The Dual And The Non Dual

A Dharma Talk for the Tallowwood Sangha. Originally recorded during a virtual meditation sitting via Zoom, this talk focuses on one of my most considered topics, the dual and the non dual.

As this talk was originally recorded during a live Zoom meditation group, it may contain some imperfections. Thank you for your understanding :)

Transcript

So this format,

As Lucy said,

I'll give a reasonably short dharma talk and then open it up for any responses or questions you might have.

So when I give these talks you might have noticed that they're not straight Buddhist talks.

I think most of us are really familiar with all the teachings and I think for me it's been an opportunity to sort of express in my own way the understanding,

If you like,

Or insights.

And I think what's important is not that you learn anything,

Although that can be helpful,

But the actual action of listening.

I think the deep listening is what's really important.

It gives an opportunity to,

When we listen with great attention,

Then we find there's an incredible stillness in the mind and the consciousness can open up.

And with that stillness we can sort of then notice when the mind moves to sort of analyse or compare or agree or disagree with what's being said.

So it gives me an opportunity to share my reflections on different aspects that are not,

As I said,

Just sort of straight forward orthodox Buddhist teachings,

But have come over many years of inquiry and reflection.

Will,

I'm very sorry to bother you,

But can you make sure your microphone is not hitting your collar because it's making a strange noise whenever that microphone hits your collar?

Thank you.

Sorry to interrupt.

It was just going to be hard to hear.

How's that?

Perfect.

Much better.

Loud enough?

Yeah.

Thank you.

So saying all that tonight,

I'm going to explore,

If you like,

Inquire into what's known as duality and non-duality.

The dual and the non-dual.

And of course we're all really familiar with the dual way of seeing things.

It's our sort of fallback mechanism,

If you like.

It's what we're all familiar with,

The sense of self and other,

The duality,

The two.

So we've got a dual view of the world.

It's always in relationship to me,

To my experience.

So we're experiencing all the objects and what arises in our life,

In our consciousness.

We have this inherent perception that it is happening to me and I am the one perceiving it.

And so the eye becomes the subject and all that arises becomes the object.

So it's subject,

Object,

Duality.

So in a non-view,

The world of objects inherent in this view sort of falls away.

And the sense of the self being the subject also falls away.

So we lose this perception,

If you like,

Of subject,

Object.

So there's a unity,

A oneness in life,

If you like.

It's not fragmented.

However,

If we inquire,

I think,

Into these two ways of seeing,

We can see that actually there's not a great difference between the two,

Although there appears to be at the beginning.

And what I mean by that is just the difference becomes less obvious because however,

Because when we inquire into the dual and the non-dual,

We start to realize that it's all about this subject object play.

And sometimes we can be the subject,

Aware of the object,

But we can also be the object of our awareness.

You with me?

So when we're in this still and open space,

Through awareness,

We become the object.

So at the one time we are the subject and the object.

So it becomes the distinction between the dual and the non-dual is not so clearly defined.

So if we become the subject and the object all at once,

Then the usual idea that we are always the subject,

Experiencing the object,

Tends to fall away.

So this is the tendency to be the experiencer.

So this is the way we've been conditioned.

We've been conditioned to think that at all times we are the experiencer and everything we experience is related to the self.

And this is the usual,

As I say,

Conditioned response of how we see the world.

And I'm not saying this in any,

Putting any value on this,

That it's a bad way to see the world or this isn't the way we should see the world.

But this way of being locked into seeing the world does become problematic.

And a lot of the spiritual traditions actually say that that's where all the suffering arises in the duality of things.

But I'm going to sort of question that a little bit.

However the dualistic view is also the basis of all our inquiry.

It's the basis of all the technological advancement in the world.

It's a way we investigate and explore.

So I think to quickly dismiss the dual way of seeing things can be problematic as well.

But if we're imprisoned in the dualistic view,

If we're always thinking that everything is relating to me and I am the one perceiving,

Then we're missing out on other possibilities of how we can see the world.

And of course the non-dual,

Which we have all had experiences of,

Those moments,

Retreats in nature,

When that sense of separation between us and the world falls away and we feel an incredible connection with all things.

It's a beautiful experience,

If you like.

It's where the conditioning falls away,

The past falls away,

And there's only that moment,

Beautiful connection.

It can be an exquisite moment.

And this is a beautiful way to see reality.

But I'm wondering if there's any other way of viewing the world,

Seeing the world,

Besides this dual view,

If you like,

Between the dual and the non-dual.

And the non-dual can,

In many spiritual traditions I know,

Is really seen as up there.

That's where we're striving for.

That's the way we hopefully would always see,

Experience the world.

But I think this is problematic as well.

This is why I'm saying,

Are the dual and the non-dual so different?

And should we try to dismiss one and strive for the other?

If we explore the non-dual,

In a way we find that it is dependent on the dual.

And I mean that when I say,

Because the subject is dependent on the object,

They're mutually dependent on each other.

And if we didn't have a dualistic view,

We wouldn't know what the non-dual was.

We wouldn't recognize it.

And maybe we can come around to the view that both these are just ways of seeing the world.

And neither needs to be problematic or some ideal that we strive towards.

So if we begin to understand the world in a more open and less defined way,

If you like,

Not clinging to one or judging another,

This is just appropriate,

Which is arising at this moment.

And I think that's what takes the problem out of the situation.

It's the clinging to or getting caught in one way of seeing that doesn't allow the flexibility.

Yes,

It's beautiful to have those moments of non-dual perception,

But we're never always going to be in the non-dual.

We wouldn't want to be,

Because we couldn't function efficiently in the world.

We also don't want to be caught in the non-dual all the time,

So that we don't get a sense of the great expansiveness and deep connection we have with all life.

So both together create a harmonious life,

If you like,

And balanced life.

So both ways of seeing the world are dependent on the mind that distinguishes the differences between the two.

The dual perception of the world is a very limited view,

If you like,

Because it's missing the deep connection,

The underlying,

Dependently arisen nature of life.

The non-dual is missing the exquisite differences between things,

The amazing and incredible evolution,

If you like,

Of difference,

And how wonderful it is to have the myriad expressions of life in all their flavours and all their colours and all their sounds.

So freedom,

I feel,

Is not being caught in either,

Appreciating both.

Seeing the world in a dualistic way is not a problem,

It doesn't have to be a problem.

It's the being caught in that view that is the problem.

Is the mind free enough to see the world in myriad ways without getting stuck or without getting some ideal of how we should see the world?

It should all be one.

We should always be in that meditative state.

Then we're not putting a pressure.

We can appreciate life in all its diversity.

So I don't think we can say life is dual or non-dual or both.

It's just how we perceive in that moment.

And neither one,

There's no ultimate reality in here.

Because what's beautiful is the great mystery.

And not being able to define is just so wonderful,

It's so creative.

So I suppose I was saying what?

The freedom to move between mind states.

The freedom to move between different ways of seeing the world and different perceptions.

Without any of them being problematic.

That's where I think the suffering falls away.

Because it's the contraction and the pressure that creates the suffering.

It's a clinging to the past and to one view or one way of seeing the world.

Thank you very much for listening,

For your deep listening.