taotiger - Metanarrative &0123etc: an essay about transcendence..

Metanarrative &0123etc

	essay on the natural course of transcendence
	there is a metanarrative of transcendence, this natural law governed by the simplest of principles: &, 0, 1, 2, 3, etc... let us call the "etc..." the complexities of religion.. the splitting into unwieldy many, of multitudes of rituals, of all the words in all the holy books, of the millions of deities worshipped, of anything that has more than the parts represented by the preceding numbers. and we can know the cipher and the first three integers, as the basis upon which all religion is built. these are the philosophical, or fundamental units of the spiritual experience, as opposed to the "etc..." of religious forms. the "&" symbol, tells of the bringing into Samsara the truths of Nirvana, the coming down from the mountain to resume everyday life, now uniting in being the duality even of the everything and nothing implied by the circle. it is a picture of the living with full awareness of the ultimate uncertainty and transience of all, and the living it anyway. the "neither not this and not not this, yet both, and neither, nor this and not this, yet both, and neither". the progression towards the ultimate goal of what i will call "authentic" spirituality, is backwards from the practice of the formalities of religion, the "etc...", to the three, then two, then one, and penultimately zero, finally with no finality at all, to the "&". there happens revolution at the transition between each step, whereby one may enter into the basis of all that is, or all that is not, of the next stage, or progressively attain the natural balance appropriate to each movement... for example, complete annihilation may occur at the stage of entering the zero-experience, yet it may be lived as the all, as it ought not be seen as the sign of nought, but instead the symbol of the circle, around which as points are arrayed all subsequent integers, stretching onwards to an infinity of points defined only by their limitation into the form of the symbol... every form has an opposing negation, and thus is coupled with the zero... even the zero is similarly paired with what it is not, the undivided complementary unit of pair... whereas, the "&" stands alone with no other, itself a recognition of the uniting of all prior opposites into a simply exuberant creative outpouring of is-ing and ness-ing and well... of whatever's happening... so, we begin with the "etc..." this is determined in large part by the specific culture being examined. so, the rituals and religious forms will differ relative to the context in which they have developed, and in which they are practiced. one religion has a book, the Bible, which forms a large part of this "etc..." for many people, while another has a set of yogic physical exercises, and another has a pantheon of gods and goddesses. the specific manifestations of this "etc..." are limitless. it is in China the "Ten Thousand Things", and elsewhere may be called "Maya" or "Samsara", even "Creation" by some... yet, it is all part of that which is contained and formed by arrangements of an infinite number of points around a theoretical fixed point, as in the alignment of the circle. with reference to this state represented by the zero, it can be seen that, just as the zero is an image of the "completed" Self at the moment of completion, so does this representation have no manifest centre. at any stage before attainment of this "zero-experience", we feel as though there is a definite centre to our being, whereas afterwards, there is no such centre necessary. which does not mean that the old centre no longer exists, but rather that this old centre is centre no longer, and has shifted position relative to all other constituents of the cosmos, on an equal footing. hierarchy no more - just equilibrium... keep on naming books and the contents of books. keep on elucidating theories and cosmographies. continue to express arguments and preferences, and indicate personalities and occurrences. describe attributes of deities and incidents of people, and also rituals of all description and ethical principles. bring forth the million trillion names of whatever god or gods are being named, and enumerate every single trapping associated with worship and devotion. and every technique and spiritual discipline. all injunctions to be certain ways. all mystical poetry of the most sublime nature, and the very feelings and thoughts of the initiate and preceptor. ...these are all "etc..." and this "etc..." is preliminary and ultimately peripheral to the realisation of Liberation, as defined by such schools of teaching as Zen Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Taoism... it is not not the ultimate, nor is it ineffective for it leads people of different temperaments towards a conscious realisation of the illimitable experience of Satori, Samadhi, Moksha, Enlightenment, Self... which then to fulfil the purpose of the existence geared towards fulfilling this truth, must be brought into daily life from the rarefied realms of mountaintop Nirodha, the very difference between this and that transcended to be only what was never anything but, complete. only one who has been to the zero-point and beyond, can advise another how to safely reach this place, how exactly to best go about travelling there. the guides are few, and the paths many and winding, with blind terminal routes unmarked. within this "etc..." are all degrees of varying wisdoms and advices, and every true and misleading method and formality. so, an experienced travelling companion is required to traverse the perils and pitfalls of the preliminary spiritual path. there is room for less accomplished advisors almost the whole way, yet only to recommend the wider roads and well documented tracks, leading only so far, whence a more oriented one must assume the lead... while many religious practices and accoutrements give rise to further complexities, the dedicated initiate will presently need, for further progress, to cast off the more bulky forms of religion, the "etc...", once a competence in some basic practices is attained.. those such as devotion to the task of Liberation, sincerity, moderation or adventurousness depending upon the particular tradition, truthfulness, and many other qualities largely determined by specific requirements that each tradition has for the Graduated student.. for, as the saying goes, "before enlightenment: chopping wood and carrying water. after enlightenment: