
It is when you experience your own eyes in a reflection, that the potential of the color is then realized.
The reflection cannot be created without the source, and the source cannot be realized without the reflection. Both are created(simultaneously)out of potential, by the mirror of time.
That is the paradox. It is also the heart of the Heart Sutra (pun intended). Form IS emptiness; emptiness IS form. Both/and. (It is also the basis for the theory of MindTime, published by myself and John Furey: the applied aspect of the theory can be found at mindtime.com).
Very good! Thanks for sharing!
Perfect! Wow, I'm so glad I saw this video today.
I had a "near death" experience years ago and sort of "groked" this. But I haven't been able to put the experience of it into words quite so well. This is so perfect ... it so perfectly describes it and in such an amazingly simple way! HAHA! (I'm laughing 'cause it's so spot on!)
thank you. I appreciate your comment.
I also had this realisation in a so called "near death" experience.
It's all about perspective. It's like "I'm always here and you are always there" but you can say the same from your perspective. Therefore we are both here and there at the same time.
A koan that I like very much is this: Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you.
Very nice baba
Thank you for your comment!
Incredible metaphor ‘thank you
Thank you!
Love it❤❤❤
What should I do with this knowledge, will it help pay bills, heal or end wars?
You're gonna do what you're gonna do; but there's no one doing it! 😀
Thank you for sharing your toys with us. Love the metaphors
Glad you like them!
"...what do you have left, what's left..."
I cant explain nor desribe "it"...it/this just is!
...it FEELS wonderful & THRILLING...to me. 😂
Thank you for your comment. That's it! Just this! 🙏
Ok that's great but HOW do we connect
Try meditation. Most Eastern traditions have some form of meditation that includes inquiry, such as asking the question "what am I?" Another inquiry question might be to look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you. Take a look at the videos on this channel titled Mental Distancing (Part 1, in particular).
Just to clarify, what you are is all of this; consequently, there is nothing to connect with. What you are is and always has been present.
@@vincentfortunato I appreciate your reply ty 🙏
Great one. Thank you. As I understand it - to fill the cup, it needs ti be empty. To fill the form with human story the form needs to be empty. Emptiness is true nature, substance the play possible because there is emptiness, shunyata. Life is a process of dance, a narrative in beetwen both. 🤗
Thank you for your comment. Don't overthink it. There's nothing 'you' can do; just live the life being lived. The universe is experiencing itself through these apparent human beings.
Very creative idea for a metaphor of this subjet! Subscribed
Thank you for your comment.
Great metaphor!!!, Thanks.
Thank you!
Oh how lovely 😊
You look really happy, that’s unusual (most people don’t look this happy). It’s like you have that happiness in your eyes, you can see it. That’s pretty cool 😄 Also nice instructions on what to focus on - the attention itself 😊Nice video
Thank you for your comment! 😄🙏🏼
THIS is completely AMAZING!! what an absolutely breathtakingly brilliant visual of this situation we find ourselves in on this earth, in this eternal Infinity🙌🙌🙌… completely outstanding!! Defffffintely new subscriber!! brilliant brilliant brilliant.. thank you, truly👏👏💕🔥💕🔥💕
Thank you for your comment! Now, how do you live your life knowing this?
@@vincentfortunato hmmm… well…
i guess with much more freedom; more ease; waaay less worry and waay more joy?!!!
maybe, Vincent, you will create a follow-up video addressing this??!!👏👏👏😃
@@lesleyM84 I recommend exploring some of the other videos, especially those on mental distancing. But thank you for the encouragement.
VERY NICE EXAMPLE!!!!! 🙂soooo coooool! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!
Bashar spoke of this with something similar, well done brother.
Thank you.
Okay... You got me.. Well done sir 👏
As a well studied Mahayana buddhist, I have seen a lot of non duality videos and they are just not "there", I almost shut it off when you were talking about the "one Ness" and then you flipped it around and I'm like OHH HE'S GOT IT, AND HOLY SHIT THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE VISUAL REPRESENTATION. Nice work, me.
