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.
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! :)
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!!!
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!)
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 🙏
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).
Something is everything Everything is nothingness Nothingness is emptiness Form is emptiness Emptiness is form Thank you 🙏 for explaining with example.
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 😊
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?
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.
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??!!👏👏👏😃
Disagree, it is not nothingness, it is potential. When potential is experienced, creation happens. Some people say we live in a matrix, or a holographic universe. A better analogy would be, that we are living “as a reflection”. As a reflection of infinite timeless potential.(the ONE) ONE cannot know the color of ONE’s own eyes without observing oneself in a reflection. Until then only the potential of color exists. The reflection gives the illusion that two exist, thus giving ONE the ability to observe itself. To become aware of the color of ONE’s own eyes. To realize the potential of color.
No disagreement here. Rather, don't focus on the word nothingness. Perhaps the better translation of Shunyata is emptiness. (Shunyata has been translated in multiple ways. No English word completely captures the paradox of Shunyata.) However, the real question to you is "how do you know that which you wrote?" ("What is your original face before you were born?" Speak without using words. Express this point directly and you come face to face with all the Buddhas throughout space and time.) Best to investigate your original nature: can you find it? You might indeed find that there is NO Thing there! But it contains everything!
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.
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
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.
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.
You are right. Any thought about the absolute is wrong. However, what you are IS the absolute and that can be directly experienced. Bodhidharma is credited with the following: The way is beyond words and letters. And Lau Tsu, in the first line of his first chapter of the Tao Te Ching stated: The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. And yet, both, went on to be prolific writers. Buddha himself spoke for 50 years after 'his' enlightenment. Point is, words, speech, and even visual metaphors are just teachers pointing at the moon. We merely ask that you look at the moon and not the finger.
@@vincentfortunato what you are IS the absolute and that can be directly experienced. ---------- OK but I see that a little differently: - The absolute can't be experienced. - What can be experienced is not me. - I am not sure if I am the absolute. In other words, I can't know myself through any kind of experience and there is no other way except believing. The only thing that is discussible here is WHO I am going to believe. The other human being is not a good source for believing. On the other hand The Absolute Himself is Who I am going to believe. And I am going to believe The Absolute not through experience of Him(that's not possible) but through His words. This is the only way to know The Absolute. What can you say about such an approach to The Absolute? :)
A pointed finger to the moon is not the moon. Therefore do not search for the finger but the moon directly.... The experience of "not me" is just an experience for the egoic mind. The real experience can not be expressed in words. You just can experience the emptiness when no one is experiencing something. In another words, of course he can't explain the non duality like a experience because words are duality. But he can pointing to and, perhaps, make you have a glimpse of. But he didn't say that you have to believe something. Even the Budda said the you have to see for yourself. This kind of experience of reality, or the absolute, can only come to a silence mind, without atachments, needs to explain something, etc..
@@gabrielkavamura The real experience can not be expressed in words. ------------------ Not just expressed in words. What is real can't be experienced at all. All experience is from the mind and it is not real.
@@gabrielkavamura This kind of experience of reality, or the absolute, can only come to a silence mind, without atachments, needs to explain something, etc.. ------------- We can't KNOW that. And all that we can experience is based on KNOWLEDGE.
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."
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.
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
That is not Non Duality because if you are part of a whole then by default you are recognizing the existence of “parts” the same happen when you say “one with every thing” Duality is just NOT TWO
The example used is a metaphor, so don't overthink it. However, you point to the paradox highlighted in the Heart Sutra: Form IS emptiness; emptiness IS form. As human beings, we perceive ourselves separate from the universe that we also perceive; not realizing that (a) we are that universe perceiving itself and (b) that universe does not exist without consciousness (or awareness), and vice-versa. (Ask yourself, where do your perceptions arise?) The appearance of "parts" is merely an illusion emphasized through our use of language and how our brains construct the universe. To survive as an apparent biological organism requires such differentiation. One way to think about it is that we are little pieces of planet earth (and by extension, the universe) that became mobile and self-aware. But we are the earth itself. We are the universe itself. And both (earth and the universe) require some semblance of consciousness, whether the organism is conscious of that consciousness or not.
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
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.)
The plastic toy IS part of this amazing universe. However, you missed the point of the talk. There is no separation between observer and observed; perception and awareness; self and other, or between consciousness and the universe. One and the same, despite appearances of duality. One does not--cannot--exist without the other. The plastic toy was merely a teaching device. I recommend that you listen to some of the other talks either by me or other non-duality teachers.