chopping wood and carrying water". so, if a culture needs water carried by spiritual masters, then best to train them as such beforehand, and likewise other ordinary facilities. thus it is possible eventually after long practice of negating the superfluous, or contrarily, of affirming the essential, to narrow the required components of any considered system of Selfhood attainment to three simple units. the Three (3) defines the stage of progress at which there are three elements comprising what is consciously realised of the self. the First, is the "inside", that which is within the skin, such things as thoughts, emotions, dreams, energies, etc. the Second, is the "everything", which is interpreted as all pervasive. and the Third, is the "thou", "it", or "you", which is any object which is at once part of everything (as the "i" is recognised to be, theoretically), yet which is "not i"... at this stage, a personal identity is perceived as part of the "inside", and generally any Ultimate proposed as part of a system of belief or indoctrination, is felt as residing "outside" the body. say, for example, that a "god" is viewed as being "beyond manifestation" or, is known "as everything", this is still considered to fall into the "outside" realm, on an experiential level, despite doctrinal evidence suggesting that it might be ubiquitous... likewise, the inside may be home to any number of independent entities, which all fall under the auspices of the naming as "inside", yet will often occur to the viewer as being "outside", such that errors of attribution often result. for example, "that is a lovely tree" unconsciously projecting a positive valuing of the object into the object, rather than feeling it as "inside", as in the complementary interpretation of "i feel the tree is lovely". so, it can be said by someone at this phase of development, that "i" see "you", implying the presence of a seer, a seen, and a quality which is everything in theory, yet everything other than "i", in experience... thus, union of the "i" with an other (Third) may be experienced, yet this leaves the everything (Second) unincorporated into the system, resulting in uneven division and hence imbalance and ego constriction (ie. this, the unit of "i" and object, versus it, being the remainder of everything minus "this"). or, union of this "i" with the everything may be realised, as in nature mysticism, while there will always remain at this stage an other which is opposed to the theoretical everything identified with, causing inevitably pronounced ego-inflation (ie. "i" am "all", and "it" is other, and hence by definition, is nothing). the intermediate solution? the dysfunctional resolution is to narrow the elements down to only two, by forcible removal of one or the other of the "all" or "thou", which in less than satisfactory form can be recognised as respectively secularisation or, concerning the removal of the other/thou, dehumanisation, derealisation, genocide, escapism, psychosis, dissociation, or murder... a terminal resolution at this stage, removal of the "i" component, will also in the mind of the subject, create a theoretical future balance, through suicide - not that this ever has the desired outcome... or, as a creative solution, rather than losing belief in the unity of existence, whereby all is reduced to it's parts as i-other(s), or the alternative maladaptive measures mentioned, a gentler path may be found to coalesce the two "not-i" units of experience into one, and at this juncture balance that amalgam with the "i"... many contemplative traditions at this point of the student's progress, will introduce an object of meditation, perhaps a mantra or an image of the highest, and all-encompassing, deity to replace, and in due course to sublimate, the "thou"... and as the "thou" becomes imbued with the feeling of the all, through contemplation of the nature of the "everything" identified with this "thou" substitute, the two will form just one "other-all". consequently, while the "i" is becoming equally balanced by the combined "other-all", a magnification of identity is likely to occur, by virtue of having to be weighed against what was previously not combined and which was somewhat balanced each component part by the other... so, from a situation of three-way balancing, the increase of mass required of the "i" element in order to maintain equilibrium demands great input from the "other" and the "all" diverted into the "i". we have therein the motion of formerly dissociated aspects felt as the "other" being drawn into the orbit of this "i", and also some stray parts of the "all" may easily find new association with the increasing bulk of the "inner" component. hence, some delusions of grandeur may be evidenced where the "all" become temporarily localised within the "i", and seen as only there. or, too much "other" may be integrated into the "i", such that aggrandisement of "i" is a real hazard at this period of gaining balance. also, should the "all" and "thou" be subsumed by the "i" at this juncture, a solipsism will occur, more or less stable according to the vitality of the parts remaining unintegrated. if the "thou" substitute is powerful enough, there will be relatively little leakage of potentially inflating otherness into the "i", less likelihood of emergent solipsism, and decreased attendant risk of ego-shattering from internalising "all" forces too great for the "i" structure to contain. just as, if the "all" understanding, and developing feeling, is sufficiently numinous by virtue of sound preliminary (albeit partial, and later disposable) education as to discriminating between the temporal/limited and eternal/infinite, there is less chance of "idol worship", the attributing of qualities pertaining to the "all" to the "thou" substitute object/mantra, etc. now, all going smoothly enough, this alignment of equally weighted aspects comprising the Two (2) will subsequently result in a relatively balanced system. here we find features of potential to create a "Union" of the limited (personal being) and the illimitable (absolute being), such as Rumi describes of his Beloved, and is that which many traditions aim for as the ultimate end in itself. but, although this may progress onwards, the two moving ever closer until a palpable feeling of embrace and loving harmony is experienced, there remains a divide in the existence of one arrested here, and while the "i" is with the other, as in the commonly found relationship of son/mother, child/parent, friend/friend, lover/Beloved, student/Guru, there