nondualism

Nondualism is a big branch of spirituality that can be difficult to get you head around. It is different from what we were taught in Lifewave, and different from what I had learned before I came to Lifewave. Lifewave teachings were similar to other popular movements such as TM or DLM in that the idea is that you meditate and gradually get to higher levels.

In nondualism though the idea is that you can perceive reality suddenly. Someone who knows what they are  doing can explain things to you then suddenly you can see that your self does not exist. It is not a theory but a direct perception of reality. This perception only lasts moments but you can return to it again and again.

The explaning that brings about the perception is called 'direct pointing' or 'pointing-out instructions'. They say that when you have this perception then you are enlightened. This is the 'sudden' path, as opposed to the 'gradual' path to enlightenment. They say that not only is the gradual path not the best path, but also that any kind of striving towards enlightenment through meditation is counterproductive.

This is to over-generalise about nondualism. There are many forms of nondualism. The two main Western authors on this subject seem to be Sam Harris and Ken Wilber. Sam Harris wrote a book called 'Waking Up' that was about spirituality. Only a part of one chapter was about nondualism but what he has to say about it is quite impressive. These two authors don't seem to be saying the same thing though.

There are several Asian traditions that are called nondualist. There was an Indian sage called Ramana Maharshi. Advaita Vedanta is another one. Tibetan Buddhism is another. You could say that the whole of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism is nondualist. Tibetan Buddhism can be seen as as one form of Vajrayana Buddhism which in turn is one form of Mahayana Buddhism (although others don't see Vajrayana as a branch of Mahayana).

The other big branch of Buddhism is Theravada, which is not nondualist. Even Zen Buddhism, which is a branch of Mahayana, is not nondualist.

Ramana Maharshi had many followers. Some of them became teachers. Poonja, for example, who in turn had many followers. Some of these became teachers, such as Andrew Cohen and Mooji. These two turned out to be abusive cult leaders. It would seem that nondualism can be even more prone to cult abuse because of the dependence upon the teacher and his 'direct pointing'.

Not that the direct pointing of Cohen and Mooji would be of any value. Sam Harris went to India and sat at the feet of Poonja. He said that he didn't get anything out of it. It was only when he went to see a Tibetan master that he got what he was looking for. He says in his book that this was the most valuable thing that anyone has ever taught him.

He says that you can return to this state again and again, and use it as the base for your meditation. Your meditation is to return to this state again and again. In this however he will differ from some other nondualists. They will say that when you have this state you are enlightened and meditation will achieve nothing more.

It seems that there are uncompromising nondualists, such as Poonja. There are also compromising nondualists who believe that further steps are important. Harris said that Tibetan teachers are different from people such as Poonja. They know that the sudden enlightenment is just the first step. Or perhaps one step on the path because it may be necessary to prepare for the sudden enlightenment.

There are four branches of Tibetan Buddhism (there is also a completely different religion called Bon). Only two of them teach meditation, and these two types of meditation are called Dzogchen and Mahamudra. Harris has explained what he sees as the most important point about the Dzogchen that he was taught.

Other people have different ideas about what Dzogchen means. Daniel M Ingram seems to think that Dzogchen is similar to the Vipassana that he teaches but just with a different emphasis. Others will complain that Tibetans who are taught Dzogchen will be taught a series of practices that Americans like Harris seem to know nothing about - therefore he doesn't understand the real Dzogchen.

If what Harris is saying is true, that it is possible for someone to have no-self (something that sounds like Stream Entry in Vipassana), and to have it so easily, then that is something incredibly important. If it is really true then Dzogchen can't be a bit like Vipassana. Or just part of some elaborate Himalayan system that would need to be completed in full to be of any value.

But maybe what Sam Harris says is not true. You would think that if it is so great he would be teaching it himself. He would be doing direct pointing for lots of other Westerners. It would become a mass-movement. That hasn't happened though. He says that some people get nothing out of the direct pointing, no matter how good the teacher. He says some people need to be prepared.

Ken Wilber is the other American author, but he has a different understanding of direct pointing. He has written many books, but the most informative seems to be 'One Taste'. One Taste is the name of the state of consciousness that seems to be the same as the Lifewave Enlightenment.

Wilber isn't an uncompromising nondualist. He believes in meditation. It would seem so but many nondualists seem to contradict themselves. On the one hand they will say that any striving towards higher states of consciousness in counterproductive - there is nothing you can do to get enlightened - then at other times they talk about meditation and stages on the path to enlightenment or One Taste.

He writes about the Witness. There is a state of consciousness where you watch your mind and body. You perceive that you are separate from your mind and body. This is not just in meditation, it is when you are performing daily tasks such as driving a car. You witness thoughts and activities but do not participate in them. You are not the cause of thoughts and activity.

This witnessing seems to be the same as a psychological disorder called depersonalisation, derealisation or dissociation. It's not pleasant so it's just as well that it is only a stage towards One Taste. The Witness is developed over time using a meditation technique where you decide that anything that you can be aware of isn't you. Your sense perceptions aren't you. Your emotions aren't you. Your thought aren't you.

What happens then is that the Witness will suddenly disappear. Then everything seems to be part of you. There is nothing that you turn your attention towards that does not seem to be part of you. This is One Taste and also the Lifewave Enlightenment. In the case of Ken Wilber it was the Witness that disappeared, in the case of of John Yarr it was the Inner Light and Sound that disappeared.

Suzanne Segal has written about this state of consciousness. She writes about two other states, one of which is the same as Witnessing. She uses the term Witness. She seems to have bought into the whole nondualist philosophy, although she practiced TM for many years.

This is what I have learned about nondualism. I don't believe in it, but then I don't believe in the gradual method either. I have come to believe that all of these states of consciousness are merely the result of altered brain functioning. None of them prove anything about the nature of reality.

I used to think that John Yarr had been influenced by nondualists before he became enlightened. The Lifewave enlightenment really does seem to be the same as Ken Wilber's 'One Taste'. Also, he seemed to like Krishnamurti.

Anyone who meditates can achieve the various jhanas. Jhanas are altered states of consciousness, the word is often translated as 'absorption'. Going beyond form/second initiation is the same as the fifth jhana (Sphere of Infinite Space). Something more than ordinary meditation is required to get to enlightenment though, or so I thought. It will only get you as far as eighth jhana. I was wrong about that.

Susan Blackmore has written in her book Zen and the Art of Consciousness about an experience that seems to be the same as direct pointing. Nothing to do with Zen, more to do with Douglas Harding.