The Taboo of Enlightenment. One of the most popular Buddhist teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area these days is not a Tibetan lama or a traditional Zen master but an unconventional, an American-born lay teacher named Adyashanti. His public talks and dialogues (which he calls satsangs, a term borrowed from India’s Advaita, or "nondual," tradition) attract hundreds of seekers, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. At a satsang I attended recently at a church near Lake Merritt, in downtown Oakland, Adyashanti sat on a large chair at the front of the hall, flanked by flowers. After a period of silence and a brief dharma talk, in which he focused on "the futility of seeking what we already are," he invited members of the audience to engage in dialogue with him.
One man asked about the value of a regular meditation practice, and Adyashanti observed, "Whenever you aren’t manipulating your experience, you’re meditating. —Stephan Bodian I didn’t reject anything. How did this solitary investigation finally bear fruit? What Is Advaita or Nonduality? What is Advaita, or nonduality? Advaita means nondual or "not two. " This oneness is a fundamental quality of everything. Everything is a part of and made of one nondual conciousness. Often the question arises, "If it is all one thing, why don’t I experience it that way? " This is confusing oneness for the appearance of sameness.
To continue with the hand analogy, your fingers are all made of the same substance. But what about your experience right now? As an experiment, just notice your fingers and the palm of your hand. Now, notice the simple sensations you are having: the sounds you are hearing, the sensations of touch, and the objects and events you are seeing.
Then, where does the source of the sound stop and the sound itself start? Nondual consciousness is the natural state. The Advaita truth of nondual consciousness, or oneness of Being, has often been thought of as something hidden or difficult to experience, when it is quite ordinary and available in every moment. "Really? " Alan Watts - The Religion of No Religion. Adyashanti True Awakening. Adyashanti - Different Qualities of Awakening. Adyashanti - Deconstructing Your Dreams. Adyashanti - Fear Of Insanity. Adyashanti - Simple Awareness. Watch Video. Amongst White Clouds Part 1 of 6. The Wisdom of Surrender - Eckhart Tolle.