Seeing the Nature of Reality Through Buddhist Meditation

The perennial philosophy "nondual" spiritual traditionsor push away the unpleasant, wanting it to disappear,
(such as Nisargadatta's Vedanta, and Tibetanthat we suffer and lose our innate equanimity and
Buddhism's Dzogchen) hold that existence involves afreedom. Vipassana gives us many insights that we
monistic, enduring, unchanging, ABSOLUTE reality andneed if we are to understand how trapped we
a dualistic, ephemeral, constantly-changing RELATIVEusually are in this relative realm.
reality. Through the practices that I describe in myAlthough Vipassana does not introduce us to the
book TOWARD WISDOM, I too have come to seeabsolute, it is designed to help us see much that
that this is the way it is. Describing the situation inmust be seen, and in my view (and that of most
words has always been tricky, but I found thatBuddhist teachers) it is the place to start. We first
certain "information age" concepts clarify theneed to learn to quiet the mind and look with
situation.detachment at the relative reality into which we are
The way I put it in a ZYGON paper and in Part 1 ofheavily immersed and identified. The Tibetan Buddhist
my 2004 book MATTERS OF CONSEQUENCE, thepractice of Dzogchen and the Advaita Vedanta of
absolute reality, the foundation of all that is, is aNisargadatta, on the other hand, seek to introduce us
oneness that has both a physical aspect we callto the absolute. Yes, underlying the relative world of
energy, and a mental aspect we call awareness.mental information, and allowing it to exist, is that
Energy and awareness are carrier-like in nature. Thatenabling something we usually call awareness. It is
is, they can be shaped, or formed, or modulated bycontentless, yet supportive of all content;
information without their own nature being in anyinformationless, yet supportive of an infinite variety
way changed. Although informational modulation doesof informational modulation. It is clear, transparent,
not cause the intrinsic nature of energy-awareness tonot a thing. Other terms for it include:
change, it does cause a relative reality to arise. This• innate wakefulness
relative reality is a transient, insubstantial• natural mindfulness
INFORMATIONAL reality. Physical reality is a relative• primordial awareness
world of information supported by the• empty, luminous cognizance
absolute-reality-carrier we call energy. Mental reality is• everpresent, inherent, utterly spacious
a relative world of information, supported by theopenness
absolute-reality-carrier 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 tobecome cognizant of this absolute aspect of mind,
understand the deeper truth - absolute truth - andand in some sense to become it - to relax into it or
we find that very difficult. And why shouldn't it beidentify with it and to view the relative world of
difficult? We're trying to use the human cognizinginformation from that vantage point. Awareness is
system for a different purpose. It was designed tononinformational, so it doesn't appear as the normal
give us a handle on relative, informational truth, thekind of mind content. Even in meditation, the colors
truth about the cosmic message; not absolute truth,we see and the bliss we feel are still part of the
carrier-related truth, the truth about the cosmicrelative world of brain-generated information. Allowing
medium.us to sense those colors and feel that bliss, however,
Spiritual practices are tools that give us some hopeis 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 atrue nature is that primal awareness itself, and not
better handle on the nature of relative reality. Wethose 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 frequentlyoverwhelming, and our identification with it so
get lost in that show - we lose that sense oftenacious, that letting go of our identification as a
detachment from it. Experiencing both detachmentthought-dominated person and surrendering into our
and lost-in-the-showness, we eventually come totrue nature - into our own innate wakefulness - does
realize that this lost-in-the-show state is where wenot happen easily. The detachment we develop in
spend most of our lives. The normal human conditionVipassana readies us for this. Then, (as I see it) at
is to be identified with informational patterns, withsome point it makes sense to switch to one of the
the relative reality that the brain creates. Inabsolute-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 thanVipassana is quite subtle. In both practices the
before, gradually, bit by bit, insight by insight, weinformational arisings in the mind are watched with
begin to see the nature of relative reality. We begindetachment. The difference is that in Dzogchen and
to see the impersonal nature of the brain's churningother nondual practices one is also cognizant of the
out of information. There is no "I" that is doing it. Itunderlying ground or carrier of that information - that
just happens mechanically, automatically. We also"primordial awareness," that "utterly spacious
discover that the informational stuff that arises hasopenness," that "empty, luminous cognizance." It
no inherent power. With practice we learn that it'sremains, enduring and pure, unaffected by the
possible to watch even physical discomfort andcoming and going of the modulating forces applied to
heavy emotions such as fear and anger withoutit. Primal awareness watches the show of relative
suffering when we accept that informational realityreality. 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 thatany time, but I am not OF that show. I am OF the
binds us and disturbs us. Pleasant or unpleasant stuffrealm of absoluteness. That is my true home, and
has no power as long as we remain detached andmy refuge from domination and control by mental
simply watch it arise and disappear on its own. It isinformation.
when we cling to the present, wanting it to continue