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#3839 -
Thursday, March 18, 2010 - Editor: Gloria Lee
The Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
Coincidentally on St.Patrick's Day, I happened to find an Irishman, Kenneth Madden, on Urban Guru Cafe. And he just happens to be into art, music, writing and nonduality. You can look over his Gallery of Photography while listening to his delightful accent in the interview that also has Irish music. ( For more good music, see the links on his website.)
False-imagination teaches that such things as light and shade, long and short, black and white are different and are to be discriminated; but they are not independent of each other; they are only different aspects of the same thing, they are terms of relation, not of reality. Conditions of existence are not of a mutually exclusive character; in essence things are not two but one. *Lankavatara Sutra
http://www.kennethmadden.ie/?page_id=12
http://www.kennethmadden.ie/?page_id=2
They say that a picture paints a thousand words. In order words the picture can be pointed to by an infinite number of words but they are never what they point to, they are never the picture. Words are the “finger pointing to the moon” they are beautifully dualistic. Of course a photograph is simply light reflected-a dance of light, yet it is beyond any interpretation or description of it. For me this simply shows that life is so immediately and intimately present that any need to understand it or describe it falls away.
Posted March 8, 2010 By gilbert
Kenneth Madden is from Galway, Ireland, and is a relatively unknown ’speaker’ on Non Duality. That ‘relatively unknown’ is about to change and many will enjoy Kenneth’s expression, simple and direct. This is it – just as it is. He is also an accomplished photographer and you can see some excellent examples of his work on his site.
His Blogsite is here.
It’s a bit of fun and it’s high time too – a good laugh may just nudge its way out of an overly concerned seeker’s big wooly pullover.
http://urbangurucafe.com/2010/03/08/talk-about-nothin-kenneth-madden/
Understanding is of no importance
when it comes to Non- Duality. The word Advaita (meaning Not Two,
I use Advaita and Non-Duality interchangeably) points to
something that is totally beyond understanding. It is a very
interesting subject (and the equivalent of watching paint dry for
many, if not most), but getting your teeth into it and
understanding it and being able to discuss and describe it in an
intellectual or intelligent manner is of no relevance what so
ever. There are many who are claiming to be liberated and have an
enormous intellectual grasp of the topic and clearly there is
still a personal agenda, clearly they are still offering
something to the individual. The language used is very similar to
other uncompromising messages (e.g. there is no one, this is it
etc) but there is still something on offer to the individual and
the ‘teacher- student’ game is played out, even though
the teacher is claiming not to be one.
Non-duality or Advaita then becomes the last refuge of the
individual who is under threat. It is fodder for the mind. It
becomes the new, best concept in town as it were. There can be a
certain clarity that it brings which eases the search for the
individual in the sense that it is seen that there is nothing
that can be done. That is not liberation however, understanding
that there is no separate individual is not liberation as there
is (apparently) a separate individual left who understands that.
Understanding is seen as king when in fact it has nothing to do
with what is in fact being sought. Understanding simply arises in
being, is it just another apparent happening. It is of course
married to ignorance or confusion. One is dependent on the other
for existence.
What is being pointed to has no room for the concept of duality
or non-duality/Advaita. It has no room, no space for concept. It
is so immediately THIS and so simply and obviously what IS that
the Duality - Non Duality debate has as much significance as a
leaf scattering along cold concrete. Wholeness arises as confused
message and wholeness arises as a clear message.
The juicy sweetness, the boundless freedom of everything, the
unconditional love that is This is speaking to you always and is
totally beyond understanding. It is already what is, already
this. What is being sought is already what is. So simple, so
open, so ordinary and also totally beyond any effort to describe
its beauty.
Amazing.
Posted by Kenneth, (December 10, 2009 at 12:34 am).
http://www.kennethmadden.ie/?p=1016