Intellectual vs Experiential Understanding

Abstract: Understanding everything written so far in this blog, intellectually is not a big deal. Our human mind has the potential to contemplate, re-derive, re-define concepts, philosophies and everything. They all sound true and convincing at the same time to the "mind". This is due to the relative and interdependent nature of the concepts and mind. For instance, it is not difficult to understand the duality and non-duality even without any meditative experience, within the limitation of our consciousness. However that understanding is with respect to the "mind". Why this is not so fulfilling? This article sheds some light on that.

This is a conversation between a Zen master (not a teacher) and a disciple. 

Disciple: Master, I understand the concept of duality and non-duality. It is not so difficult to grasp. Now what ?

Master: Could you please give me an example ? 

Disciple: Basically the difference between opposite polarities, such as male-female, hot-cold, self-noself, individuality vs non-individuality, separation vs whole, emptiness-wholeness and their transcendance. 

Master: Woooow, you have wonderful answers. Mind if I ask, how the emptiness is opposite to wholeness ? 

Disciple: Isn't it so ? :O If something is empty it can't be whole, right ?

Master: What is your progress with meditation, ahh let me check........ 

I see, you have not come to the clear-light or no-mind state yet ? Continue on it. It is important not only to contemplate on your mind level, but also to go beyond it. 

Disciple: But what is the big deal here master ? How my progress is relevant to the understanding of emptiness-wholeness ? 

Master: See, now you understand all these opposite polarities with your own mind. Your mind perfectly discerns two opposite poles. Some people even cannot understand this. However you still haven't come to know the "no-mind", the opposite polarity of the "mind" itself. This can happen only through meditation. That is where you come to discern the opposite poles of mind. Earlier it was within mind. Now, parallel to the mind. 

Disciple: What is the point master ? We do not contemplate anything in no-mind state. To contemplate, differentiate, we always come to the mind. No-mind (satori/clear light) is only good for bliss ! Isn't it ?

Master: Any meditative absorption you encounter beyond mind allows you to experience a non-dualistic nature of its preceding stage. For instance, non-dualistic nature of the mind is experienced first in the first clear light absorption. Then you not only see the dualistic nature of the mind-made concepts, but also between mind, no-mind.

Fig. 1: Understanding the non-duality beyond mind level

In more religious sense, this could be referred to as the duality between God and human. Even though the first clear-light is experienced as the opposite pole of your gross mind, there is still an impurity to this state. Which means, you can go deeper in absorptions. Deeper you go, the more non-dual your being becomes. Then this experience reflects back to your normal mind in day to day life. 

Disciple: Still what is the point master ? We do not contemplate anything in no-mind state. To contemplate, differentiate, we always come to the mind. This is where we spend most of our time. Why struggling ?

Master: All non-dualities you experience during meditation then bring a shift to your normal consciousness. To the non-meditative mind. To the dynamic mind. At some point, the dynamic mind becomes always one with the un-interrupted Samadhi (Sambhogakaya or Holy Spirit). That mind is handled by the higher source and not the individual limited self. 

Disciple: This sounds like another paradoxical thing which simply complicates things. Or I could simply stay in my own understanding. What would you say to that master ?

Master: You do whatever you like. But your very mind knows, without transcending what it knows, its mission on this earth is not complete. The human mind was born to know the truth. It applies to all human minds, but each comes to know of it at different speeds. Even if you deny that now, your mind knows this. The deep layers of your mind knows this truth. 

Disciple: What can lead an ignorant person to the truth ? 

Master: The extreme conditions. You can be the poorest person or the richest person in this world, been through the worst suffering or growing with the greatest wealth on earth. But your conscience knows something is missing. Worst suffering and the greatest wealth both may lead you to the truth.

Disciple: Why worst suffering and the greatest wealth ? Can't it be in-between ?

Master: Whatever in-between, in the middle can't drive you upside down. So make sure you do everything to your fullest. Whatever you do to your fullest will liberate you. Then your mind gets the full experience of what you do right now. But it will not satisfy until it comes to experience the absolute truth. Which is beyond mind, or even beyond body! If you die without knowing these transcendental states, then it is like a bird dying without even trying its wings. 

Disciple: Okay, let me ask you. What is the thing between emptiness and wholeness.

Master: Only with the transcendental wisdom, one sees that the emptiness of one thing is the emptiness of everything. If a pot is not empty, it cannot become full. Unless you are empty, I cannot pour my fullness to you. That is why all the gurus of both east and west ask you to pray or meditate alone to know the "unknowable", without any companion. Letting yourself completely go. Totally !    

And it is because of this emptiness of the universe, the vastness was only possible. Only because of the emptiness of the Dharmakaya/Unknowable, many realities in the existence are possible. Otherwise this world would have been really dull. Whatever that inherently lacks its own nature, can produce multiple outcomes, being creative at the same time and therefore creation !!!    

Disciple: Sorry master, I cannot believe you. I want to be a simple human being. I am simply nobody. I want to live like that !

Master: I say the same thing. A simple human being is the one who found what is beyond his complex mind-body combination. This combination is the complexity. Once you know this truth, life is so simple and it is led by surrender ! The non-dualist can be a real non-dualist if he finds this truth. An atheist can be a real atheist by knowing this truth. A Buddhist becomes a real Buddhist by knowing the same truth. So does a Christian and a Sufi. After you came to know who you really are, you can be anybody. Even nobody ! 

      

Some Esoteric Ideas 

Disciple: Who is Adam and Eve ?

Master: To me, they are the first two dualistic energy decompositions from the fundamental energy. The masculine and feminine energy components to unite at the final enlightenment. In other words serving Rama/Sitha from Ramayana. They are always here and now.

Disciple: Why they are masculine and feminine ?

Master: The fundamental energy does not have any dualistic sense to it. So how can it know its state, its potential just by being dormant in that "pure non-duality" ? A newborn baby knows nothing about crawling at the beginning, but then it moves around a bit and learns it has a body, muscles and then slowly learn to crawl. Similarly, the fundamental energy (the awareness of that energy >> Read about awareness of energies) wants to know what it is. Then this awareness creates an energy imbalance in that state which then descends into two dualistic forms, Adam and Eve energies. Otherwise how the dormant fundamental energy creates something out of its initial state ? Energies have the same dualistic/non-dualistic nature.