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.
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.
Nothing changed. This is effectively shuffling words around. Interesting because it is novel, but not special, because nothing changes. Non-duality isn’t everything it is made out to be, it’s still a perspective.
Non-duality is just a word. The video is just a pointer. These are just thoughts one keeps thinking. What is most important is experiencing your true nature directly.
It's just a metaphor! However, it is also a humorous and different way of assisting others in recognizing their own true nature. The unknown cannot be 'known' by the mind. This is just a pointer.
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.
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.
There is great quote (not exact): Enlightenment cannot be experienced by seeking; yet only seekers 'experience' it. (I'm defining enlightenment here as the realization of true nature.)
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.
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.
Using your own model to disprove what you said, the presence of the hand creates the individual nodules that compose the image of the hand. The APPARENT lack of presence of the hand after the event is due to your inability to perceive beyond linear time. The hand WAS there and on some level still is. Many people perceive more than others, even into other dimensions. Spirit world / ETs. Just as consciousness is primary, and the consciousness field gives birth to matter. The many in the one, the one in the many. We are all manifestations of the singular consciousness field. We are both individual nodes, and thee whole hand. Quantum hologram theory does not invalidate either the one, or the many.
Thank you for your comment. However, it was just a metaphor; and as a metaphor, it is not accurate. Don't overthink it. More important than any description of non-duality is how it is actually experienced directly. So, here's a great Zen koan (credit: Joan Tollifson): Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you. Where is it? (I'm not looking for a conceptual explanation, so please don't provide one.)
@@vincentfortunato You are reframing the debate then shift the goalposts when challenged.You are telling me how to respond. Tiresome. Can't engage with avoidant personality types thinking they are uniquely mystical, where everyone else is not.
@@russellsreflection I assumed that you are on this channel because you are interesting in realizing your true nature. Instead, you seem to want to engage in an intellectual debate. And when I didn't, and instead provided a meditation/inquiry pointer, you respond with a personally directed opinion (insult). So, this channel is not for you. I wish you well in your life.
@@vincentfortunato I am interested in seeing what people are teaching, and you are encouraging people to enter into a belief system that is delusional and in many instances I have noticed, leads to avoidance and or spiritual bypassing. I dont like that. You are unable to engage in debate because you are unable to think. How sad. No ability to discriminate.
“You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop” :)
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.
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
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..
Love the joy you having while explaining it😁
It's so simple! 😂
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.
Thank you for disseminating the teaching of nonduality and word itself.
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.
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.
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).
Well done. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment!
This was a really good metaphor.
Als I had one of these things as a kid and loved it. Had so much fun!
How do I gain more control over the unity? How can I summon tsunamis and waves
This video should of been short cut to enlightenment LOLLLL
Thank you! So helpful as a visual aid for me, formless and form as one🤗🙏
thank you for your comment.
Your toy is an excellent tool that covers all scriptures. Excellent! Love it !
Definitely non-sectarian. Thank you for your comment
Incredible, you explained beautifully,thank you so much ,immense gratitude ❤🙏🙏🙏
Thank you for your comment! 🙏
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!
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?
You perfectly illustrated, negative/positive existence. (Yin/yang)
Both forming a perfect circle!
Oh well, that's the end of capitalism.
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!
😮 because it's so obvious...its easy to miss it!
Closer than close.
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.
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.
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.
Great example. Every-thing is no-thing. “It” just is. We just are, I just Am.
ive used this same illustration before
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! 😄🙏🏼
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.
Just be it
Just be
be
- - -
- -
-
Just this.
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! 😀
Great metaphor!!!, Thanks.
Thank you!
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.
Disagree, it is not nothingness, it is potential.
When potential is experienced, creation happens.
Some people say we live in a matrix, or a holographic universe.
A better analogy would be, that we are living “as a reflection”. As a reflection of infinite timeless potential.(the ONE)
ONE cannot know the color of ONE’s own eyes without observing oneself in a reflection. Until then only the potential of color exists. The reflection gives the illusion that two exist, thus giving ONE the ability to observe itself. To become aware of the color of ONE’s own eyes. To realize the potential of color.
Creation, is “potential” realizing itself into existence, through reflection.
.....really.