Thank you for your comment!
@@vincentfortunatoFuukkk,.,.hahahaha 💚🙏
How do I gain more control over the unity? How can I summon tsunamis and waves
Now that's just your ego talking. And it is the egoic function (as I call it) that creates the separation into duality in the first place. Look beyond thoughts of 'me' and 'outside of me'. What's left?
@@vincentfortunato you’re right 😔🙏🏽
Love it, my only pointer to non-duality is that when the small self hears about non-duality, it tries to understand it from it's point of view
Yup. Exactly. Non-duality is not to be understood; but to be experienced. The irony is that non-duality is our experience; but most don't think it is because when we think about it our experience, suddenly it appears to be one of separation. 'Realization' or 'awakening' to our true nature (i.e., of being non-dual) merely requires having a 'me' free moment.
Great metaphor Vincent. Makes perfect sense. Thanks so much for sharing. All the best
Thank you!
So simple and direct. Thank you for this 🙏
Thank you for your comment!
Thank you Vincent!
Thank you
Yes but how can something be created out of nothing ?
Ah, now you get to the heart of the inquiry! Keep in mind that although I used the word nothing (as in "There's nothing there), think of it this way, "there's no thing there"! So, what is this no thing that IS everything? This is the inquiry. Keep meditating.
@@vincentfortunatoI was trying to find the logic behind it .It is just a metaphor .
@@vijiind Exactly. It is just a metaphor.
Man, that's an awesome metaphor and visual demonstration
Thank you!
😮 because it's so obvious...its easy to miss it!
Closer than close.
THAT is truly awesome 😎
You just explained the concept of zero equaling infinity (I think, am I wrong? 🤨🤔).
If you equate them with Form and emptiness, then yes, they are the same. And that's what we are: the no-thingness that IS everything.
Not to be cynical but how does this information help me to live my life better?
Thank you for your comment. To answer your question: it doesn't, because there is no 'you' who needs to live life better. You are the universe manifesting as the individual you think you are. When you realize this with the whole body and mind, action, speech, thought, etc. all arise in a way that is in accord with that sense of unified interconnectedness.
Thank you!
Good one💫
Thank you.
Thank you for disseminating the teaching of nonduality and word itself.
Thank you for your comment!
Well explained.
Incredible. Very cool. Mahalo Brother :)
Glad you enjoyed it
Loved this thank you 😊
Thank you!
Amazing!!!!!!
I like to think of it like this: The whole universe is water and we are ice cubes. Enlightenment is like when you, the ice cube, melts and realizes "you" can't be differentiated from all that IS.
Or you could be on an acid trip and unexpectedly the title of an Alan Watts book, "This Is It" serendipitously traipses through your head four or five times. And then you smack your forehead, like DUH!
And the next day you happily frolic in The Maya. You DO try to tell people - but you also realize the Taoists' description that the Ultimate Reality is: "That which can't be named."
Thank you, Buddha Bill, for your comment. Metaphors are like menus: they can only point to reality. The meal must be experienced directly.
@@vincentfortunato-
Your demonstration of "behind the screen so to speak behind the illusion of reality there's nothing there . .." reminds me of Alan Watts asking his audience this question: "From the standpoint of your eyes, what is the color of your head?" And he goes on to answer (and I'm paraphrasing): "From that standpoint, the true color of your head is the color of nothing". . . "But actually, you do see, you do know the color of your head it - it's everything in front of you."
@@Unfamous_Buddha I like to say that what we are (true nature) is the No thing (two words) that contains everything. Thank you for your comment, Bill.
Love your articulation 🎤❤
It seems to me you can't "drop the perperctive of the self" as long as you have a self necessary to experience this. And you will always have a human self or human perspective as long as you live.
What you can do is increasing your awarness that all are connected to all there is and that ultimatly all is one or connected.
