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Dennis Waite - Enlightenment - The Path Through The Jungle-John Hunt Publishing (2008)
Dennis Waite - Enlightenment - The Path Through The Jungle-John Hunt Publishing (2008)
‘Enlightenment: the Path through the Jungle – a criticism of non-traditional teaching methods in
advaita’,
by O-Books.
may be quoted in emails, web-sites or printed mate-rial provided that the source is
acknowledged.
3
Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………5
Key Definitions……………………………………………………………………..6
Context. ……………………………………………………………………………….7
Knowledge……………………………………………………………………….9
Self-Ignorance. …………………………………………………………….10
Self-knowledge. ……………………………………………………………11
Ego…………………………………………………………………………………13
Neo-advaita……………………………………………………………………..15
Reality. ……………………………………………………………………………16
Enlightenment…………………………………………………………………….17
Format……………………………………………………………………………24
Preparation. ……………………………………………………………………24
Criticism. …………………………………………………………………………26
Format……………………………………………………………………………27
Psychology. …………………………………………………………………….27
Morality. …………………………………………………………………………28
Conclusion. …………………………………………………………………………33
INDEX…………………………………………………………………………………35
5
Introduction
why traditional techniques will take you there while Western-style satsang and neo-advaita are
unlikely to do so.
Key Definitions
e nl ig hte nm e nt – T hi s t er m i s much confused and mi sused. I t i s sel f-i gnor ance t hat pr
event s r ecogni t i on of t he t r ut h about our
mi nd of a per son when sel f-i gnor ance has been er adi cat ed. I t i s
t r ue (i n absol ut e r eal i t y) t hat we ar e al r eady ‘fr ee’ - t her e i s onl y ever t he non-du al r
eal i t y so how coul d i t be ot her wi se? I t i s no t t r ue t hat we ar e al r eady enl i ght ened (i n
empi r i cal r eal i t y), as t he seeker wel l knows. Enl i ght enment i s t he event i n
needs t o be under st ood fr om t he out set t hat t hi s i s not obj ec-t i ve knowl edge abou t t he
nat ur e of t he body and mi nd (whi ch
par t i cul ar ways of t al ki ng abou t and t eachi ng advai t a, neo-advai t i n t eacher s do not . T
he st at ement s of one ar e essent i al l y
Context
The Reader
1.
6.
may feel unable to relate your own experience and understanding with the language that such
teachers use, de-spite the fact that you may feel that what they say is ‘true’.
8
Purpose of the Book (and Disclaimers)
7.
Some of the statements in the book are likely to be contentious and may upset some readers.
Accordingly, this
15.
done from a practical point of view, the better to orga-nize my thoughts and avoid repetition. It is
also, of course,
the ‘sutra’ form of traditional scriptures and their commentaries. I may also have been influenced
by Wittgen-stein’s style of presentation, though make no claims for
an equivalent level of intellectual rigor! Additionally, how-ever, I realized that many readers,
especially those com-mitted to satsangs (and in particular the teachers
advaita – Non-duality
23.
at all.
Knowledge
26.
27.
Ignorance is a condition of the mind (specifically the buddhi or intellect) and all knowledge
‘takes place’ in the mind.
10
Direct/Indirect knowledge
37.
Self-Ignorance
46.
separate, that there is a dualistic world, that we are un-happy and so on is self-ignorance –
avidyA.
49.
51.
otherwise.
11
Self-knowledge
74.
seeker as the words of the teacher are heard. The traditional teaching literally takes us to the goal.
need to drive the car along the physical roads. This is not
experience and asking the guru for clarification when neces-sary, it will lead us to the goal of
self-knowledge.
12
Teaching advaita
75.
teaching of advaita. Firstly, the ‘negating aspect’ of traditional teaching aims to remove our
misconceptions about
Enlightenment
100.
that we are already brahman, the non-dual reality, because there is only That. The point is that
we do not
101.
The error may well arise from the use of the Sanskrit term
mokSha for enlightenment. Strictly speaking the word
13
The ‘person’
107.
108.
Ego
113.
the j~nAnI [one who knows the truth, i.e. someone who
Satsang Teaching
147.