No disagreement here. Rather, don't focus on the word nothingness. Perhaps the better translation of Shunyata is emptiness. (Shunyata has been translated in multiple ways. No English word completely captures the paradox of Shunyata.) However, the real question to you is "how do you know that which you wrote?" ("What is your original face before you were born?" Speak without using words. Express this point directly and you come face to face with all the Buddhas throughout space and time.) Best to investigate your original nature: can you find it? You might indeed find that there is NO Thing there! But it contains everything!
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 💚🙏
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.
"...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! 🙏
Thank you Vincent!
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.
Incredible metaphor ‘thank you
Thank you!
So simple and direct. Thank you for this 🙏
Thank you for your comment!
Bashar spoke of this with something similar, well done brother.
Thank you.
Incredible. Very cool. Mahalo Brother :)
Glad you enjoyed it
Good metaphor and great presentation. Saved this. Thank you.
Thank 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.
ANY thought about the ABSOLUTE nature of things is just WRONG. It's simply "baby talk" or nonsense.
You are right. Any thought about the absolute is wrong. However, what you are IS the absolute and that can be directly experienced.
Bodhidharma is credited with the following: The way is beyond words and letters. And Lau Tsu, in the first line of his first chapter of the Tao Te Ching stated: The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. And yet, both, went on to be prolific writers. Buddha himself spoke for 50 years after 'his' enlightenment.
Point is, words, speech, and even visual metaphors are just teachers pointing at the moon. We merely ask that you look at the moon and not the finger.
@@vincentfortunato what you are IS the absolute and that can be directly experienced.
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OK but I see that a little differently:
- The absolute can't be experienced.
- What can be experienced is not me.
- I am not sure if I am the absolute.
In other words, I can't know myself through any kind of experience and there is no other way except believing. The only thing that is discussible here is WHO I am going to believe. The other human being is not a good source for believing. On the other hand The Absolute Himself is Who I am going to believe. And I am going to believe The Absolute not through experience of Him(that's not possible) but through His words. This is the only way to know The Absolute. What can you say about such an approach to The Absolute? :)
A pointed finger to the moon is not the moon.
Therefore do not search for the finger but the moon directly....
The experience of "not me" is just an experience for the egoic mind. The real experience can not be expressed in words. You just can experience the emptiness when no one is experiencing something.
In another words, of course he can't explain the non duality like a experience because words are duality. But he can pointing to and, perhaps, make you have a glimpse of.
But he didn't say that you have to believe something. Even the Budda said the you have to see for yourself. This kind of experience of reality, or the absolute, can only come to a silence mind, without atachments, needs to explain something, etc..
@@gabrielkavamura The real experience can not be expressed in words.
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Not just expressed in words. What is real can't be experienced at all. All experience is from the mind and it is not real.
@@gabrielkavamura This kind of experience of reality, or the absolute, can only come to a silence mind, without atachments, needs to explain something, etc..
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We can't KNOW that. And all that we can experience is based on KNOWLEDGE.
Very good! Thanks for sharing!
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 🎤❤
Try nicely put. I like it. :-)
Very nice baba
Thank you for your comment!
BRILLIANT VISUALIZATION AND EXPLANATION!!!’ 👏
Thank you for your comment.
mind the gaps
Where does the inside of you meet the outside of you?
Great explanation!
Thank you Jason.
Opposites are lovers …fall into unity
terrific!! (spent the whole time worrying that you'd drop it even while accepting that's okay, too. LOL)
🙂
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.
this video is so adorable to me hehe
Glad you enjoyed it.
Whattt?
😄
Wonderful ❤ Thank and Bless you from Germany
Thank you.
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
Love it❤❤❤
Emptiness is form;
the dark illuminates the light
The dark is the light. And the light is the dark.
That is not Non Duality because if you are part of a whole then by default you are recognizing the existence of “parts” the same happen when you say “one with every thing” Duality is just NOT TWO
The example used is a metaphor, so don't overthink it. However, you point to the paradox highlighted in the Heart Sutra: Form IS emptiness; emptiness IS form. As human beings, we perceive ourselves separate from the universe that we also perceive; not realizing that (a) we are that universe perceiving itself and (b) that universe does not exist without consciousness (or awareness), and vice-versa. (Ask yourself, where do your perceptions arise?) The appearance of "parts" is merely an illusion emphasized through our use of language and how our brains construct the universe. To survive as an apparent biological organism requires such differentiation. One way to think about it is that we are little pieces of planet earth (and by extension, the universe) that became mobile and self-aware. But we are the earth itself. We are the universe itself. And both (earth and the universe) require some semblance of consciousness, whether the organism is conscious of that consciousness or not.