Having "no self" while on earth is "technically" impossible.
The self is an illusion. Yes, there is a sense of self. However, if you examine your mind closely, you will see that all that you think you are, are just thoughts. What you are is prior to thought. From a more down to earth perspective, all life (at least on this planet, as we know it) exists without a self. Why are you any different? Only because you think you are.
Seeking control is an endless journey to a destination never reached. Seeking to fully comprehend the extent to which all Complex Truths break are Simple Illusions is an endless journey to a destination never reached. Ignorance is bliss. Enjoy the journey, not the destination. What if near death experience was the closest you ever get to the experience of death?
That's the cosmic joke! There's nothing to attain; nothing to find. It's all just this.
Wonderful ❤ Thank and Bless you from Germany
Thank you.
Great explanation!
Thank you Jason.
Very good Vincent. Emptiness is Form and Form is Emptiness. Nothing is everything and everything is nothing.
This is timely because just last night I was again pondering how quantum mechanics comes to the same conclusion
(I used to teach physics and love pondering the connection between quantum mechanics and nonduality)
Interestingly there are two main interpretation lines in quantum mechanics right now.
1 - Copenhagen Interpretation - orthodox. (Heisenberg had the best understanding I feel)
2 - Many Worlds interpretation of Hugh Everett - popular with many leading thinkers today.
1) [Copenhagen] Here is the punchline applying it to the Universe. In the orthodox approach, according to Werner Heisenberg, this universal wavefunction would be a superposition of all possibilities. Nothing exists until measured or observed and upon observation the likelihood of a "seen" result is calculated by the Born rule (amplitude squared for each possibility gives its probability for "occuring"). But here is the rub. What Heisenberg called Potentia is this quantum spectrum of possibilities that don't have an actual existence until measured or observed. THIS is the source of the weirdness of quantum mechanics. Electron cloud models of the atom are NOT the electron "smeared out" around the atom in the various geometries seen in chemistry book orbitals, rather they are pure weighted probabilities of the likehood of an electron being "seen" upon measurement at a particular location. But before measurement, the electron DOES NOT EXIST! Take this to the universal or multiverse wavefunction (being One without second), before observation, the Universe does not exist! AND because there is nothing OUTSIDE the wavefunction of the universe, there is no last looker to collapse it! That is, the universe does not really exist. Form is truly EMPTINESS! Everything is nothing. Any collapse or creation is an illusion seen by an illusory separate self.
2) The many worlds interpretation, basically takes all these superposition states at face value. The mathematics is IDENTICAL, the interpretation is literally the diametric opposite. In this model each superposition state ACTUALLY EXISTS, so what you get is a multiverse where every possibility is playing out in parallel dimensions. But there is no quantum collapse, every moment the universe keeps branching into other universes dictated by the same laws of quantum mechanics. Here the weighted probabilities point to actual universes, not just possibilities. In the electron example, the electron simultaneously exists in all its possible states in parallel realities.
Here EVERYTHING exists! Emptiness is Infinite Forms. Nothing is Everything.
And it is worth noting due to quantum entanglement, everything is interconnected in BOTH models. There is just One without a second, but it is interesting that like the toy in the video, quantum mechanics like nonduality can be seen from two perspectives.
To me nondual understandings of ultimate reality bring in clarity to the mystery of quantum mechanics which itself is nondual as stated above. But, like quantum mechanics, nondual philosophy is very counterintuitive, because the world seems very much dictated by common sense Newtonian or Classical physics, much like Realism philosophy (which are both inherently dualistic). But this worldview has been disproven now for over a century. The universe is Quantum and Nondual to the core! Ultimately I think both Nonduality and quantum mechanics can only "truly" be understood by "waking up" to this illusion of separation.
