[NonDualPhil] Nisargadatta on Consciousness

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On Oct 27, 2005, at 9:21 AM, Greg Goode wrote:

 

> NonDualPhil , Pete S <pedsie4@e...> wrote:

>

>

>> P: There, in the paragraph above, you have it. " IT'S NOT

>> CONSCIOUS, but IT gives rise to consciousness. Clearer it

>> can't be said.

>

> ===Yes it can. It's well known that Niz uses

> consciousness the way formal advaita uses the

> notion of the waking state. In his book Prior

> to Consciousness he talks about THAT which

> gives rise to consciousness. I don't have it

> at hand right now, but I think he calls THAT

> awareness. And says that awareness is prior

> to consciousness. He's more an advaitin that

> a Buddhist!

 

P: There are three obstacles as to what Nis

really meant when he used the 'C' and 'A' words:

 

1) he is dead.

 

2) He spoke Maratti, and the translators pick up

whatever term they thought fitted the context

of his talk. Nis had no way of correcting this.

 

3) He was answering questions from seekers

at different level of understandings. Many times

he seems to contradict himself on this, and other

points. In that same book answering another he

said; " The absolute is not aware of itself. "

 

Take for example what he says in

Consciousness and the Absolute:

" When you are in that state you are not aware

that you exist. "

 

>

> In early and MAdhyamika Buddhism, there is no

> notion of an underlying continuous unbroken

> awareness or consciousness at all.

>

> There are forms of Buddhism that do go in

> for the underlying consciousness. I'm

> reading a fascinating book right now that

> criticizes those forms of Buddhism as

> being not legitimate Buddhism. It calls

> them " dhatu-vada " teachings, and includes

> Ch'an, Zen, Pure Land, Yogachara, and

> most other Mahayana forms not-legitimate.

> Not only are these forms based on on a

> Hundu, non-Buddhist tenet system, but also

> they have led to all kinds of social

> injustices by supporting inequality and

> the status quo in feudal Japan and later,

> fascism. Quite a dramatic sensational

> argument!

>

> The book is called PRUNING THE BODHI TREE:

> THE STORM OVER CRITICAL BUDDHISM. Critical

> Buddhism is a big controversy in Japan right

> now, and laterly the West in academia.

> The " true " Buddhism that the book advocates,

> sheds all notions of underlying

> substrate notions such as awareness or

> Tathagata-Gharba or Buddha Nature in and

> the essence of everything. The only forms

> the book likes are Madhyamika and Theravada.

 

P: Yes, all those footholds must be left behind,

floating, voidness needs no foothold.

 

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