Dear A,

Maya = Lila

1. The finite mind, which is where I may inadvertently take my stand, sees a separate, seemingly independently existing world. Thus, from the point of view of the finite mind, Brahman, or Absolute Reality, is veiled–by name and form.

2. From the point of view of the Self, all experiences reveal Me, the Self.

3. Both are right: maya is the appearance of illusion, the appearance of experience veiling the Self while lila is the revelation of the Self as all experiencing.

Ex) A mirage seems to be veiling the sand that it really is–until it’s understood that the mirage is nothing but sand. For the ignorant one, the mirage seems to be hiding the Self. Yet the Sage delights in the appearance, which is none other than the shining forth of the Self. For the Sage, appearance is the appearance of the Self and thus it is the play of the Self.

Step 1: Self & Non-self

• The discrimination teaching rightly begins with the provisional distinction between the Self and the non-self, between the subject and the object, between the Seer and the seen.
• At this early stage, the witness teaching (meaning: that to which all experiences are appearing) is introduced. The witness is like the background to which all objects–the world (= perception), the body (= sensation), and the mind (= thoughts and feelings)–all appear.

Step 2: Space-like Nature of the Self

• After it’s clear that the Self is that to which all experiences appear, then this is sublated. In place of “background/foreground,” we put a subtler superimposition: space.
• Thus, it’s said that the Self is like space: it’s vast, open, empty, boundless. And it’s that in which all experiences appear.
• Now, then, it must be seen directly that all experiences–all thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions–are appearing within the Self.
• Note that this understanding is more intimate and, in that sense more true, than the background/foreground understanding.

Step 3: Pervasion

• Then another sublation occurs: the space metaphor is replaced by a saturation or pervasion metaphor: just as water pervades a sponge, so the Self pervades–or permeates–all experiences.
• This will need to be explored experientially to see that it’s true.

Step 4: Collapse

• Finally, the subtle duality between the Self and all arisings/experiences will need to be explored in order to reveal that all experiences are made only of the Self.
• Just as the waves are nothing but water, so experiences are nothing but the Self.

* * *

Some Sticking Points

• You feel that there are dualities between
  • the Self and certain thoughts
  • the Self and certain feelings
  • the Self and certain judgments
  • the Self and the doer
• These can all be explored.

With kindness,

Andrew