The Tao of Dark Sages - Chapter 1, Part 3

The Tao of Dark Sages
by Scott Bradley

What is awareness? Are we awareness?

I’ll be damned if I know.

(Laughter)

Chuang-tzu gave us a simple but profound anecdote in his story about the god of the swollen river who thought he was the greatest until he met the god of the ocean. The god of the ocean, happily, did not think he was the greatest, but instead pointed out that he was a mere grain of sand compared to all that is. He then asked how a frog in a well could possibly know about the vast unknown ocean of the Universe. If you will be the river god, I will be your ocean. I have perhaps seen beyond what you have seen but I am still, essentially, a frog in a well. Together we can surrender to that incredible Unknown.

Chuang-tzu tells us that the most important knowledge we can have is knowing when to stop. So, I would be ‘damned’ if I thought I knew the answer to your question. And what’s worse, I’d be damning you by giving you something to believe. And remember, all belief is idolatry. And every idol fills that space that you want filled by Tao.

What is awareness? Awareness is. When you have swept your mind clear of all knowing and believing what remains? Awareness. Is this awareness mine? Of course not. Awareness is pure subjectivity and can never be a thing possessed. Am I this awareness? How could I be if I don’t exist? Is Awareness Ultimate Reality? How the hell can I know?

Excuse me, but I understood that you are a Master of Non-duality. Where does this come in?

I’ll have to speak with my promotions department if they have been saying I am the Master of anything and especially non-duality, Grasshopper.

(Laughter)

What needs to be said about non-duality? Ultimate Reality is One. All is One. There is no entity that has real being apart from this One. And we don’t speak of ‘One’ because in the speaking we create duality and suggest that the One is an object in relation to other objects. So, we say ‘non-dual’ or ‘not-two’. Where non-duality comes in is where it first touches our experience: When we realize that we have no independent existence we realize that nothing has an independent existence save the Unknown. In enlightenment we both ‘see’ and experience this reality.

If you're interested in reading more from this series by Scott Bradley, go here.