Hi Marsha, I just got to this post to me. Thanks for the question and open dialogue. I am happy to present my opinion of neti-neti. I have the sense that you already know what it means. Any meaningful exchange should come through dialogue which is difficult in this format since while you can read my words, you cannot read the intonation of such, or look at my expressions while talking. Obviously the fewer words used is better (not this, not that is only four), but at the expense of misdirection I will try a few more. I will try to frame my exposition in MoQ terms, as I understand it.
First the small print so that my words do not get thrown to the wolves. This is my opinion, and I am not proclaiming a Truth, but a personal awareness. I can provide posted signs only. Any interpretation of these words is your responsibility, not my doing. I can be held responsible for further explaining what I write right now, and can also be responsible if I change my mind some time in the future (outside of the moments of this particular writing). Neti-neti cannot be subjected to the equations of words. Such an equation is a finger pointing. When I use the word "is", in some cases, it is with metaphorical intent. With that said, there are probably a thousand ways to explain neti-neti. First the part about what it is not. Neti-neti is not for creating an object. By saying that neti-neti IS something we miss the point. Such an action relegates the phrase into the static world. It is an awareness and not a Truth. It is used to bring about some enlightenment for those who are ready (I am not ready, by the way). One way to start is to present neti-neti 'as' Dynamic Quality. Now, that IS ineffable, and is also what you also correctly (imo) say. This of course does not explain anything. One way to get to neti-neti is through mindfulness. But, this is a technique and not an explanation. If we try to remove ourselves from the static world that our intellect creates, we are left with the moment. Let's call that the pre-intellectual although this is not quite correct, since the intellect also occurs in the moment. But at least this way I will conform with the vernacular of this forum. What is actually happening in the pre-intellectual? We cannot explain it, since in reality it doesn't exist but is evolving from nanosecond (or less) to nanosecond. Yet, we know personally that it exists. So, something that we know exists, but we can never find 'is' neti-neti. It is not an illusion or delusion by any means, it is very real. I could go on, but I will leave it at that for feedback if you wish. Your interpretation will certainly help me grow. Cheers, Mark On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 11:56 PM, MarshaV <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Mark, > > I really would like to hear from you on the subject of 'neti-neti' - > 'not this, not that.' I suppose I use it to cut through the fog of my > mental assumptions, to remind myself that these patterns are > ever-changing, interdependent, and impermanent. If I am > greatly misinterpreting the phrase, please correct me. I will > seriously consider what you say. > > > Marsha > > > > > > > > ___ > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org/md/archives.html > Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
