No, no circle at all. No "going somewhere, to get somewhere", at all.
The Absolute Truth - whatever name we want to call it: Brahman, Tao, Buddha Nature, or other names - is already here and now. Therefore, there is nothing to "attain", it is only about *realizing it,* not attaining or "getting" it. On Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 2:14 AM Ernest Prabhakar <[email protected]> wrote: > But is there a sense of genuine progression, versus mere circularity — or > return? > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 16, 2026, at 22:58, Beaches & Nature fan <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Interesting stuff. > > I know in some of the nondual traditions, the absolute truth, i..e, the > ultimate reality, cannot be perceived by the mind or senses. > However, simultaneously, this ultimate reality is **everything**, without > being exclusively any one thing. > > In Buddhism, there is the phrase "form is none other than emptiness, and > emptiness is none other than form", in the Heart Sutra. Emptiness and Form, > therefore, are never divorced. > > In Advaita Vedanta, there is Nirguna Brahman, i.e. the "formless Brahman", > and Saguna Brahman, i.e., Brahman with form, with attributes. Nirguna and > Saguna are never divorced. > > Thus, Being and Becoming, while both are vital, are never divorced. There > is not even a nanometer of separation. > > > On Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 1:43 AM Ernest Prabhakar < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> What it would take to solve the metacrisis… >> >> >> >> https://2transform.us/2026/01/15/becomingness-the-unthinkable-metaphysic-we-need-now/ >> >> Becomingness: The Unthinkable Metaphysic We Need Now >> >> >> >> >> January 15, 2026 >> <https://2transform.us/2026/01/15/becomingness-the-unthinkable-metaphysic-we-need-now/> >> >> Write as Pierre Hadot <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Hadot> about >> how this solves modernity’s metacrisis >> <https://www.artberman.com/blog/metacrisis-getting-honest-about-the-human-predicament/>. >> >> ChatGPT Prompt (condensed) >> >> I. Philosophy as a Way of Life, Not a Theory >> >> Modern philosophy has forgotten something essential: >> philosophy was never primarily a discourse *about* reality. >> It was a *practice that transformed the one who engaged in it*. >> >> In antiquity, metaphysics was inseparable from *formation*. >> To speak of reality was already to be invited into a different way of >> living within it. >> >> From this perspective, the contemporary fixation on *Being* or >> *Non-being* is not merely an intellectual error. >> It is a *spiritual displacement*. >> >> What has been lost is not a concept, but an *exercise*. >> II. The Blind Spot of Being >> >> Western philosophy, beginning with *Parmenides >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parmenides>* and systematized by *Plato >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato>* and *Aristotle >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle>*, sought stability. >> >> To know reality meant to grasp what *is*. >> >> This produced extraordinary achievements: >> >> - logic >> - science >> - metaphysics >> - law >> >> But it also imposed a silent cost. >> >> Reality became something to be *described*, not *entered*. >> Truth became something to be *stated*, not *undergone*. >> >> The question *“What is real?”* replaced the more ancient and more >> dangerous question: >> >> *“What kind of life allows one to participate more fully in reality?”* >> >> III. Why Becoming Was Never Enough >> >> Some modern thinkers attempted a correction by emphasizing *becoming*: >> >> - *Heraclitus <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclitus>* in fragments >> - *Alfred North Whitehead >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead>* in process >> - *Gilles Deleuze <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Deleuze>* in >> flux >> >> But becoming, left to itself, dissolves into neutrality. >> >> If everything becomes, then *nothing is at stake*. >> >> Ancient philosophy never accepted this neutrality. >> Change was always judged by whether it led *upward or downward*, toward >> *truth >> or dispersion*, *integration or loss*. >> >> What was missing was not the idea of becoming, but a way to speak of *better >> and worse forms of becoming without freezing them into static states*. >> IV. Becomingness as a Spiritual Category >> >> *Becomingness* names precisely this forgotten dimension. >> >> Not: >> >> - being >> - non-being >> - mere change >> >> But *the degree to which a life remains capable of further >> transformation toward truth, unity, and participation*. >> >> This is not a theoretical abstraction. >> It is a *lived criterion*. >> >> Ancient philosophers would have recognized it immediately—not as a >> doctrine, but as a *measure of spiritual progress*. >> >> - Is the soul more unified or more scattered? >> - More