Saturday, September 5, 2015

Advaita - Nonduality and the Tension of Opposites

Truth always seeks unity. Truth does not tolerate contradiction. Understanding the truth is a dynamic operation of thought that requires the "tension of opposites" to unfold. Hegel's thesis - antithesis = synthesis describes this, as does Gurdjieff's affirmation - negation = reconciliation. The nature of duality is paradox. Truth is the acceptance of both extremes of paradox. It is an insight gained from the reconciliation of point + counterpoint.

We live in a tension of opposites, spirit and flesh, energy and matter. We "think" in a tension of opposites, objective rationale and subjective intuiting/feeling. Even our objectified opinions create a tension of opposites. (also called coincidence of opposites - Heraclitus (5th c BC), Nicholas of Cusa, De Docta Ignorantia (15th c CE) and also Kabbalistic sources)

Ultimately, truth is nondual (Advaita). It never picks one side over the other. It always reconciles both. Nondual awareness is enlightenment. All mystics are aware that they think this way, both objectively and subjectively, rationally and with intuition/feeling. God of the mystical heart and mind is the absolute nondual reality of Ultimate Awareness. "Ultimate awareness, the vast and unlimited consciousness of the divine, is also the nature of mature enlightenment."

~Wayne Teasdale, generously adapted.
Art from embodhiment.wordpress.com

Be Still.

_/\_Peggy @ ecumenicus