Author: Andrew Taggart

• June 29, 2021

  Positing Promised Lands

  What is one of the greatest hindrances to beginning the existential inquiry into the Unborn, what Buddha called “the noble search”? The Six Hindrances in Buddhism refer to hindrances for one who is already on the path, but what of those who keep overlooking the path, who don’t see the path as a path in…
• June 26, 2021

  Overview Of Core Nondual Teaching: Doctrine, Method, Paths

  I. Core Nondual Teaching 1. There is just one Reality. 2. This Reality is “transcendent” as well as “immanent.”  It is transcendent in the specific sense in which it goes beyond (a) all kinds of finite minds, (b) all kinds of physical bodies, and (c) all kinds of worlds or universes. That is, Reality as…
• June 25, 2021

  ‘Your minds And Mind Do Not Differ’

  Rinzai said, “Your minds and Mind do not differ” (The Record of Linji, p. 18). A student asked, “What about the state where ‘mind and Mind do not differ?” Rinzai replied, “The instant you ask the question they are already separate, and essence [Mind] differs from its manifestations [minds]” (p. 18). Do you see? The…
• June 21, 2021

  A Very Brief Comparison Of Christian And Eastern Mysticisms

  I’m only a fifth of the way into The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, ed. Bernard McGinn, but, boy, is it good. True, the excerpts in this volume are quite short, though, it should be added, these are intended to be appetizers, the point being to entice one to read the primary texts in full.…
• June 19, 2021

  The Necessity And Futility Of Seeking

  Chan master Linji (Jap. Rinzai) is addressing an assembly of students: “What are you seeking? Everywhere you say, ‘There’s something to practice, something to obtain.’ Make no mistake! Even if there were something to be gained by practice, it would be nothing but birth-and-death karma” (The Record of Linji, ed. Sasaki and Kirchner, p. 17).…