The Highest Teaching

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Greg Goode [goode]

Wednesday, February 02, 2000 2:43 AM

NondualitySalon ; NondualitySalon

Re: [NondualitySalon] Andrew/ re: highest teaching

 

Greg Goode <goode

 

This is talk about words - but most advaitins prefer to use the term

fullness or the Self instead of emptiness. The fullness of the Self is

Sat-Chit-Ananda. In Buddhism, this is not normally said of emptiness.

Some, like Vivekananda, like to say that the plenum of the advaitin *just

is* the void of the Buddhist. But most Buddhists and most followers of

Shankara don't talk this way... To some extent, whichever way people go on

this depends on temperament and aesthetics.

 

 

I would agree with you Greg and add further that it also depends on the

actual pragmatic Knowledge and Experience of different modes of

consciousness, and seeing the underlying foundation (or lack of foundation)

behind the nature of experience. Let us be very clear about this. Just

because some one is an "Advaitin" does not mean they have Knowledge of the

Self and can speak of it in any meaningful way (other than the usual quotes

from scriptures).. Naturally such a person might indeed find the Buddhist

notion of "Emptiness" to be depressing. And Just because someone calls

him/her self a Buddhist does not imply an understanding of the true nature

of Emptiness. So for such a person to suggest that Emptiness is a higher

form of teaching than Sat-Chit-Ananda may just be an attempt to engage in

the usual intellectual gymnastics. Advaitins and Buddhist at very high

levels of spiritual attainment can differ in their views. At the very

highest level, however, we see the merging of perspectives. The ones with

the highest understanding are usually silent even when others create a

commotion about the nature of Reality.

 

My experience is that the Self as Sat-Chit-Ananda is Both the Fullness of

Consciousness and the Total Emptiness from which all things originate. The

two notions appear different only from the perspective of the mind which by

nature is caught up in diversity. In the Knowledge of the Self, You are the

Self. You are the Perceiver and the Perception and yet there is Absolutely

Nothing to Perceive. You are the Emptiness from which you are born. If we go

behind the feeling/awareness of the I AM, we can intuitively sense this.

Holding on to this intuitive sense of Emptiness which can be seen/felt in

the Present Beingness/Nowness and merging with it is a natural path for

some.

 

Love to all

Harsha