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Greg108
29 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 17 2007 : 7:57:20 PM
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On Saturday December 8th I am hosting a talk given by John Wheeler on Advaita. This lineage of Advaita is in the tradition of Nisargadatta Maharaj, as taught to John by Bob Adamson. I often describe Advaita as a Hindu tradition very similar to Zen Buddhism, especially the early expressions of it in China. Advaita is a very down to earth, straight to the point kind of seeing into our own natural and innate sense of being. I have been exploring Advaita recently and John has been a great guide and friend. The meeting is usually part talk and part Q & A, so please come with any questions you might have about the search for the Self and the end of suffering. Please RSVP me if you think you and or a guest are going to make it, I would like to get an idea of how many people will be in attendance.
Take care
Greg
When:
Saturday, December 8th.
2pm-4pm
Suggested donation $5-$10
Where:
103 International Blvd.
Oakland, CA. 94606
(510) 593-0165
Use Yahoo Maps to find us
Parking is available right next to our building.
John's website: http://thenaturalstate.org/index.html
There are no realized persons, since the whole point is to see that you have never been a person at all. So in seeing this, who is left with any characteristics to speak of? You are pure non-conceptual awareness itself, which is not a body, mind, person or any other concept, idea or thing. You are "no thing". So what attributes does "no thing" have or need? No-thing does not mean a vacuum or void. In spite of being no thing, you ARE. And what you are is aware. And what you are is perfectly whole, complete, adequate, untouched, beyond manifestation and at peace. This is also the source of life, energy and intelligence of all that appears. There are many pointers to what you are. All are inadequate because you are not a word!
-John Wheeler-
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2007 : 08:11:17 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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Balance
USA
967 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2007 : 11:46:25 AM
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Hi Greg. The meeting with Wheeler sounds great! Wish I could attend but am too far away. I'm a fan of John Wheeler, and though I haven't talked to him yet, I think he would be very capable of clearing up remaining doubts about what is and is not our true nature. I think anyone here on the forum that lives near you might enjoy the meeting. Please let us know how it goes.
Here's some more "pointers" from his website. He posts new ones frequently. Notice though the paradox in his use of the reference to "I" in presenting a concept. There is apparently still an identity of a self at least for the purpose of relating. What he talks about is seeing through the illusion of a separate self that suffers; bondage, grasping, clinging, to thought etc.:
"The basic truth is your identity as awareness or consciousness itself. In the last analysis, all that appears is non-different from this consciousness presence. Thus, non-duality. This is the main aspect, but there is more to it than just this. There is what I call the "mechanism" of suffering. It is the notion of the presence of a limited sense of self or "I". Once this notion kicked in, we went looking to define that "I" in the images and identifications created in the mind. The problem is that you are not in the mind. In fact, there is no "I" at all. It is a false assumption. However, as long as it is operative, the energy of belief propels us back into the mind, searching for reality, identity and happiness — for the assumed separate self."
"The mechanism of suffering keeps us in apparent bondage to the mind. So it needs to be seen and understood. The binding thoughts are images in the mind that revolve around the sense of "me". The belief in that "me" keeps the whole network in motion. If the "I" notion is examined, you find that you are not a separate "I" at all. In fact, there is no separate "I" present. It is only assumed. When you see this, you can no longer give this concept any belief, and, by extension, all belief and concern in the self-centered mental concepts is removed. A little bit of looking is all it takes to confirm this in your own experience."
"Clarify what you ARE. That is all that need to be done. Nothing will be attained, only a clarification of your identity. You already are what you are. You will see in the end that all you are, even now, is being-awareness. These are two words for the same thing. How far are you from being? How far are you from awareness? If you are distant from these, you may speak of progress. If you are not distant, then the only reasonable alternative is to drop the concept of progress and BE WHAT YOU ARE."
"Self-centered thought makes an reference to a assumed self that stands apart from awareness. This notion is the ego or "I" thought. But is this concept true? Examine it and you will find it is a false notion. There is no "I" standing apart from awareness. So everything the mind refers to about a false self (the one who needs to progress, etc.) is false. The purpose of spirituality is to see what you are, and also to drop or release the belief in the assumed separate person or ego. How to dissolve the ego? Look for it. Since it is not present, this looking will dissolve the belief in its reality. You remain as you are and always have been, pure presence-awareness itself. You are that here and now. Just confirm this basic fact."
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Edited by - Balance on Oct 18 2007 12:35:36 PM |
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Balance
USA
967 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2007 : 12:32:50 PM
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| By the way, I think this type of "teaching" may work best when one has reached the point where all beliefs have been dropped, and just a few remain, like the bare-bones thoughts on self-nature |
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Greg108
29 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2007 : 03:14:26 AM
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Hi Balance,
From my experience, John is the real deal. He cuts right to the chase and keeps you there. I have exchanged numerous emails with him and attended many of his talks; it has been truly a liberating experience. His pointers and sharing remind me of something Zen Master Eihei Dogen said “To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever.” John points to the fact that all we can know is that we are. We cannot doubt that we exist; no one can say that they are not. Beyond knowing that we are is a movement into the mind and into thought; we leave our direct experience of life and trade it for a memory or a fantasy of the future. The approach is two pronged. First it is seen that we are, that we exist. Second is a gentle seeing of who or what we are? I would say this is a kind of Neti Neti. This is what John calls the basics and from my perspective is all he is ever saying or addressing. Just like in Byron Katie’s The Work, a radical disbelief in the minds stories is called for, this disbelief to me is the sum total of the teaching. The first and final belief is in the “I” itself, that upon investigation is found to be absent.
“Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.
Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.
Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.”
-Lao Tzu-
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Balance
USA
967 Posts |
Posted - Oct 21 2007 : 11:56:05 AM
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Neti Neti  |
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John Wheeler talk in Oakland CA. December 8th
