Posts Tagged ‘Members’
Is the World an Illusion?
Some text books on non-dual philosophy tell us that Shankaracharya designated the ultimate Reality by the term ‘nirguna Brahman’ or quality-less Brahman. They say he thought this was quality-less, changeless and beyond the realm of cause and effect. If we are to look, therefore, in his system for the cause of the universe of qualities…
Read MoreThe Truth-bearing Mind
Perhaps Aristotle is right when he says that the truth expressed by poetry is profounder than the truth expressed by history because it is a more general truth and more universally applicable. When one considers the profound knowledge of human nature which we find for instance in Shakespeare’s plays or Tolstoi’s novels, we can see…
Read MoreWhat Did Descartes Certainly Know?
It is well-known that the philosopher Descartes, while searching for some truth beyond all doubt, observed: Je pense, donc je suis. He restated this idea in various places, once in Latin, as: Cogito, ergo sum. The phrase is widely known as The Cogito and is usually translated into English as ‘I think, therefore I am’.…
Read MoreBasho’s Pilgrimage
Many would regard Basho (1644-1694) as the foremost Japanese poet. His poems and written works—chiefly short travel diaries—are regarded as classics. Basho is of interest to students of the non-dual teachings because his life was a quest for ultimate fulfilment, and his writings, with their freshness and beauty, often contain deep insights. By birth and…
Read MoreGiordano Bruno, Friend of Truth
It is precisely among the heretics of every age,’ wrote Albert Einstein, ‘that we find men who were filled with the highest kind of religious feeling, and were in many cases regarded by their contemporaries as atheists.’ These words are well applied to Giordano Bruno, the Italian philosopher and poet, who was burnt at the…
Read MoreEducating the Mind
Men’s natures are alike. It is their habits which carry them far apart. Confucius The Chinese sage, Mencius, was once asked by a disciple how it was that while human nature is common to all men, some are great and some small. Mencius replied that the important point was habit—the habit of following either our…
Read MoreNicholas of Cusa as Scientist
The conclusion of an article on ‘Cusanus’ that was begun in the Summer 2024 issue of this journal Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), known as Cusanus, saw nature as a symbol of the Divinity. But what he asked of a symbol was not so much force and liveliness as clarity and certitude. ‘Nature’, he wrote, ‘is…
Read MoreDirect Experience of Reality
What is the chief concern of the non-dual philosophy? It is to awaken us to a life-experience that brings lasting fulfilment. This greatest gain is not the result of any worldly success or achievement. Rather, it is uncovered in the depth of our own being through developing a particular way of life and of thought.…
Read MoreThe Absolute as the Lord of Maya
From the Shankara Source Book, Volume Two, Shankara on the Creation The usages to which Shankara puts the term ‘Maya’ may be analysed briefly as follows. It is found in certain non-philosophical contexts in the non-technical sense of duplicity or dishonest dealings in the world, but these passages have no relevance to our present enquiry.…
Read MoreSeeing Beyond Differences
The practice of meditation involves both stilling the mind and filling the mind. The two overlap and have the same aim, which is to be free of what seems to separate us from what is most real and fulfilling in ourselves and in all. We find that stilling the mind relieves us of much tension…
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