To clarify a little (hopefully..lol)
If there is only One interconnected everything, then because of its interconnectedness, and because there is nothing outside of It (Being One without a second), there is no thing or nothing to be "seen". This is because there is no vantage point to see the whole as a thing, because such a vantage point would predicate something outside of the whole, which is not possible (to be outside of everything). In quantum mechanics the wavefunction of the universe is this everything, and because it is not a subsystem of some greater system, there is not vantage point to observe or measure this whole, therefore, it does not exist, except as both nothing and everything (emptiness is form and form is emptiness).
To me this quantum/nondual logic is sound and somehow makes sense, yet it also does not make sense (probably because Mr Bryant the illusory ego still is here..haha). I think direct experience is truly needed to understand both nonduality and quantum mechanics. But the mathematical logic of quantum mechanics is better than dualistic words, so it is a step in the right direction (quantum computers/quantum logic > Newtonian/Classical Boolean Logic).
It is fun writing all this because in a way quantum mechanics is one big Zen KOAN...lol.
Thank you for your explanations of both the Copenhagen and Many Worlds interpretation. I do not have background in quantum physics, but have, like you, marveled at the parallels between quantum physics (especially the Copenhagen interpretation) and non-duality (and Buddhism). I remember reading two books many decades ago: The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukov, and Shifting Worlds, Changing Minds by Jeremy Hayward. The weakness of the Many Worlds interpretation is that it assumes all possible 'worlds' exist independent of the observer, whereas the Copenhagen interpretation specifically requires an observer for the quantum wave function to collapse.
The paradox of non-duality in the context of quantum physics is that that which collapses the wave function itself exists as part of the collapsed wave function. The materialist (physicalist) view of consciousness holds that consciousness arises as a result of neural networks; whereas, the alternate view posits that consciousness is a priori. Neither is correct. I believe it was Niels Bohr who once wrote that the observer and the observed co-arise in a mutually creative fashion. Thus, neither exists without the other, which is the paradox. Consciousness (awareness) is unit (body) dependent; but the unit cannot be perceived without consciousness. This is why the statement "Form is emptiness; emptiness is form" is so paradoxical and profound.
The key is to stop trying to understand non-duality with the mind and to directly realize (experience) the non-dual nature of existence and non-existence (as you stated in your next post). This is why the practices of Buddhism, non-duality, and other mystical lineages are so important.
Anyway, thank you for your comment. There are so many interesting aspects of quantum physics and its correlates with Buddhism and non-duality that we can discuss, but my reply is already too long.
My colleague and I wrote a paper published in Cosmology, which I wish I could attach here for you. You might find it of interest, especially the closing comments.
(Finally, I highly recommend The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman.)
Furey, J. T., & Fortunato, V. J. (2014). The theory of MindTime. Cosmology, 18, 119-130. Retrieved from cosmology.com/ConsciousTime102.html
If you wish to continue the conversation, please visit my website: www.dragonspearl.org, and email me from there.
Opposites are lovers …fall into unity
OK and this does what for you ? Its a story you tell yourself to comfort yourself? How does it change or alter your life?
It does nothing for me because there is no me! 😆 However, life as this apparent person was completely transformed upon having realized true nature direction (i.e., the non-dual nature of life and existence) and seeing through the illusion of the self. This is why the practices of Buddhism, especially Zen, and non-duality are no important.
@@vincentfortunato Transformed in what way? What do you do differently?
Absolutely fantastic ha, ha, thank you so much!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Try nicely put. I like it. :-)
Hi Vincent. Regarding our minds function, are our minds tools required for a separate material world, or should these tools only be used to resist a separate material existence? So let us imagine consciousness fills our body mind and we filter from it all experience. What is consciousness trying to do by looking in on itself then? What function are we finite minds meant to have or know of? Most actions that take place in the material world such as even giving credence to the idea that we live in material world, in which we must exist and function, only serves to further separate us from being. How can we bring our dual existence into complete harmony with the non-dual ultimate reality. "Just being" is not sufficient to address this seemingly impossible question or dual state of being. "Just being" in the perfect sense would prevent consciousness from looking in on itself, as by being, we would then return to pure consciousness and nothing else ever. And we understand, that is not what consciousness is trying to do as evident in our experience of life. Thank you.
