54: There are other types of skepticism—for example, Pyrrhonism—that don’t accept realism at all. See Greg Goode and Tomas Sander, Emptiness and Joyful Freedom, (Salisbury, UK: Non-Duality Press, 2013), chap. 17.
55: The senses are usually thought to include vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. We may even add a sixth, or intuitive, sense to the list.
56: Tattvopadesha refers to the logically connected presentation of all the direct-path teachings.
57: This is a kind of investigative proof-by-experience called “higher” because it’s able to investigate the mind itself. Since the mind can’t investigate itself (in the same sense that a knife can’t cut itself), the direct path calls this kind of subtle investigation “coming from awareness,” which is “higher” than the mind.
58: Judith Blackstone, “Embodied Nonduality,” Undivided: The Online Journal of Nonduality and Psychology 1, no. 2 (May 31, 2012): p. 10. http://undividedjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/embodied nonduality.pdf.
59: Ibid., comment posted July 10, 2012, at 1:58 p.m. Permalink accessed Feb. 28, 2015: http://undividedjournal.com/2012/05/31/embodied-nonduality.
60: Scott Kiloby, “Conscious Embodiment” (2014). Permalink accessed Feb. 28, 2015: http://kiloby.com/conscious-embodiment.
61: Berkeley’s most accessible book is Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists (1713). I heartily recommend the version found on Jonathan Bennett’s Early Modern Texts website (http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/berkeley1713.pdf). Professor Bennett has worked hard to update the language of Berkeley’s text and make it easier to understand for the modern reader.
62: See The Direct Path: A User Guide, pt. 3.
63: The Direct Path: A User Guide contains no investigation into the subject/object distinction involving other people. If I were to add such an investigation, a good place would be in part 3 of that book, in which I discuss the mind. At that point, readers have looked into the world and also the body, discovering that the world and the body are never experienced to exist independently of awareness. And then in part 3 they get to the mind, and they see through alienating metaphors such as “the ghost in the machine.” That would be a good place to look into the question of other people.
The reason I left this issue out of The Direct Path: A User Guide is that it’s already covered under the topics of world, body, and mind. The book features investigations about objects in the world. It looks into issues of body and mind quite thoroughly. Readers get to the point where they experience themselves as awareness and not as people.
64: Nitya Tripta, Notes, vol. 1, p. 42.
65: See Richard Rorty, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989), especially the introduction and chap. 4.
66: I say that “most” relativism is metaphysical because there are also non-metaphysical, ironic varieties of relativism. For a good example, see Ugo Zilioli, Protagoras and the Challenge of Relativism: Plato’s Subtlest Enemy (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007).
Greg Goode is known for a unique combination of penetrating insight, comfort with both Eastern and Western sources, and a down-to-earth sense of humor. He is author of Standing as Awareness, The Direct Path, and many popular articles, and coauthor of Emptiness and Joyful Freedom. Goode studied psychology at California State University, Long Beach, and philosophy at the University of Rochester and the University of Cologne. He became drawn to self-inquiry through the work of Brand Blanshard, George Berkeley, the Chinmaya Mission, and the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. Goode is a member of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (APPA), and serves as technical consultant for their peer-reviewed journal Philosophical Practice. He lives in New York City, where he enjoys literature, film, cycling, and spending time with his family.
Index
A
Absolute level. See level, Absolute
absolutism: 141
Advaita Vedanta: 27, 39-41, 43-45, 56, 112, 191, 193
American Philosophical Practitioners Association: 57, 59