attentive or more distracted? >> - More capable of communion or more enclosed in itself? >> >> These were never answered conceptually. >> They were answered *existentially*. >> V. Spiritual Exercises as the Guardians of Becomingness >> >> In the ancient schools, philosophy consisted of *spiritual exercises >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_exercise_(philosophy)>*: >> >> - attention >> - self-examination >> - contemplation >> - dialogue >> - disciplined desire >> >> Their function was not moral improvement in the modern sense. >> >> Their function was to *increase becomingness*: >> >> - to enlarge the soul’s capacity to receive reality >> - to prevent the hardening and closure that makes further >> transformation impossible >> >> From this perspective, vice is not primarily “*wrong action*.” >> It is *the consumption of becomingness*. >> >> And virtue is not rule-following. >> It is *the preservation and intensification of the soul’s openness to >> the real*. >> VI. Why This Metaphysic Is “Unthinkable” >> >> Modern philosophy resists becomingness because it cannot be cleanly >> systematized. >> >> Becomingness: >> >> - unfolds in time >> - resists final definition >> - implies irreversible loss and growth >> - binds truth to practice >> >> It therefore *cannot be safely contained within academic discourse*. >> >> It demands something more unsettling: >> >> that philosophy once again become a *way of life*. >> >> VII. Why We Need It Now >> >> Contemporary culture offers: >> >> - endless experiences >> - unlimited information >> - constant stimulation >> >> Yet it quietly destroys becomingness. >> >> People feel intense, but become shallow. >> They choose constantly, but are formed by nothing. >> They desire endlessly, but become less capable of transformation. >> >> This is not a crisis of meaning. >> It is a crisis of *ontological formation*. >> >> Becomingness names what is actually at risk. >> VIII. A Final Ancient Insight >> >> The ancient philosophers never asked whether a doctrine was *true* in >> isolation. >> >> They asked: >> >> *Does this way of thinking make one more capable of living in truth?* >> >> By that criterion, *becomingness* is not merely plausible. >> It is necessary. >> >> Not because it solves a theoretical problem, >> but because it restores philosophy to its original vocation: >> >> *the slow, demanding, and irreversible formation of a life capable of >> reality.* >> ------------------------------ >> Appendix: Pierre Hadot >> >> Who, When, Why >> ChatGPT Prompt >> >> A. Who >> >> *Pierre Hadot <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Hadot>* (*1922–2010*) >> was a French philosopher and historian of ancient philosophy best known for >> radically reframing what philosophy *is*. >> >> He argued that, in antiquity, philosophy was not primarily: >> >> - a system of doctrines >> - a theoretical discipline >> - an academic specialization >> >> but a *way of life*, sustained through *practices* meant to transform >> perception, desire, and character. >> >> Key identity markers: >> >> - Historian of *ancient philosophy >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_philosophy>* >> - Interpreter of *Stoicism <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism>*, >> *Platonism >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonism>*, and *Neoplatonism >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonism>* >> - Bridge between classical philosophy and *spiritual formation >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_formation>* >> - Major influence on contemporary thinkers across theology, >> philosophy, and cultural theory >> >> ------------------------------ >> B. When >> >> - *Born:* 1922, Reims, France >> - *Died:* 2010 >> - *Active intellectually:* 1950s–2000s >> >> Historical context matters: >> >> - Formed in post–World War II Europe (*World War II >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II>*) >> - Witnessed: >> - the collapse of grand metaphysical systems >> - the rise of *analytic philosophy >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytic_philosophy>* and *structuralism >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuralism>* >> - the professionalization of philosophy within the modern >> university (*philosophy of education >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_education>*) >> >> Hadot’s work is, in part, a response to the modern loss of philosophy’s >> *formative >> and existential power*. >> ------------------------------ >> C. Why He Matters C.1 His Central Insight >> >> Hadot’s core claim can be stated simply: >> >> *Ancient philosophy aimed at the transformation of the subject, not the >> construction of theories.