Can Non-Duality Really Be This Simple?

Seeking a deeper understanding of non-duality, a man references four characteristics of the nature of awareness – that awareness is ever-present, inherently peaceful, unconditionally fulfilled, and that it knows no separation. What else does he need to understand?

Rupert says: ‘These are statements that the finite mind makes about awareness. They are valid with reference to the mind’s previous experience, but they are like thorns that have been used to remove a thorn – the thorn “I am eternal” has been used to remove the belief “I am temporary”; and the thorn “I am inherently peaceful” has been used to remove the thorn “I am agitated”, and so on.

The next step you have to take is to experience awareness just how it is – in its own experience of itself. You’ve thrown away the first series of thorns, but now you have to throw away the second, until there’s just the pure “I am”, and no other knowledge.’

*This video is from one of Rupert’s in-person retreats at Mercy Center, 18–25 October 2024. For more information on upcoming retreats (many of which can be attended online via livestream) go to:

Timestamps:

0:00 The Experience of Awareness
0:40 Limitations of the Finite Mind
1:44 What Else Do I Need to Understand?
3:15 Qualities of Awareness
4:41 Awareness’s Experience of Itself
6:19 The Pure ‘I Am’
7:08 Is Non-Duality This Simple?

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RS24196g

[lindalangdon]

The man asking the question is so lovely ❤

[spookyaction]

The need to put words to it, therein lies the rub.

[INFINITYDGLORY]

Beautifully said...
I greatly admire, love, and feel a sort of kinship with all those who have stumbled upon this path of knowledge of self.
The love that I feel for all that is
can't be put into words.
Oh and my favorite is
AWARENESS is ALL accepting,
It knows no resistance.
I'll never forget the exact day,
time, and place that I first tasted
the truth behind these words.
"Something" remains undisturbed
even in the midst of disturbances.
"Something"
Already automatically accepts ALL that is.
It doesn't even resist resistance.
And Indeed, it is only the mind that hates the mind. Its only the thoughts and feelings
that fan the flames of personhood,
naturally creating turmoil from sense
of lack and sense of separation.
But it's only the mind that hates this turmoil
and says to it that it should not be.
What happens when we
Question that one who dares say,
"that which is should not be so or
it should be different."
To be in harmony with that
absolute acceptance of all that
IS IS honestly a beautiful place to be.
❤️‍🔥😁❤️‍🔥

[ramasatyanarayan]

As per my understanding all this discussion about what's awareness is only to make a person to get rid of his ego created by his illusion and let him know that there's no individual doer and God who is none other than awareness is all in all.

[thienf]

The clarity of Rupert's teaching and pointing is amazing 😀🙏👍!

[mikg]

I feel the question of Subbhuti in Prajnaparamita sutra was just after this one, before well gone and stay with compassion.

[samc]

An ok answer from Rupert, but the student is very clearly still marooned on his island of separate self "I-thought", where he absolutely exists as the I-thought ego with a list of things to do and skills to master in order to have his achievement...

[awakenotwoke]

Referring to Awareness as an entity..".it has never suffrered, it has never had the experience."..etc. creates a model in the mind that continues the confusion.The ego mind is trying to grab awareness as a thing, a vehicle for the fulfillment its desires. The latest, most ambitious, grandiose and esoteric, which is Enlightenment.
The best we can do is intuit the profound, subtle, and ungraspable emptiness of ourselves. We cannot Know it. Knowledge requires duality. Non duality is really that simple.

[MaartendeJager]

Awareness is split into duality by the causal mind.

One has to cultivate, develop ones ability to not be in the mind, and to recognize when pulled into it and react accordingly.

The mind as servant, rather than a master. It has to be seen for what it is and controlled.

[wattaura]

'No thing to understand', so 'I' just stand, still how 'AM' I to understand nothing above or below.