Amoralism. See Amoralists
Amoralists: 48, 49, 53
Art of Happiness in a Troubled World, The (book by the His Holiness, the Dalai Lama): 45, 191
Ashtavakra Samhita (Vedantic text: 89, 92-93, 181, 193
Atma Darshan (text by Sri Atmananda): 19, 66-67, 89-95, 163, 191-193
Atma Nirvriti (text by Sri Atmananda): 19, 89-93, 95, 191, 193
Atma vichara . See Self-inquiry
Atmananda, Sri (Krishna Menon, 1883-1959): 1, 8
Atmananda Tattwa Samhita (text by Sri Atmananda): 89-90, 193
attention: 12, 19, 25, 27, 58, 66, 87, 97, 111, 134, 139, 142, 146, 148-152
awareness: 2-11, 13-14, 16-21, 23-26, 28-30, 34-35, 41, 43, 46, 50-51, 53, 62, 64-67, 71, 74, 78, 80, 89, 91, 95-98, 100-123, 126-127, 129-137, 139-146, 148-160, 162-168, 170-177, 179-180, 185-186, 194-195
B
Balsekar, Ramesh (1917-2009): 39, 192
bhakti yoga: 43, 87, 96, 99
Black Madonna (version of the Catholic Mary, depicted with dark skin): 44
bodily enlightenment: 142, 167
books: 1, 8, 26, 67, 78, 83, 85-89, 154, 194
Brahma (Hindu deity): 43, 101
Brahman (Vedantic name for the Absolute): 41, 43, 56, 67, 112
Brain, the: 25, 117-118, 122, 129, 166
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. See Upanishad, Brihadaranyaka): 193
Buddhism, Madhyamika: 27, 39-41, 44-45, 56
Buddhism, Pure-Land: 39
Buddhism, Tibetan: 2, 40, 117, 194
C
cause and effect: 158, 160
Christianity: 38-39
clarity: 4, 7, 9, 18, 29, 82, 97, 102, 105, 109, 113, 120, 125-126, 155, 158, 167, 169, 183, 193
Coherence (of the world): 162
communication: 2-3, 27, 58, 63, 68, 70, 73, 80, 90-91, 94, 180, 183, 186-187
compassion: 31, 33, 40, 44-45, 81
concentration: 22, 40, 42, 134
Conscious Embodiment (article by Scott Kiloby): 143, 195
Consciousness. See Awareness
Container (as metaphor): 25, 110, 122, 191
Contemplation: 67, 88, 91, 101-102, 106, 176, 180
critiques: 1, 23-24, 46, 49-50, 56
deconstruction: 1, 146, 165-166
Deep sleep. See Sleep, deep
despair: 106
devotion: 9, 43, 84, 87-88, 99, 182
Direct experience. See Experience, direct
Direct method. See Method, direct
Direct Path, The (book by Greg Goode): 66, 194
Discrimination: 41, 91, 193
Dispassion: 41
Dissolution (of the transparent witness): 20, 111, 169, 172, 179, 187
doership: 48, 160-161
Durga (Hindu deity): 43, 99
E
Ego and His Own, The: The Case of the Individual Against Authority (book by Max Stirner): 36
egolessness: 86
Embodied Nonduality (article by Judith Blackstone): 142, 195
ethics: 31-36, 38-50, 55-58, 60, 81, 178
evidence: 12-15, 23, 28, 79, 119, 127-131, 150, 152, 156, 159, 161, 176
Existence (of the world): 29, 120
Experience, direct: 6, 11-18, 23, 28, 30, 64-65, 94, 96-97, 103, 105, 112, 114, 120, 123-130, 143, 151-152, 156, 159-161, 164, 167, 176
F
Faith: 37, 42
Fifth Patriarch. See Patriarch, Fifth
Figurative language. See Language, figurative)
Forbearance: 42
G
God: 33, 38-39, 99, 118, 185
Good Samaritan: 34
gospel music: 34, 37
Guru, the: 6, 74, 83-95, 98-100
H
Hawkins, Edwin (1943- ): 37
hearing: 14-17, 22, 61, 65, 116, 119, 125, 174, 194
higher reasoning: 18, 23, 91, 96, 135
Hinduism: 34
hopelessness:
106, 154
Hui-neng (Fifth Patriarch): 22
I
inference: 12, 91, 124, 130-131, 135
interpretation: 12, 74, 76, 124, 130, 137, 193
irony: 6-7, 21-22, 28, 51, 61-62, 72, 78, 80-82, 94-95, 115, 123, 158, 169, 178, 182-185, 187, 195
J
Jnana yoga (self-inquiry): 41, 99
joyful irony: 6-7, 21, 28, 51, 61-62, 80-81, 123, 178, 182-185, 187
K
karma yoga: 43, 96, 98
Keers, Wolter (1923-1985): 9, 84
Klein, Jean (1912-1998): 9, 19, 84
Krishna (Hindu deity): : 1, 8, 43, 67, 87-88, 99, 192, 197
Kwan Yin (Buddhist deity of mercy, used in East Asia): 44
L
language: 6, 21, 26-29, 50, 55, 61-67, 66, 71-75, 77-78, 80-82, 116, 140-141, 167, 178, 180-183, 192, 195
Level, absolute: 27, 42, 44, 50, 89
Level, relative: 27
Levy, John (? – 1976): 9, 84
Literal indicatory. See Meaning, indicatory
literality: 71-72
Literal meaning. See Meaning, literal
localization: 114, 137, 141, 147
Lucille, Francis (1944 - ): 9, 84
M
Madhyamika Buddhism. See Buddhism, Madhyamika
Meaning, indicatory: —
Meaning, ironic: 70
Meaning, literal: 67-68, 71-74, 76
Meaning, performative: 70
Meaning, poetic: 68-69
meditation: 41, 45, 108, 149-151, 191, 194
Meditation on Emptiness (book by Jeffrey Hopkins): 45, 191
