Can someone explain Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism)?

Deleted User March 26, 2021 at 09:08 1075 views 2 comments

I have been trying to grasp the idea that truth = lie, love=hate, good=bad etc. for years now. But I just can't seem to make it work for me. Yet my mind refuses to believe that this is just a bad philosophy.
Is there anyone here willing to explain it to me? Thanks

Comments (2)

Wayfarer March 26, 2021 at 09:12 #514768 0 likes

Read The Teachings of Ramana Maharishi who is an illustrious Advaitin guru, died 1960. He explains it well. Mind you, you may not like it, or respond to it, in which case Advaita might not be for you.

Reading Ramana Maharishi lead me to other Eastern teachers, notably Krishnamurti and then the Buddhist teachers, notably, Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki (the foundation text and teacher of the San Francisco Zen Centre). I practiced za-zen style of meditation, although admittedly under my own guidance, for a lot of years. You have to realise non-dualism, it is not a discursive or verbal discipline. Our western/verbal mind relies almost exclusively on discursive or symbolic mediation of understanding, non-dualism is very different to that, it’s basically a realisation of the non-difference of self and other, which can only grow out of attention and compassion. That’s why it is said to be a ‘way’, rather than a philosophy in the Western sense, although originally philosophy was also a way first and foremost.

Deleted User March 26, 2021 at 11:29 #514794 0 likes

Reply to Wayfarer Thank you so much!