* >> >> Doctrines existed to *support practices*, not replace them. >> >> This reframes: >> >> - ethics → *formation <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_education>* >> - metaphysics → *orientation >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleology>* >> - truth → *lived participation >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participation_(philosophy)>* >> >> This is why his work resonates so strongly with the concept of >> *becomingness*. >> ------------------------------ >> C.2 Spiritual Exercises >> >> Hadot recovered the idea of *spiritual exercises >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_exercise_(philosophy)>* — >> concrete practices meant to reshape how one inhabits reality. >> >> Examples include: >> >> - *attention <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention>* to the >> present moment >> - imaginative rehearsal of loss or death (*memento mori >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori>*) >> - *self-examination <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Introspection>* >> - *dialogue <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method>* >> - contemplative perception of the whole (*contemplation >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemplation>*) >> >> These were not “*techniques for happiness*,” but *ontological >> disciplines* — ways of increasing one’s capacity to live truthfully. >> ------------------------------ >> C.3 Key Works >> >> - *Philosophy as a Way of Life >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_as_a_Way_of_Life>* (*1995*) >> - *What Is Ancient Philosophy? >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Ancient_Philosophy%3F>* (*1995* >> ) >> - *The Inner Citadel >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inner_Citadel>* — a study of *Marcus >> Aurelius <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius>* and *Stoic >> philosophy <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoic_philosophy>* >> >> Across these works, Hadot shows that: >> >> - philosophical schools were *formative communities* >> - doctrines were *pedagogical tools* >> - truth was inseparable from *practice* >> >> ------------------------------ >> C.4 Why He Fits *Becomingness* So Cleanly >> >> Hadot never used the word *becomingness*, but his entire project >> presupposes it. >> >> He assumes: >> >> - reality can be participated in *more or less* (*degrees of being >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_chain_of_being>*) >> - the soul can become *more unified or more dispersed* >> - practices can *increase or diminish one’s capacity for truth* >> - time and repetition matter ontologically (*habit >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habit>*) >> >> In the language of becomingness: >> >> - spiritual exercises *increase becomingness* >> - distraction, vice, and mere experience *consume it* >> >> Hadot gives historical legitimacy to this claim without freezing it into >> metaphysical abstraction. >> ------------------------------ >> D. Why Hadot Is Increasingly Relevant Now >> >> Hadot becomes urgent in late *modernity >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernity>* because: >> >> - belief no longer reliably forms people >> - information no longer produces wisdom (*information overload >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_overload>*) >> - experience no longer guarantees transformation >> >> What remains effective are *formative practices*. >> >> Hadot provides: >> >> - a vocabulary for non-coercive formation >> - a model of philosophy beyond ideology >> - a way to speak about meaning without reducing it to emotion or >> opinion >> >> ------------------------------ >> E. One-Line Summary >> >> If the modern crisis is that people are *experiencing more and becoming >> less*, >> Pierre Hadot reminds us that philosophy originally existed to ensure the >> opposite. >> >> That is why he would recognize *becomingness* not as a theory, >> but as a *recovered truth about what philosophy is for*. >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> -- >> -- >> Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community < >> [email protected]> >> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism >> Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/RadicalCentrism/E217060B-19BC-4B55-B947-722EE12452DF%40gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/RadicalCentrism/E217060B-19BC-4B55-B947-722EE12452DF%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community < > [email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/RadicalCentrism/CAK2f1434L-zmd01akpLSfZzhKXuB9s9g9-y5itxNxYLYQYn%3D7Q%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/RadicalCentrism/CAK2f1434L-zmd01akpLSfZzhKXuB9s9g9-y5itxNxYLYQYn%3D7Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community < > [email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/RadicalCentrism/3CC70282-743C-4F16-B641-2A14E238B4CB%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/RadicalCentrism/3CC70282-743C-4F16-B641-2A14E238B4CB%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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