What's still tripping me up and is kind of amazing is that there is still Your hand making this all happen! Like a greater entity observing & creating the whole entire thing 😂🎉
Remember, the Pin Art toy is just a metaphor. However, the question as to why there is even experience of a reality in the first place is not one anyone can answer. Sure, the easy way out is to invoke a separate entity like many do; but that leads to all sorts of other questions. But for now, why there is even experience or the sense of subjectivity or consciousness in the first place is the great mystery.
@@vincentfortunato Yes! It is all very wonderful and fun to think about and explore
Wonderful! Thanks Vincent. I understand the concept of a single consciousness creating seemingly separate form; but I don’t understand how emptiness is form. I just can’t get my head around that. What does it imply? That we are all totally insignificant ? That’s a bleak outlook but maybe the truth !
Thank you for your comment David. When you realize that what you are is prior to, but includes thought, then one realizes that "trying to wrap" one's head around that which is larger than cognition (i.e., thought) is impossible. Also, I did not state that there is a single consciousness. I have no clue. But it is possible to have a David free moment and see that what you are exists before even the idea of David and includes all things. Meditate on this.
@@vincentfortunato Brilliant! I will, thank you very much!
Just be it
Just be
be
- - -
- -
-
Just this.
I was about to say that I don't get it at all until you said "direct attention to your own attention" and what the hell!
Thank you for your comment. That’s the key to realization.
It’s an interesting illustration! But one might ask who gives the shape?
The pin art is just a metaphor. The question as to why we are even here as conscious self-aware beings cannot be answered. No one knows. The focus here is on direct experience; not your thoughts. What are you? What is prior to thought? Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you. How do thoughts arise? How do you know that you are aware? Shakyamuni Buddha held up a flower. Mayakayashapa (sp) smiled.
ive used this same illustration before
terrific!! (spent the whole time worrying that you'd drop it even while accepting that's okay, too. LOL)
🙂
Isn't it just displacement? The pin has just moved and displaced another area of space, just like humans do. I don't see how this points to "oneness"
It's a metaphor, is all. Don't overcomplicate it. What you are is already oneness. A couple of good meditations for you: What is prior to thought? (That is, from where do thoughts arise and fall away?) Another: Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you.
this video is so adorable to me hehe
Glad you enjoyed it.
Emptiness is form;
the dark illuminates the light
The dark is the light. And the light is the dark.
Crazy IS sane! And sanity IS crazy!
Agreed! Sanity appears to be crazy by most of the world that lives by their ideas and thoughts!
That's enormous- the mind = interact with the world, that's huge, sometimes we can feel disconnected or theres too much in the mind.. to be thankful for the beautiful mind.. good to know how to operate us, how the body functions and when theres some obstruction, how to deal with it and let the energy flow freely..
There's a famous Zen koan: Two monks were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind: "It's the flag that is moving", said one. "No, it's the wind that's moving", said the other. Their abbot overheard them and said, "No, it's your mind that's moving."
What's duality in your understanding?
The word duality merely represents the apparent phenomenological universe that is perceived as separate from that which observes it. It arises with the first thought of "I am". Non-duality, in contrast is a word that represents the experienced collapse of separateness. No more observer or observed; subjective or objective; etc. Duality arises with thought. Non-duality is that which is prior to and contains thought. Bottom line: don't try to understand non-duality or duality. This is not a conceptual exercise. It is to be experienced directly. It is what 'you' are. Just this.
Form and Formless. 1 and 0. On and Off. The crest and trough of a wave. The hide and seek game. What a way to stay busy in infinite.
Be sure to wash your dishes after eating.
@@vincentfortunato But its so much easier to let the bowl soak and then clean...
