| The perennial philosophy "nondual" spiritual traditions | | | | or push away the unpleasant, wanting it to disappear, |
| (such as Nisargadatta's Vedanta, and Tibetan | | | | that we suffer and lose our innate equanimity and |
| Buddhism's Dzogchen) hold that existence involves a | | | | freedom. Vipassana gives us many insights that we |
| monistic, enduring, unchanging, absolute reality and a | | | | need if we are to understand how trapped we |
| dualistic, ephemeral, constantly-changing relative | | | | usually are in this relative realm. |
| reality. Through the practices that I describe in my | | | | Although Vipassana does not introduce us to the |
| book Toward Wisdom, I too have come to see that | | | | absolute, it is designed to help us see much that |
| this is the way it is. Describing the situation in words | | | | must be seen, and in my view (and that of most |
| has always been tricky, but I found that certain | | | | Buddhist teachers) it is the place to start. We first |
| "information age" concepts clarify the situation. | | | | need to learn to quiet the mind and look with |
| The way I put it in a Zygon paper and in Part 1 of | | | | detachment at the relative reality into which we are |
| my 2004 book Matters of Consequence, the | | | | heavily immersed and identified. The Tibetan Buddhist |
| absolute reality, the foundation of all that is, is a | | | | practice of Dzogchen and the Advaita Vedanta of |
| oneness that has both a physical aspect we call | | | | Nisargadatta, on the other hand, seek to introduce us |
| energy, and a mental aspect we call awareness. | | | | to the absolute. Yes, underlying the relative world of |
| Energy and awareness are carrier-like in nature. That | | | | mental information, and allowing it to exist, is that |
| is, they can be shaped, or formed, or modulated by | | | | enabling something we usually call awareness. It is |
| information without their own nature being in any | | | | contentless, yet supportive of all content; |
| way changed. Although informational modulation does | | | | informationless, yet supportive of an infinite variety |
| not cause the intrinsic nature of energy-awareness to | | | | of informational modulation. It is clear, transparent, |
| change, it does cause a relative reality to arise. This | | | | not a thing. Other terms for it include: |
| relative reality is a transient, insubstantial informational | | | | • innate wakefulness |
| reality. Physical reality is a relative world of | | | | • natural mindfulness |
| information supported by the absolute-reality-carrier | | | | • primordial awareness |
| we call energy. Mental reality is a relative world of | | | | • empty, luminous cognizance |
| information, supported by the absolute-reality-carrier | | | | • everpresent, inherent, utterly spacious openness |
| we call awareness. | | | | • inexpressible beingness |
| The evolutionary process, with its pass/fail criteria of | | | | • isness |
| survival and reproduction, designed the human brain | | | | • one's own true nature |
| and its associated mentality with survival and | | | | • rigpa (Tibetan for this reality) |
| reproduction as primary considerations. The cognitive | | | | • nondual awareness |
| system that evolution designed helps us to | | | | • total presence |
| understand relative reality because it is in this arena | | | | • open presence |
| that the drama of survival and reproduction is played | | | | • spontaneously present awareness |
| out. Human mentality was not designed to allow us | | | | • the cognizing power of emptiness |
| to understand absolute reality with ease because | | | | • one's own innate wakefulness |
| there was no survival or reproduction payoff in that. | | | | In Dzogchen and Nisargadatta's practice the aim is to |
| Now, in kinder, gentler circumstances, we want to | | | | become cognizant of this absolute aspect of mind, |
| understand the deeper truth — absolute truth | | | | and in some sense to become it — to relax into it |
| — and we find that very difficult. And why | | | | or identify with it and to view the relative world of |
| shouldn't it be difficult? We're trying to use the | | | | information from that vantage point. Awareness is |
| human cognizing system for a different purpose. It | | | | noninformational, so it doesn't appear as the normal |
| was designed to give us a handle on relative, | | | | kind of mind content. Even in meditation, the colors |
| informational truth, the truth about the cosmic | | | | we see and the bliss we feel are still part of the |
| message; not absolute truth, carrier-related truth, the | | | | relative world of brain-generated information. Allowing |
| truth about the cosmic medium. | | | | us to sense those colors and feel that bliss, however, |
| Spiritual practices are tools that give us some hope | | | | is this primordial awareness, this cognizing power that |
| of seeing through the relative to the absolute. | | | | belongs to the realm of absolute reality. Our deep |
| Vipassana meditation is a practice that gives us a | | | | true nature is that primal awareness itself, and not |
| better handle on the nature of relative reality. We | | | | those things in the informational, relative world that |
| watch, with as much detachment as we can muster, | | | | we take to be our selves. The problem is that mental |
| the informational show that the brain generates. | | | | information, mind content, is so powerful and |
| Despite our best efforts, however, we frequently | | | | overwhelming, and our identification with it so |
| get lost in that show — we lose that sense of | | | | tenacious, that letting go of our identification as a |
| detachment from it. Experiencing both detachment | | | | thought-dominated person and surrendering into our |
| and lost-in-the-showness, we eventually come to | | | | true nature — into our own innate wakefulness |
| realize that this lost-in-the-show state is where we | | | | — does not happen easily. The detachment we |
| spend most of our lives. The normal human condition | | | | develop in Vipassana readies us for this. Then, (as I |
| is to be identified with informational patterns, with | | | | see it) at some point it makes sense to switch to |
| the relative reality that the brain creates. In | | | | one of the absolute-reality practices. |
| Vipassana we are still paying attention to the relative, | | | | In one sense, the difference between Dzogchen and |
| but because we are more detached from it than | | | | Vipassana is quite subtle. In both practices the |
| before, gradually, bit by bit, insight by insight, we | | | | informational arisings in the mind are watched with |
| begin to see the nature of relative reality. We begin | | | | detachment. The difference is that in Dzogchen and |
| to see the impersonal nature of the brain's churning | | | | other nondual practices one is also cognizant of the |
| out of information. There is no "I" that is doing it. It | | | | underlying ground or carrier of that information — |
| just happens mechanically, automatically. We also | | | | that "primordial awareness," that "utterly spacious |
| discover that the informational stuff that arises has | | | | openness," that "empty, luminous cognizance." It |
| no inherent power. With practice we learn that it's | | | | remains, enduring and pure, unaffected by the |
| possible to watch even physical discomfort and | | | | coming and going of the modulating forces applied to |
| heavy emotions such as fear and anger without | | | | it. Primal awareness watches the show of relative |
| suffering when we accept that informational reality | | | | reality. And that pure contentless awareness is the |
| and refuse to give it power by trying to get rid of it. | | | | true me. I can choose to participate in the show at |
| We see that it is our reaction to the information that | | | | any time, but I am not of that show. I am of the |
| binds us and disturbs us. Pleasant or unpleasant stuff | | | | realm of absoluteness. That is my true home, and |
| has no power as long as we remain detached and | | | | my refuge from domination and control by mental |
| simply watch it arise and disappear on its own. It is | | | | information. |
| when we cling to the present, wanting it to continue | | | | |