Month: September 2023
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Steps In Understanding The Perennial Nondual Teaching
1st Step: The Near-ubiquity Of Dukkha It dawns on you, often very slowly, that disappointment, sadness, anger, restlessness, and so on and so on and so on aren’t separate, self-enclosed episodes. They’re actually instantiations of one basic “thing,” which is dukkha. This can be a real shocker. 2nd Step: Dukkha Points To Samsara After a while,…
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Opening To The Inner Child
Dear So-and-so, Go With Whatever Clicks The perennial nondual teaching is always fresh. At this present moment, one goes with whatever “clicks.” If something doesn’t click, it may in the future. If the word “samskara” doesn’t click right now, then set it off to the side. The central point: you set aside whatever doesn’t presently click…
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Clues For Starting Samskaric Inquiry
Basic Argument 1. We find, stunningly so, a great clue in the teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi. This is that all thoughts stem from an I-thought (my parsing: that is, at least one I-thought or another). We should take this insight very seriously. Doing so will bring us into samskaric inquiry. 2. A samskara is a false identification…
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Nisargadatta’s Mature Teaching From 1979-81
Nisargadatta’s Mature Teaching Start with bondage and “go back”: L1: Individuality = Personality = Bodymind = Body-identity or Body-consciousness L2: Beingness L3: Absolute state. “Nothing is.” Maharaj’s Chief Question for Sadhakas Where are you? That is, where are you located? The Practice: Masculine & Feminine Approaches The masculine approach (cf. Chan on the huatou): The feminine…
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Going Beyond The State Of Non-thought
Non-thought You got it. There is a state beyond thought. Zen calls it (sometimes) “no-thought” or “non-thought.” This is a good step in the right direction. Be keen here. Opening Up Of Sensorium In the absence of thoughts, there can be, at least initially, a greater sensitivity to the senses–to touching, tasting, seeing, hearing, and…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 