If everything is an illusion, i.e. dream/mirage/illusion, then isn't this video itself and all objects illusion? What's the difference between me listening to this video on TH-cam when awake, and when in a dream, the dream could even feel more real than the waking state!
That's the paradox. It's an illusion only because our hardwiring is what creates the universe we perceive. And the universe that we perceive, including the hardwiring, is created by that which observes it. A good (non-spiritual) book you might check out is by Donald Hoffman called "The Case Against Reality." Regardless, lives are being lived through these characters and neglecting these lives may also lead to suffering.
What is the name of this art? I loved it!
It's called Pin Art. You can find it on Amazon.
Great, thank you!
Duality arises from magnifying polar micro-aspects of a single thing.
For example, there is a complementary duality between the pillar of Mercy and the pillar of Discipline/Severity. Both are left and right aspects of the same thing that leads to the central door; righteous authority. Without one pillar, the structure cannot stand.
However, the "shadows" of the pillars of Mercy & Discipline appear very similar to the actual pillars because they are the exact opposites; Cruelty and Lawlessness. Evil gets them confused.
Good and evil on the other hand are not one in the same; they are seperated into superior and inferior.
Good will always be better than bad and that is self-evident in the definition of the words. Evil is the cheap immitation of authentic goodness
Yet still, under the sun, the Left and Right pillars of Good will always cast a shadow on the person standing with a pillar directly between them and the Source of Light.
I have no idea what you are saying. Too much conceptualization going on. Drop it all. Just allow awareness to become aware of itself. Simple as that. Then observer and observed fall away and there is just this.
@@vincentfortunato well it was a little off-topic, poorly-worded and written quickly but there is definitely some relevant information there. I won't drop it yet
The definition of duality is actually pretty vague and can be used in different ways.
There is a type of duality or non-duality where polar opposite aspects actually comprise a single thing which was symbolized by the Mercy & Discipline allegory.
"Beauty" or Righteous Authority as I referred to it is the balance between the Two Pillars and the door to the Inner Temple; also the symbolic Third Pillar which is a union of the other two.
However Good, and Evil which is an inversion of beauty, are eternally separated and cannot be viewed as one in the same. One is like light, the other is absence of light. Evil is the absence of Good.
I guess part of the point in my rambling here is that really, dualism/non-dualism can be a very complicated trivial thing that can be easily confused which I might have demonstrated in at least one way
OK ... wonderful metaphor for a profound Truth, Vincent, but how does this comfort me in light of all the horrors that have and continue to blight this world?
Who is this me that needs to be comforted?
@@vincentfortunato This presence that FEELS the pain and sadness, and sees others do the same. Even if it is all an illusion or a dream, they feel real enough! Advaita, like all other schools of metaphysics I've studied, does not comfort. Knowing the fundamental nature of Reality to be Emptiness doesn't do anything to assuage the suffering here-now. In short, It is all Mystery, and to paraphrase Wittgenstein, whereof one cannot speak, it is best to remain silent. OM
I have started to feel like everyone is me ....I am feeling it...I am not feeling through nothingness yet
What you are IS nothingness. The ego, however, cannot experience that nothingness that you are. It must fall away to directly realize your true nature.
@@vincentfortunato I has a non local experience once were I was everywhere and nowhere, I also simply disappeared once through meditation, so Objectively I have experienced this but they were both fleeting. I suspect its impossible to be in the state in this place by design
@@MrNiceHk Yes, having that non-local experience is wonderful. However, more than likely, you had a 'me' free moment. Now that the 'me' is back, it wants more of the experience. It is the 'me' that is grasping onto what requires the absence of the 'me'. It is impossible for the self (ego, 'me') to be in a non-local state. A good book to read is Adyashanti's "The End of Your World". It is possible to live one's live in a state of non-locality. Adyashanti calls that abiding awakening. What happens is that there is a recognition that life is living itself through the character. Bills are paid; the lawn is mowed; dishes are washed.
even if the whole non-dual bs was real
I still have to clean my dirty laundry and dishes in the sink anyway 🤣
so for practical purposes, we might as well ignore the whole non-dual bs
@@aiya5777 I agree. It's all bs. Just pointers. But if there is suffering, then those pointers might lead someone to actually see what's really going on.
