Here's one simple way to understand the principle of non-duality.
Consider a fraction.
Numerator and denominator.
In the numerator,
It's a variable.
X.
And in the denominator,
It's a constant.
I like to use infinity.
The numerator x variable could be anything.
It could be you.
It could be me.
It could be a pen.
It could be a tree.
Any seemingly separate thing could be in the place of the X.
But underneath every x variable is the constant.
Infinity.
But you could also call this things like.
God.
The Tao.
Reality.
The universe.
All of these are capitalized because they refer to something beyond the word.
They refer to the thing.
That runs through everything,
Every seemingly separate thing.
Our suffering tends to arise when we attach to just the X,
And that's what causes all the conflict in the world,
All the attachment in the world,
All the judgment and hate and greed.
It all comes from the feeling of being separate.
And the answer to that is to feel the underlying infinite that runs through everything.
And there's a nice quote from Thich Nhat Hanh that helps express this that we can maybe close with.
And it goes like this.
Enlightenment.
Is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.
Enlightenment is when a wave realizes.
It is the ocean.
But you're still the wave,
You're still the X.
Yes,
You are the wave.
But really,
Most deeply,
You are the ocean.
And there's always the possibility to see the ocean and experience the ocean and feel the ocean through another way.
So maybe as you go about your day.
The next person you see.
Or the next anything that you see.
Can you see and feel?
The ocean.
Two waves resting in the ocean together.
Non-duality.
