Non-Duality
The philosophical teaching that subject and object, self and other, are ultimately not separate.
Also known as: Advaita, Non-dual awareness, Unity consciousness
Category: Concepts
Tags: philosophies, spirituality, wisdom, consciousness, metaphysics
Explanation
Non-duality (advaita in Sanskrit) is the philosophical teaching that the fundamental division between subject and object, self and world, is ultimately illusory - reality is one undivided whole. The concept appears in: Advaita Vedanta (atman is brahman - self is ultimate reality), Buddhism (emptiness transcends subject-object division), and Taoism (the Tao is undivided). Non-duality doesn't deny apparent differences but suggests they exist within a larger unity. The teaching challenges: the assumed separation between observer and observed, the belief in an isolated self, and dualistic thinking that divides reality into opposing pairs. Understanding non-duality leads to: reduced sense of isolation, diminished grasping and aversion, and different relationship with experience. The teaching is often: intellectually understood before experientially realized, approached through meditation and inquiry, and difficult to express in inherently dualistic language. For knowledge workers, non-duality offers: different perspective on self-other dynamics, framework for understanding interconnection, and potential liberation from rigid separations that create conflict.
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