In “non-duality”, is there good and evil, truth and falsity?
No, neither is there up or down; you or me; right or left. Distinctions are the function of the mind that creates separation between the observer and observed. Also, don't confuse non-duality with "not two [or many]" and forget that it is "not one" either. Just this: Hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, etc. Even thinking.
I intuitively sense that what you’re describing is true, but I wonder about / get tripped up on sensory closure - you seem to be talking about all beings (and “things”) as individual pins that are parts of the whole hand, but I only know my own point of view, and in my experience, other beings and things are basically sensory appearances … is it that the minds of others, which I don’t know directly, as well as my own are expressions of one mind, or rather that all the appearances are expressions of one mind? Does that make sense? It sounds intellectual but it is a felt thing for me…
Your question is multi-faceted. First, you are asking the question from the perspective of the mind (the ego; the character). Realization requires dropping the mind and body and experiencing your true nature directly. Thus, inquiry questions, such as "Who (or what) and I?" "What is prior to thought?" "Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you?" As to your second question; I reserve the word 'mind' to refer to the type of mental activity we call cognition. Thus, there is no such thing as "one mind". The appearance of multiple minds are like waves on an ocean. They are none other than the ocean itself.
I experienced something so indescribable earlier this year for a split second in meditation, that short moment was so profound and i still haven't found words for it but i think it could be referred to as nonduality, i think i'd go insane being in that state as its nothing i've felt before or can properly describe to anyone, i want to get back to that but at the same time i wonder if that was even meant to be experienced longterm...but weeks after my experience i got unstuck and got my big break from the depression i was wallowing in and the grief of my brother. This video gave me goosebumps cause its like i started to remember at least a fraction of what that was, do you experience this all the time? What do you even do with yourself once you realize it was all just a dream what you thought was so solid previously
What was experienced was a 'me' free moment (insert your name for 'me'). What returned was the 'me' with all of its conditioning and beliefs, including what 'realization' or 'enlightenment' is supposed to look like. It is possible for life to live that way without the mind going insane. Rather, insanity is the mind (or 'me') thinking or wanting to 'return' to what state - a state that is always present. The 'me' cannot obtain or achieve something. What you are is all this. You are a verb: experiencing. In that moment, experiencing was experiencing (as I wrote), a 'me' free moment. There is nothing to remember or to try and remember. But what 'you' can focus on now is paying attention to your own attention. Notice that noticing is happening. Notice that thoughts arise like birds singing in the trees. Just don't take delivery of them.
I highly recommend the book "The End of Your World" by Adyashanti. It addresses quite clearly the post-awakening process and its pitfalls (e.g., "I got it!" and "I lost it."
Awakening to the illusion of the 'me' (i.e., realizing true nature) is just the first step in the entire process that involves awakening, clearing, and embodying (also referred to as wake up, grow up, show up).
As for what to do: eat when hungry; sleep when tired. Be sure to wash the dishes and make the bed. Life goes on, and what you are is that life. Nothing changes except you can now laugh at the cosmic joke that there was something to attain.
I hope this helps. Contact me via my website www.dragonspearl.org if you like.
COOL YES
🙏
beautiful !
Thank you!
Where is consciousness ' chitta ' ?
Where are you?
If it's "that simple" why don't I get it.
Your 'you' will never get it. To realize your true nature, the idea and belief in a 'me' must be suspended. This is why meditation is so important. There are many points of entry here: Inquiry: What are you? Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you? What is prior to thought? Are perception and awareness the same or different? Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you.
This is crazy that this was suggested to me because I've had this exact thought with whatever that toy is called
Great minds.. ;)
Thank you for your comment. The toy is called Pin Art. Synchronicity! 🙏