Hello David.

Sorry for the late reply! Been wrapped up in some projects.

I'm here now, if you're interested in continuing still.

Let me know where you'd like to start off at!

I think that "constant and deep" refers to a state where one is... awake or liberated?

If you would only rid yourselves of the concepts of ordinary and Enlightened, you would find that there is no other Buddha than the Buddha in your own Mind. The arising and the elimination of illusion are both ...

it's hard for me to translate that into everyday constant and deep practical understanding.

Constant and deep. Why does it need to be either of these things?
It sounds as if you understand the theory but have not accepted it.
Have you spent any time directly looking for intrinsic nature in the ...

Good morning David,

I realized that I don't know what "inner nature" means.

Well, I don't know what it means either! I've only used the term inherent nature so far.

I think I can relate to the notions of intrinsic or essential nature

Right now we're only discussing what intrinsic nature is ...

Hello David,

Thank you for the honest response. Feigning knowledge or understanding of concepts is like quicksand to seekers. Acknowledging when you don't know something, or are unsure of what is being communicated, is critical. So, hats of to you for asking for clarification!

Let's take this ...

I'm eager to cross the gate.

Let us continue then!

So far we've been talking about how appearances (or things in general) have no intrinsic nature of their own. Here's where honesty comes into play, so please be honest with yourself and me here:

Do you fully understand and accept that things ...

Hey David,

But how do we know if things as they appear in our relative reality are not a manifestation of how they appear when you're out of Plato's cave?

The allegory of Plato's Cave is meant to demonstrate that belief does not always equal knowledge, believers in only empirical knowledge are ...

Understanding the concept of all things being relative is, in my experience, one of the biggest (if not the biggest) obstacles to self-realization. Delving into this understanding on a personal level is paramount .

What do we do with this knowledge?

It begs two questions. The first of which we ...

Relative means in relationship to something else.

To expand on that definition: relative is that which depends upon another for its identity or purpose.

But in a different context I'd say that mathematical constants like Pi or Phi or directly and easily observable natural regularities like moon ...

Hey David,
Good to hear from you. No problem with the delay!

I took some time to reflect about this.
Good on you. It's not a decision made lightly so I'm glad you considered it deeply.

Where do I start?

What does relative mean to you?
What are some examples of relativity in your own ...

One important insight I found in McKenna's book and in other non-dual teachings is that being awake (into "abiding nondual awareness") is not the blissful state that many spiritual seekers believe it to be.

This is true. The term "enlightenment" has been perverted to mean something other than it ...

Hey David,

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It seems like you have a good grasp on what the non-dual teachers are pointing to. Anything by Nisargardatta, Ramana, Krishnamurti, or any of the old Zen texts are right up my alley (hence the name Bassui) and I consider those sages to ...

Excellent.

Can you give me a little information on your understanding of non-duality, who you've read, and some of the sticking points you're having trouble with?

Hey dduport,

I'm familiar with non-dual literature so perhaps I may be able to help guide you if you're interested in approaching it from that path.

Regards,
Bassui

Excellent. Please start a new thread in The Gate to get a new guide.

Good luck on your journey!