is still lived the inferiority of the "i" as compared with this uber-thou (the "other-all")... gradually, and by increment, contents of the "i" are assimilated into that which is experienced as the "other-all", and in the vein of traditions advocating "surrender (of the will)", or "sacrifice", there comes a lessening of the need to be equal to this "other-all", which of course is slowly becoming the "only"... progressively, and in contrary and complementary motion, the aspirant sees the object of his/her devotion and love, in more and more of his/her self ("i"), finding at first a few, and then more, aspects of his/her identity identified with this increasingly pervasive everything... while in an earlier stage (Three), the "all" was experienced vividly as being in everything, and while during the last phase (early Two), this "all-thou" is being apperceived as every-other-thing, there is in this period the movement into a state wherein more and more of this "i" is felt as the "all-thou", and vice versa. thus, the "all" is felt tangibly, more and more, as being as everything... except, until culmination of this phase, for that part of the process of contemplation associated directly with the act of contemplating. yet, even the object of contemplation finally, whether mantra, god, power-object or whatever, and the parts of the "i" which are still distinct from the almost only "other-all", such as the last remaining unsurrendered will to conduct practice, become imbued with numinosity of the whole, unified as One (1), and experienced as the being of the entirety, formerly identified in parts as the "i" and "thou" and "all", as the "only"... that is, importantly, insofar as the object of contemplation is of adequate capacity to symbolically contain, organise, and explain the whole of the subjective cosmos, which is indeed what the one-with-no-other situation of this state represented by our number One is, only... there comes, after virtually all strands of the "i" are integrated into a natural beingness, yet even still with some minute remnant of personhood sustaining the identity as reference point dependently symbiotic to the rest, the One, a moment of Liberation. it is not so mysterious, that the miniscule vestiges of a once massive edifice that was this "i", or everything-about-me, should, once deprived of it's nutrition of belief in it at all, crumble at the most random accident. it is as if a skyscraper is deconstructed brick by brick, with each further negation of the building, an affirmation of the supremacy and wholeness of the superstructure comprising it's environment, so when only the spindly frame is left upright, any further brick removed may initiate the tumbling into dust, predictably, and the consummation of the rubble in union with the virulently encroaching context all around. this last brick, might be the sound of a passing car. it could be the way light from some distant window catches the eye, or a casual conversation with a friend.. it may occur while in the shower, or upon waking, or anytime at all... surely, the intensity of the action which is the apparent cause of this breakthrough is relatively unimportant to the process, although it is with a soft whisper that a ready student reaches the sudden integration of this "i" into the "only", and with a violent shout that one marginally further removed from the culmination of formal training is Released... in essence, there is no reason for what happens, as we ordinarily understand it, yet there is a well defined and replicable course to the process that makes the happening inevitable so long as the steps proven to produce this result are taken with dedication and sincerity. thus, all there is after is less than the "one-and-a-bit" previously mentioned - at reaching the point of fulfilment of the One, there is a radical transformation in which sense of individuality doesn't exactly disappear, as some "anti-ego" traditions (mostly modern) imply... yet, there is a recognition of this ego (the artistry formerly known as "i"), as transcended, in the sense of being less than, yet an integrated part of, the whole, no longer dominant or lived as the governing facet of being... so, henceforth the mask of the "i" may be worn at leisure, for any whimsical purpose, but... there is no longer identification with the character portrayed by the mask. the character has become the acting. and the acting is the natural being, is without artifice and spontaneous, involving no trace of illusion that it might have a name which represents it better than the existing of it (unless that mask of name is worn, with awareness of the masking)... with no qualities at all separable from the seamless matrix of everything as "only". and this is the Zero (0) point... that transcending of even the belief in the concept of a god, or action, or identity, or object, as distinct from everything else. the transcending of concept and division in Unity... and it has no name. and it does not just live. and it is not just good. and it is not just god. and it feels kind of like Tao in retrospect, but then an uncertainty exists in the certainty of the absolute position of anything relative to another thing, so... well, anarchy in it's purest form of an organised entity by way of nature conducting an utterly chaotic being, bound by what is the perfectly appropriate act or speech or emotion for that precise instant, minus the usual interference by the conceptual mind. not, that there is no consciousness, for now it is a consciousness that has access unhindered to the body knowledge and the secret livingness of the minutiae and grand principles of the context at any given instant. it is at once mirror-like and not a mirror, that reflects the exact complement of whatever is the other half, split only to talk about it now using the inadequate analogy of mirroring, forming this "only", where before there was once "i" and “other“, now a bipartite image fused in total equilibrium sustaining the entire cosmos. because, as deduced from one quality (again a half when spoken) that this state seems to possess, subjectivity, there is only, the entirety, perceived and lived as one-ing, discarding the garb of discreet definition as One. for one has a name, and the truth of this experience is not-expressible-by-any-statement attempting to symbolise or point to it's form of empty-full-ness-ingness - doesn't need one (but it likes to play)... And (&), life goes on as unusual...

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