Friday, April 10, 2009

Non-Dualism

I was raised as a Christian Mystic Dualist. In the Christian system of thought there is a very clear definition of right and wrong, good and bad. However, as I evolved and grew up I began to see that the people I called "white Magic" or good people were not necessarily good in an evolved way of seeing them. They in some ways were the most elitist and selfish of people who wanted to appear to do good but in the end appeared mostly to be self serving. This crashed my notion of Good and bad in a Christian context. I began to see these people as "Sunday only" Christians who got rich, cheated on their wives(or husbands) etc. In other words these people were only hypocrites(saying one thing and doing another).

So, I began to look for a better system. So, I began to hear about another concept based upon being "Clear" rather than being "White" or "White Light". In this new system, life was based entirely upon being kind to oneself and to all other beings. I found myself drawn more and more to this much fairer system.

When most people try to live in their Christian systems it tends to be pyramidal in structure. In other words there are a lot of struggling suffering people on the bottom and as one moves up the structure the system is narrower and narrower. But on top to me, it appeared that the people on top were suffering in some ways as much as the people on the very bottom. It's just that the people on top were better educated and richer. This seemed to be the only real difference.

So then I encountered this 'clear' or non-dualistic system where people could all be equal. In this system I found I could treat everyone as brother and sister and feel good about myself whether I was rich or poor. And that my self worth was entirely based upon the kindness and good will I generated towards myself and all beings in the universe in all times and space. Then I began to see that real wealth both spiritual and physical is generated in this way by helping not only oneself but all beings in all times in all ways. This system was so incredibly powerful that I began to work both as a mystical Christian but also as a Tibetan Buddhist because I realized that using this system is preferable to the one I was taught and is not in contradiction to my core beliefs of Jesus and the Resurrection. And mystically, I realized that this is the system that Jesus actually used to become able to multiply the loaves and raise the dead.

So, then Non-Dualism I suppose from my perspective would be the capacity to see all life is suffering just like I suffer. My first reaction to this is sympathy. My next reaction is that I need to have compassion for all beings in the universe that are suffering just like me. My next reaction is to try to figure out how this can be done pragmatically and efficiently so that all of us move quickly towards inner peace and enlightenment. So I metaphorically build my Boeing 747 to fit as many beings a possible to take us all to enlightenment as quickly as possible. Then I build my space ship that holds millions. Then I build my planet that holds billions. Then I build my solar system that holds trillions. Then I build my galaxy that that holds quadrillions. and on and one I go seeing all beings as my past life mothers and as my children that I need to care for.

This point of view is so incredibly amazing and powerful I can't even express this with words. I know it is what Jesus did too. Try it!

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