Forever frustrated and still seeking

[Bassui]

If we were to make a list of all the "things" that are both eternal and infinite, would you reckon that list would be a long one or a short one? How many things do you think would be on the list?

*"Things" in this sentence is not restricted to just objects and nouns...any "thing" you can come up with will work just fine.

[SB1]

If we were to make a list of all the "things" that are both eternal and infinite, would you reckon that list would be a long one or a short one?

It seems like it would be a very short list.

How many things do you think would be on the list?

Other than this pure noticing/awareness, I can't think of a single other thing that is eternal/infinite. Everything seems to have a limit or expiration.

[Bassui]

Other than this pure noticing/awareness, I can't think of a single other thing that is eternal/infinite. Everything seems to have a limit or expiration.

Exactly! There can't be two infinite and eternal things. Only one thing can be infinite and eternal, and you're it!

Often times we might think we can come up with something or hear something that belongs on the list as well, but if it truly belongs on the list it must be synonymous with this pure noticing/awareness. Some words you might have encountered already in your spiritual search are: awakeness, awareness, consciousness, God, Tao, Brahman, Atman, sense of being, presence, etc.

This is why they call it the "gateless gate". You didn't have to go anywhere at all. You've been knocking from the inside the whole time!

Earlier in our inquiry you said "I was under the impression there was nothing there, no experience or experiencer".
What do you make of this question now?

[SB1]

The experiencer must be the pure noticing, the one infinite thing.

[Bassui]

The experiencer must be the pure noticing, the one infinite thing.

Can you think of anything at all that would not be the one infinite thing?

[SB1]

What is noticed by the noticing, i.e. everything else that exists, would not be the one infinite thing, because everything else is temporary and limited. Thoughts, sensations, etc all come and go, so they're not eternal/infinite.

[Bassui]

What is noticed by the noticing, i.e. everything else that exists, would not be the one infinite thing, because everything else is temporary and limited. Thoughts, sensations, etc all come and go, so they're not eternal/infinite.

If the one infinite thing - let's call it the Absolute - is all that there is....then everything that is noticed (i.e. a chair, bloody elbow, sound of a fire truck, touch of a loved one, taste of whisky, the personal "I" story, etc) is also the one infinite thing. All of these things are temporary manifestations of the Absolute, but they are one and the same because there is always only one thing going on here.

Does this make sense for you?

[SB1]

Yes, that makes sense.

[Bassui]

So is there an "I", perhaps something that you call SB1, that is separate from the rest of experience? Is there really a "self" separate and individual from everything else?

[SB1]

No, if everything is one, nobody can have a self that is separate from everything else.

[Bassui]

So who is SB1 then?

[SB1]

Nobody. Or everything.

[Bassui]

:)

What's it feel like to notice this?

[SB1]

I'm still not really getting it. I think I'm just not comfortable with some conclusions we've drawn. For instance, I'm not comfortable saying that the fact that I can't imagine a time in the past or future in which the sense of being isn't present means the sense of being isn't bound by time. Rather, it seems to mean it's always there while I'm alive.

[Bassui]

:)

I appreciate your honesty!

There are some other questions I would like to ask but maybe a different guide with a different style would suit you better and help you understand what it is we are point at. Perhaps we are spinning our wheels here. How do you feel about that?