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
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.)
Your plastic toy is nothing like the amazing universe which God created around 14 billion years ago.
The plastic toy IS part of this amazing universe. However, you missed the point of the talk. There is no separation between observer and observed; perception and awareness; self and other, or between consciousness and the universe. One and the same, despite appearances of duality. One does not--cannot--exist without the other. The plastic toy was merely a teaching device. I recommend that you listen to some of the other talks either by me or other non-duality teachers.
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.
Beautiful!
Thank you!
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 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! 🙏
Great.
Nothing changed.
This is effectively shuffling words around. Interesting because it is novel, but not special, because nothing changes.
Non-duality isn’t everything it is made out to be, it’s still a perspective.
Non-duality is just a word. The video is just a pointer. These are just thoughts one keeps thinking. What is most important is experiencing your true nature directly.
inside-out and backwards... inverted mirror image
youre teaching separation. your claiming to know what's unknown
It's just a metaphor! However, it is also a humorous and different way of assisting others in recognizing their own true nature. The unknown cannot be 'known' by the mind. This is just a pointer.
I'm forming something in my bowels that must be made empty. This is my true nature.
Don't forget to wipe your ass.
I think legos make a better metaphor.
I want a lego metaphor set.
Behind the illusion of reality is lego.
Thank you for your comment. Metaphors are like menus: they can only point to reality. The meal must be experienced directly.
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.
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.
Great pointer! Thanks.
Thank you!
The single most important thing I took from non-duality is that life is SO SIMPLE, but we completely over complicate it.
Agreed! It is so obvious that just about everyone in the world find it difficult to accept and experience directly.
Thanks, Vince. Very cool.
Thank you Kathleen! 🙏
But that emptiness is full of something - Consciousness
It's not even that.
This seems almost like a shortcut to enlightenment 😂
it is, since there is no one to be in lightened.
the search for knowledge sows the seed of ignorance.
There is great quote (not exact): Enlightenment cannot be experienced by seeking; yet only seekers 'experience' it. (I'm defining enlightenment here as the realization of true nature.)
Man, that's an awesome metaphor and visual demonstration
Thank you!
Amazing!!!!!!
❤
Loved this thank you 😊
Thank you!
Very creative idea for a metaphor of this subjet! Subscribed
Thank you for your comment.
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?
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.
Well explained.
Where is consciousness ' chitta ' ?
Where are you?
🙏
Oh how lovely 😊
Thank you
Using your own model to disprove what you said, the presence of the hand creates the individual nodules that compose the image of the hand. The APPARENT lack of presence of the hand after the event is due to your inability to perceive beyond linear time. The hand WAS there and on some level still is. Many people perceive more than others, even into other dimensions. Spirit world / ETs. Just as consciousness is primary, and the consciousness field gives birth to matter. The many in the one, the one in the many. We are all manifestations of the singular consciousness field. We are both individual nodes, and thee whole hand. Quantum hologram theory does not invalidate either the one, or the many.
Thank you for your comment. However, it was just a metaphor; and as a metaphor, it is not accurate. Don't overthink it. More important than any description of non-duality is how it is actually experienced directly. So, here's a great Zen koan (credit: Joan Tollifson): Look for the place where the inside of you meets the outside of you. Where is it? (I'm not looking for a conceptual explanation, so please don't provide one.)
@@vincentfortunato You are reframing the debate then shift the goalposts when challenged.You are telling me how to respond. Tiresome. Can't engage with avoidant personality types thinking they are uniquely mystical, where everyone else is not.
@@russellsreflection I assumed that you are on this channel because you are interesting in realizing your true nature. Instead, you seem to want to engage in an intellectual debate. And when I didn't, and instead provided a meditation/inquiry pointer, you respond with a personally directed opinion (insult). So, this channel is not for you. I wish you well in your life.
@@vincentfortunato I am interested in seeing what people are teaching, and you are encouraging people to enter into a belief system that is delusional and in many instances I have noticed, leads to avoidance and or spiritual bypassing. I dont like that. You are unable to engage in debate because you are unable to think. How sad. No ability to discriminate.
@@vincentfortunatoat the breath🏴✌️
Thank you for sharing your toys with us. Love the metaphors
Glad you like them!