Someone mentioned to me that it’s useless to talk about nonduality to people in the general public, that when they’re ready to hear the teaching of nonduality, they’ll stumble across it.
To that person I said, I think you are working with concern for the fruits of your labors. Working without concern for the fruits of your labors is working seriously while not taking it seriously. Every criticism of my suggestion to mention nonduality in conversations, takes what I’m saying seriously. I don’t take it seriously. I’m only saying to do it seriously.
Put another way, don’t take seriously, rather give seriously. I don’t mean that in a New Age way that we must give to charities or help people. You don’t have to give a damn thing to charity. Giving means giving your expectations away, giving away the imagining that you’ve done something and have something.
To do something seriously without taking it seriously, is to give seriously. Don’t worry about giving to a charity or helping someone learn to read, since those actions are probably done with the expectation of something. When you act seriously without taking what you’re doing seriously, you come from joy and can effect human benefits way beyond giving a few dollars or a few hours of your time to those in need.
November 12, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Exactly!
Who’s to say that you’re not the person that the seeker will stumble across when they’re ready to discover nonduality?
True nonduality is realizing that we too are part of the game, and after all, it’s boring to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else have all the fun!
November 13, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Nice turnaround on the give/take… kinda Katie. Seriously is a bit synonymous with sincerity here too.
To the original point about discussing nonduality with others – I have found that the essential concepts are just too much for most to absorb. I have better luck broaching the subject with simple scenarios that invite the other to question the nature of mind/thought and allow them to find their own corollary.
November 23, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Perhaps the feeling of efforts being useless come from being tired. Rest and renewal often provide a different perpective and restores our focus.