by John Wheeler

John Wheeler worked at Ready Systems in California when he posted regularly to soc.religion.eastern in early 1991, often drawing on a tradition of non-dual Advaita Vedanta he was studying under a living teacher. His posts generated significant response — sometimes skepticism, sometimes gratitude — and he engaged each reply with patience and care. This post, from late May 1991, is his most careful attempt to explain the convergence of Madhyamika Buddhist philosophy and Advaita Vedanta on the question of non-duality.

Wheeler's central argument is that the two traditions — though beginning from different premises regarding the self — arrive at the same realization. Nagarjuna's negation of all conceptual opposites, he argues, is not nihilism but preparation for direct awakening to "Suchness." Vedanta's self-inquiry, following the "I" to its source, arrives at the same non-dual ground. The hand metaphor — thumb as subject, fingers as objects, hand as the underlying non-dual reality — is his clearest illustration of the insight.

Wheeler reminds his readers at the close that this is all at the verbal level, and that the living reality is only known "in the presence of the awakened." The reminder is its own teaching.

If I was to say what kind of path it is that I follow, perhaps it is best to call it the path of non-duality. The term non-duality has several implications. One is that it refers to a state or realization of that which lies beyond all conceptual opposites. In this sense, it is (I believe) in accord with the philosophy of Nagarjuna. Another aspect of non-duality has to do with awakening to the fundamental unity of all that exists. In this respect, it accords with the philosophies of non-dual Advaita Vedanta and Taoism.

Non-duality holds that the essence of all beings is identical to the Supreme reality, whether that reality be called Brahman, God, the Tao, the Void, Consciousness, the One Mind, the Buddha Nature, etc. Non-duality views the various traditions of higher philosophy as various modes of expressing the same fundamental truth. Since the realization of the truth of non-duality is not theoretical or intellectual (and thus cannot be gained by reasoning alone), non-duality stresses the importance of receiving this teaching in a living context, directly from a realized sage. This is not to say that it is impossible to realize "on one's own," but that for practical purposes, it is simply much faster and easier to gain the immediate experience in a living context.

In the discussion in previous postings we were talking about the nature of consciousness and the relation of subject and object. The question arose: Is there a subject that remains independent and unaffected by objects? And is consciousness itself a transcendent, self-existent reality? One member of the Buddhist contingency maintained that to believe so is a fundamental contradiction of the basic tenets of that philosophy.

First let us look at the objects of perception, including thoughts. It is clear that all schools agree that the objects of perception are transient, impermanent, and do not contain any abiding or continuing entity or self. This is the position of Vedanta and Buddhism. The question arises when we look at the nature of the subject. Two possibilities arise: either the subject is relative and ultimately as transient as objects (Buddhism), or it is permanent (Vedanta). I would venture to say that both are accurate, as contradictory as it may appear. Why? Because if either approach is rigorously pursued it leads to the same experience. Thus in the end the issue is more semantic than real.

I believe the intent of Buddhist philosophy is to lead one beyond conceptual dualism — not simply to show that "nothing is real," which would be nihilism, but to prepare the way for the direct, non-conceptual realization of reality, sometimes called "Suchness," or the "Void." This experience is indescribable in terms of dualistic language, yet is certainly not non-existent. In fact, it is the heart of Buddhism. If you say that Buddha repudiated the existence of such a reality, that would not accord with his recorded teachings. I am sure you remember Buddha's response to being questioned about the existence of a higher reality. He remained "silent." In this silence was contained the direct, non-conceptual transmission of his realization. So, although Nagarjuna's philosophy negates all forms of dualism, it is only a preparation for direct awakening to Suchness.

Vedanta takes a different tack, yet arrives in the same place. By a rigorous and relentless inquiry into the nature of the "I," the seeker plunges into the depths of his own being, questing for what is real, what can be truly called "I." He comes to realize that nothing perceivable or conceivable can be called the "I." Even the notion that one is an ego, or separate self, is uprooted. Yet still there is an undeniable feeling of being and consciousness. Diving into the source of being and consciousness one finds it to be real, yet formless, non-dual, without objective characteristics. This substratum is beyond the subject/object duality, although it began with an inquiry into the subject.

Perhaps an illustration will make this clear. Let us say I hold up my hand. The thumb represents the "subject," the fingers represent the "objects" of perception (including thought), while the hand itself stands for the underlying, non-dual reality. Now, Buddhism says that the thumb and fingers (subject and objects) are unreal as self-existent entities. This is true, but you cannot deny the hand itself that lies beyond the duality of thumb and fingers. (If you try to do so, how can you escape the charge of nihilism?)

Vedanta says the fingers are unreal, yet says that the thumb (subject) contains an underlying reality. By tracing the thumb to its source, the non-dual hand is realized. In any case, whatever approach is taken, the end result must be the direct realization of non-duality.

This is all at the verbal level, however; the glory of it is known only in the presence of the awakened.

Colophon

Written by John Wheeler ([address removed]) at Ready Systems, California, and posted to soc.religion.eastern on 21 May 1991. Wheeler was a student of Advaita Vedanta who participated extensively in the group's ongoing comparative philosophy discussions.

Preserved from the UTZOO Usenet Archive (University of Toronto, shiftleft.com mirror) for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: [email protected].

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