Is anyone else interested in the concept of Nondualism?

quote:

Nondualism may be viewed as the understanding or belief that dualism or dichotomy are illusory phenomena. Examples of dualisms include self/other, mind/body, male/female, good/evil, active/passive, dualism/nondualism and many others. It is accessible as a belief, theory, condition, as part of a tradition, as a practice, or as the quality of union with reality. A nondual philosophical or religious perspective or theory maintains that there is no fundamental distinction between mind and matter, or that the entire phenomenological world is an illusion (with reality being described variously as the Void, the Is, Emptiness, the mind of God, Atman or Brahman). Nontheism provides related conceptual and philosophical information. Many traditions (generally originating in Asia) state that the true condition or nature of reality is nondualistic, and that these dichotomies are either unreal or (at best) inaccurate conveniences. The American philosopher William James saw nondualism as the culmination of the British Empirical tradition, and coined a word for it, sciousness, or consciousness without consciousness of self. But few of his contemporaries accepted his premise that nondualism was prime reality. While attitudes towards the experience of duality and self may vary, nondual traditions converge on the view that the ego, or sense of personal being, doer-ship and control, is ultimately said to be an illusion. As such many nondual traditions have significant overlap with mysticism.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nondualism

I have been reading a lot on Nondualism/Advaita Vedanta for the past year. If anyone else is intrigued by this philosophy, I recommend books by Nisargadatta Maharaj, U.G. Krishnamurti, and Jed Mckenna.

One of the classic philosophical mistakes it to take an insight which is valid in many cases and try to universalize it. It really looks to me like that's what happened here, because while there are certainly plenty of false dichotomies that lots of people believe in, it is equally a mistake to suggest that there are no valid dichotomies.

Just think about how many things can be reduced to ones and zeroes. It doesn't get much more dichotomous than that...

looks like a bunch of pointless mental masturbation to me. Does the "philosophy" have any real world implications or proposals for action?

to me it's more like:

Does any "philosophy" have any real world implications or proposals for action?

This philosophical ideal of reaching a non-dualistic state is by far one of the most daunting challenges while living on earth.

The easiest way to understand this concept of non-duality is by this example:

The non-dualistic approach of two 12 hour periods, where one part is broken up into light, the other 12 hours of darkness.

The Dualistic nature is that there is light and darkness.

The non-dualistic approach is to say that there is a day.

Tie this into living and dieing;
Being awake and dreaming;

Breathing and not breathing;


There are two sides of coin;
With out both sides the coin does not exist.

The non-dualistic approach is the union of two opposites.

Male and female coming together in union. . .
Life and death coming together in union. . .

Here we are and there we go

I also wrote a philosophical discourse on this in another thread as well, but it was about life and death, along with the union of consciousness and unconsciousness.

Might post it here soon

thanks DNA. Well put.

Basically, it's the inclusion of everything, the fullness of reality. Nothing is separate, all is one.

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Originally posted by Arbiter One of the classic philosophical mistakes it to take an insight which is valid in many cases and try to universalize it. It really looks to me like that's what happened here, because while there are certainly plenty of false dichotomies that lots of people believe in, it is equally a mistake to suggest that there are no valid dichotomies. Just think about how many things can be reduced to ones and zeroes. It doesn't get much more dichotomous than that...

1 + (-1) = 0

(1/2)+(1/2) + (-1) = 0

Two opposite combine to give zero which can be understood mathematically in infinitely many ways.

quote:

Originally posted by we_R_DNA The easiest way to understand this concept of non-duality is by this example: The non-dualistic approach of two 12 hour periods, where one part is broken up into light, the other 12 hours of darkness. The Dualistic nature is that there is light and darkness. The non-dualistic approach is to say that there is a day.

Looks like both dualism and non-dualism are 100% accurate to me. They both describe the same reality. Dualism just goes into a bit more detail.

Last edited by Capitalizt on Oct-20-2009 at 13:34

Wait, don't Nondualism and Dualism form a... Dualism?! OMG, mindfuck!

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Then stop coloring and visit Meat187's mix archive!

Last edited by Meat187 on Oct-20-2009 at 13:24

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Originally posted by Lomeli thanks DNA. Well put. Basically, it's the inclusion of everything, the fullness of reality. Nothing is separate, all is one.

I am stuck though between two worlds;
I am alive and living here on earth;]

The day ends and I go to sleep and have a dream
This seems like a separate place of existence because I am in the world of the abstract.

But the non-dualistic nature helps us realize that dreams are apart of reality. Perhaps the most vital part of reality in my opinion since society keeps preaching that dreams are not real.

Dreams are a reality and are very real, but who is the judge a dream while in the dualistic state of existence.

Where do dreams exist when you are physically talking about something in an abstract realm?

Why has most of humanity out casted dreams as being merely of fantasy?

Here we are on the verge of a union between two dualistic states;
Have you made your dreams a reality?

When dreaming, am I the character in the dream, or the source of the dream? Am I both?

These are the questions that should be asked.

quote:

Originally posted by Capitalizt Looks like both dualism and non-dualism are 100% accurate to me. They both describe the same reality. Dualism just goes into a bit more detail.

Yes, both philosophies describe reality;

Dualistic philosophy - separates reality into two completely distinct states of existence.

Non-Dualistic philosophy - Creates the Union between two completely distinct states of existence.

I think that since human civilization depends predominately on dualistic philosophical discourse and indoctrination of the masses;

we are left with manifesting separation of whole;

Here we are in a world of consciousness and unconsciousness;

What do we really know of the Union of both states of mind?

If anyone has managed to merge consciousness and unconsciousness into a fully unionized state of existence;

what type of being would they be?

I think that sure it is helpful to view reality as being two separate states of existence, but reality is necessarily both states at once.

So where do we begin to even grasp the notions of creating the union of consciousness and unconsciousness with out being in just one state at a time?

What would the union of consciousness and unconsciousness be like?

Are humans capable of creating such a union while in a conscious state of existence?