memory: 106, 111, 125, 130, 135, 146, 148-150, 152, 161-162, 176
metaphor: 25, 67, 72, 75, 78, 110, 122, 149, 185, 191
Method, direct: 97-98
Method, upanishadic: 97-98, 194
mind, the: 21, 108, 186
N
Nature of Thought, The (book by Brand Blanshard): 116, 192
nihilism: 106, 141, 154
Nirvikalpa samadhi. See Samadhi, nirvikalpa
Nityaswarupananda, Swami (1899–1992): 92-93, 193
Nondual realization. See Realization, nondual
Nonreferentiality (nondual approach to language): 61, 64-66, 71, 73, 75, 77-82
Notes on Spiritual Discourses of Shri Atmananda, Taken by Nitya Tripta: 70, 83, 191-193
O
objective phenomena: 147
Opaque witness (Witness, opaque): 7, 20, 32, 110-111, 133, 136, 139, 142, 146, 167
Others (i.e., other human and non-human entities): 46, 63
P
Path, best: 29-30
Path, highest: 28-29
Patriarch, Fifth: 21-22
Patriarch, Sixth: 22, 191
Plato, Not Prozac! (book by Lou Marinoff): 59
Prasangika Madhyamika: 27
Prior to Consciousness (book by Nisargadatta Maharaj): 4
Pure-Land Buddhism. See Buddhism, Pure-Land
Q
Qualifications (for a suitable student of Vedanta): 41-46, 56, 93
quietness: 12, 101
R
Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950): 8-9, 75
Rand, Ayn (1905-1982): 36
Realism (philosophical view): 121-122, 126, 194
Realization, nondual: 1, 3, 6-8, 20, 23, 40-41, 52, 114, 142-143, 153, 156, 158, 170-171, 174, 177, 187
Realization, self: 3, 84-85, 88-93
Reasoning. See Higher reasoning
Relative level. See level, Relative
Relativism (philosophical view): 183-184, 195
reminders: 6, 8, 94, 97, 100, 102-103
Renard, Philip: 9
Representationalism (philosophical view): 62, 64-65, 79-81
Rorty, Richard (1931-2007): 81, 182, 195
Rosicricianism: —
S
Sadhana Chatushtaya. See Qualifications)
Sajaha samadhi. See Samadhi, sahaja
Samadhi, nirvikalpa: 102, 106
Samadhi, sahaja: 7, 102, 106, 170, 179
satsang: 58, 75-76
self-inquiry: 3, 6, 9-11, 13, 17-19, 22-23, 43-44, 61, 85, 87, 91, 106, 118, 154
Self-realization. See Realization, self
sentience: 10-11, 112, 153
Seva (Service in Hinduism): 21, 34, 43
Shakti (Hindu deity): 43
Shankaracharya, Adi (mid to late 8th century CE): 41, 191
Shiva (Hindu deity): 43, 87, 99,
Sixth Patriarch. See Patriarch, Sixth
sleep: 10, 106-108, 122
Sleep, deep: 106-108
Solipsism (philosophical view in which there are no other people or entities): 144
sound: 10, 14-16, 24, 65, 69, 115, 119, 124, 165
space: 61-62, 82, 109, 113, 123, 143, 147, 177
speech: 38, 44, 46, 53, 58, 63, 66, 76, 93, 141, 178
Spira, Rupert (1960 - ): 9, 84
Stability (of the transparent witness): 170-171
standing as awareness: 6, 8, 97, 103-104
Stirner, Max (Johann Kaspar Schmidt, 1806-1856): 36
Sublation (a view deconstructed and incorporated into a more subtle view): 136, 138,
Swami Nityaswarupananda. See Nityaswarupananda, Swami
sweetness: 7, 9, 20, 44, 104, 106, 123, 125-126, 167-169, 171
T
Tattva Bodha (text by Adi Shankaracharya): 41, 191
Tattvopadesha (teaching on reality): 19, 88-89, 96, 191, 194
teaching model: 172
The Heart Opener: 8, 97, 105-106, 154, 164
The Morality of Happiness (book by Julia Annas): 53, 192
The Word and the World: India’s Contribution to the Study of Language (book by Bimal Krishna Matilal): 67, 192
thoughts: 3, 11-12, 14, 17-18, 44, 53, 81, 97, 101-103, 105-106, 109, 113, 134, 136-137, 140, 144, 147, 154-156, 160, 166, 168, 170, 186
Tibetan Buddhism. See Buddhism, Tibetan
Tools (of the path): 11, 20, 23, 29, 53, 112, 115, 135, 137, 163, 166, 174
transparency: 58-59, 142-143, 167-169
Transparent witness. See Witness, transparent
U
Upanishad, Brihadaranyaka (Vedantic text): 98, 193
Upanishadic method. See Method, Upanishadic
V
Vedanta for Beginners (book by Swami Sivananda): 67, 192
Virgen de Guadalupe (a title of the Catholic Mary, used in Mexico): 44
Vishnu (Hindu deity): 43
Vivekachudamani (text by Adi Shankaracharya): 41, 191
vocabulary: 7, 20, 26, 28, 38, 81, 141, 158, 178, 180, 182-184
Withdrawal: 42
Witness, opaque: 7, 20, 32, 110-111, 133-146, 167
Witness, transparent: 7, 20 ,51, 103, 105, 111, 133, 136, 147, 170-175, 177, 179
Wood, Ananda: 9
writing: 21, 24, 72, 78, 80, 90-91, 93-94
yoga: 2, 8, 19, 21, 41, 43, 87, 96-99, 108-110, 139, 141, 143
Zen: 2, 21, 39-40, 58, 137