Hello everyone
From: Kevin Perez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [MD] dualism
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 05:30:18 -0800 (PST)
Hello,
I posted and participated in discussions here from mid 2005 through
early 2006. Since then my curiosity with things philosophical, mystical
and scientific has lead me to Eckart Tolle, JR Searle and countless bits
and bites on the Internet. I traveled to Fordham University recently to
listen to Richard Rohr speak on "Jesus as the First Non-Dual Teacher in
the West." And references to Ken Wilber keep cropping up. I hope to
read something of his one of these days. I have also maintained a
connection to you all, albeit one way, through http://lists.moqtalk.org/.
Lately (maybe longer than I care to admit) my curiosity has been
focused on dualism. Dualism, or rather its resolution, is clearly, to me
anyway, the impetus for the MOQ. And it seems to me that dualism is
at the root of most if not all of the big questions. Are spirituality (or
mysticism) and religion, wisdom and education, mind and matter,
subject and object and being and knowing each a pair of polar opposites
or is there a oneness to be found?
[Dan
Hi Kevin
It's good to hear from you again. I'm sure I haven't the ability to answer
your questions properly but I thought I'd take a stab at sharing with you my
thoughts. Mind and matter are simply two sides of a coin, as Einstein showed
with his famous equation E=MC². The oneness is found by simply expanding
one's point of view.
[Kevin]
And if oneness is not an illusion then
how is it realized?
[Dan]
By seeing past the illusion.
[Kevin]
I believe that true life is realized when things that seem to be separate
and dualistic are held together, not balanced. And that this is difficult.
Is this what Buddhist's mean when they say "life is suffering?"
[Dan]
Robert Pirsig recommends Steve Hagen's book "Buddhism Plain and Simple" and
I do too. Hagen likens suffering to a wheel being out of balance so I think
you are correct in saying that suffering occurs when we separate the self
from all else.
[Kevin]
And I
believe this is what Richard Rohr means when he says "The path of
prayer and the path of suffering are the only paths that can break down
dualistic thinking."
[Dan]
I've heard Rohr's name but I know far too little of his work to comment.
Whether these are the only paths, I don't know. From what I understand, the
Buddha tried both paths yet only came to his realization after he'd given up
and simply sat silent. But again, I am not a Buddhist and there may be
others here who can give you a better answer.
Thanks again for writing,
Dan
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