THE PARADOX OF NON-DUALITY

by Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO

     The state of non-duality is addressed in most of the advanced spiritual traditions
of the world religions. It is sometimes referred to as No Self or Emptiness, as
in Buddhism. It refers to the death of the false self or ego and the diminishment or extinction of the separate self sense, along with the abiding sense of unity with Ultimate Reality. Unity with Ultimate Reality is usually explained as full enlightenment, or in Christian terms, the grace of the Ascension, a state of union beyond inner resurrection.
     Non-duality is clearly a state beyond what is called in the Christian contemplative tradition “Transforming Union.” The Cistercians, Franciscans, Carmelites, and other religious groups have described this state as “bridal mysticism.” It involves the union of love with God in which the will and intellect are united to God, whether in interior trials such as the feeling of God’s absence or the delights of mature, apophatic contemplation. The unifying force of divine love draws and unites the soul into ineffable experiences of union with the Beloved and forgetfulness of self. They remain two however. The soul, except in brief periods of ecstasy, is aware of itself in union with God as Bridegroom or the Beloved.
     St. John of the Cross in the “Living Flame of Love” hints at higher states of union, but is not explicit. Some of the Beguines of the 12th and 13th centuries wrote explicitly of the Transforming Union as initiating a further journey into states of unity consciousness that parallel the descriptions of no self or enlightenment found in Buddhism, Advaitic Vedanta, or Sufi literature. Here there is no self at all. In general, most mystics believe that the no-self experience cannot be permanent in this life. They affirm that periods of a few hours, or even a few days in exceptional cases, can take place without any reflection of self. At the very least, the physiological development of the brain and nervous system seems to be required for such an evolved state to become permanent. The body has to be prepared to endure the more intense communication of the divine. This requires those who are in a non-dual state to be able to move freely back and forth. To conceive of a permanent non-dual state of awareness as the goal of all spiritual striving may not be as conformed to reality as to live the non-dual state of mind inside an active life of immersion in the ups and downs of ordinary experience.
     Perhaps it might be useful to orient practitioners to the paradox of living a life that is neither dual nor non-dual, just as some spiritual traditions affirm that the Absolute is not this, not that—or similar to the statement, not one, not two. These paradoxes point to
the fact that God is beyond all that exists and beyond all categories of being and non-being, as well as in all that exists.

Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO, a Cistercian priest, monk, and former abbot, is the founder of Contemplative Outreach, an organization that teaches Centering Prayer. Fr. Keating has written numerous books, including Open Mind, Open Heart. Together with Fr. Richard Rohr, he will be presenting at the CAC summer conference, The Inner Room, June 27 – 29, 2008.

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