[ambrosia]

Yeah I listen to him once in a while and try try to delve into it but
After all is said and done it just leave me back to bhakti yoga, in the end I tried to give up speculation and focus on the lotus feet of the Lord and chanting the names of the Lord

[VedantaGorilla]

The questioner knows what awareness is, but he is not being guided to that fact and so his "recognition" of that and the ensuing confidence in it is needlessly postponed.

He needs to be informed that he is still actively including his ego (sense of individuality) when he thinks of awareness, so that his attention is freed from the burden of its limitations.

Those limitations belong only to the ego, not to the/his Self, existence shining as limitless, ordinary, unborn awareness.

Rupert is great but he misses an opportunity to offer this individual the knowledge with which he can be relieved of this suffocating belief.

[carlt]

Interesting to frame this through the psychological lens Bernardo Kastrup uses:- i.e. viewing our finite minds, our complex biological systems (our small 's' - selves) as disassociated alters .
We might then consider that 'Awareness' (Consciousness/God etc.. choose your label) is 'inherently peaceful', 'knows no separation' etc.... only because Awareness is disassociating from Its own suffering .
(If I'm not mistaken, this is at the core of C.G.Jung's -"Answer to Job"?)
Maybe it's time for 'Awareness' to confront Its own unconscious - do Its shadow work. Disassociation only leads to repeating the same old patterns.
Hey Awareness - "Wake Up" :-)

[tomashultgren]

Spira confuses his followers because he uses logic in his attempts to explain and he doesn't even understand login. He is the big confuser.

[chiptowers]

The penny dropped " my foot", that the subject is aware of the limitless.
Just because the so called teacher said, " experiencing the universe inside of you" and then the subject said the awareness is even bigger than " space time".
What is this so called teacher selling. It's only false teachings.

Awareness can never be bigger than space time nor the limitless because if there was no existence of space time or limitless, then there would be nothing awareness could be aware of, because there would be no awareness initiated for space time/limitless to show awareness that it's there, thats because awareness was initially implemented by space time/limitless.


And to simply prove that is that your lineage inception manifested from the elements of the Universe and transcended. hello!, if there was no universal matter or space time or the limitless, you wouldn't exist to be aware of anything. And due to Universal matter of elements and biology, you are DUALITY in more ways than one and therefore not non-duality.

Awareness does not exist, especially in the Universe, because it's not required, because the Universe is random, therefore the Universe has no sensors for awareness to inform the random Universe.

As for Buddha, well it's better than Margarine.

[nir]

I'm sorry, but it seems to me Spira is talking nonsense. The person presented himself as effectively enlightened. Spira shot him down by indirectly implying he wasn't enlightened and then congratulated him on his "spiritual" progress. That's major BS, because there simply are no stepping stones, milestones, or ladder toward enlightenment. You either completely are or completely aren't. Saying there's "work left to be done" is the oldest trick in the questionable guru handbook.

[kilzm]

How beautiful friendship conversation ☀🌹❤🙏

"Because of this, the Prophet, God bless him and give him peace, said, Whoever knows their self, knows their Lord.
He also said, I knew my Lord through my Lord.
What the Prophet pointed out by that, is that you are not you but you are Him and there is no you.
It is not that He enters into you or that you enter into Him, or that He comes out of you or that you come out of Him.
That does not mean that you have being and you are qualified by this or that attribute.
What is meant is that you never were and never will be, whether through yourself or through Him or in Him or with Him.
You have neither ceased to be nor are you existent.
You are Him and He is you, without any of these imperfections.
If you know your existence in this way, then you know God, and if not, then not."
Extract from "Know Yourself: An explanation of the oneness of being" by the 13th century Sufi Awhad al-din Balyani

Eternal Gratitude Rupert Spira 🙏

[wattaura]

"Awareness is who? I AM". 😉( short & witty meaningless b.s., because it's all b.s. at *-the end of the day-*. At least there was minimal effort here that kinda just 'flows' ). 🙃💦😁✌🩵