The modern, Western connotation of this term is consid-erably different and does not really
qualify as satsang in
the true sense at all. The teacher may begin with introduc-tory remarks on a particular topic (the
nature of which
151.
self-realization.
15
Neo-advaita
158.
justification.
159.
Neo-advaita has no methodology, since its teachers ex-plicitly reject the scriptures as a pramANa
along with
everything else. This aspect is the key to the essence of
are the scriptures (together with a teacher who understands the methods) the means for obtaining
Self-knowledge.
165.
structure, no method, no practice; the ‘bottom line’ without any preceding text.
16
Reality
171.
all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life
172.
The inappropriateness of this can be illustrated by a metaphor. Telling students that there is no
creation, that there
will be no adverse effect if I hit you over the head with this
lump of space!
17
Enlightenment
207.
213.
Self’ or ‘becoming one with God’. In reality, we are already the Self so that these expressions
could have no
When a pot is broken, the ‘pot space’ does not merge with
18
226.
as the seeker.
259.
Becoming enlightened does not
ist.
What Enlightenment is
261.
generally be completely ignored. Epithets with capital-ized letters or containing familiar words
with unfamiliar
endings (usually ‘-ness’) should generally be avoided.
19
264. In truth, there is only the non-dual reality - call this the
are in fact the Atman (and simultaneously cease to believe that you are a jIva).
is the dissociation of the truth of ‘I’ from the prior identification with mind and body.
20
include following a spiritual path and becoming enlightened or not – it makes no difference to
anything.
seeker is concerned. She still feels that she very much exists
about which I can be absolutely certain. I may negate everything else but I could never negate
this, since ‘I’ would have
differentiate between ‘I’ and ‘me, the person’. The neo-advaitins never provide the teaching that
would enable the
21
315.
The confusion arises because of the failure to differentiate between being and knowing. We
cannot do anything
324.
as many satsang seekers will testify. If the basic understanding is not present, the message will
simply be unin-telligible.
22
doing-nothing).
337.
that is bringing this about cannot be futile from the standpoint of the seeker. And this self-
knowledge is most unlikely
23
Practice is of No Value
365.
what you are.” (Ref. 16) and goes on to say that: “Once the
mind which is relatively calm and peaceful. When the self-knowledge occurs, there is no practice
involved; its happen-ing is inevitable. There is not, in any case, anything seriously
The misunderstanding associated with this is probably inevitable and will naturally be resolved
by a good teacher.
24
Traditional Teaching
Format
where they are, with all of their mistaken views of themselves and the world, to the final truth of
non-duality. It
The best traditional teaching brings revelations of understanding while most of the neo-advaitin
teaching remains
Preparation
410.
The traditional seeker is searching for the truth, not great-er pleasure; finding a ‘meaning’ to his
or her life, avoiding
25
414.
would want to stay in school for their entire life. Once the
‘real’ world and begin to use the knowledge that has been
school at all.
431.
are used to point towards my true nature. Having negat-ed everything else, there is only my Self
left to give these
effectively uses words to explain to us that which is be-yond words. Without the skillful use of
the relevant methods, the essentially dualistic nature of language will never
be transcended.
26
Criticism
432.
Traditional methods are regarded as archaic and no longer relevant to a modern age by many
satsang teachers
But you can’t replace an established and proven methodology with a complete absence of any
method. Furthermore,
although times, society and people change, the basic problems do not. Hence, the old teachings
will always essentially
still be applicable. They do not need to change because they
change? Shankara systematized the already-existing philos-ophy in the 8th Century. Is it only
now that people, society
27
Satsang Teaching
Format
452.
Psychology
459. People may well feel good during the satsang, reinforcing
certainly desirable to resolve them first. (‘Everyday’ psychological problems will naturally be
resolved through expo-sure to traditional teaching.)
28
Morality
evil and suffering in the world and it remains the responsi-bility of the student of advaita to
recognize this and be-have accordingly – even more so, if he or she should be
enlightened. Many people, even those who have attended satsangs for a long time may not
appreciate this.
Characteristics of seeker
475.
Most seekers don’t want to have to do anything to become enlightened… and this is exactly what
neo-advaitin
teachers tell them is the case. The devotional practices of
As James Swartz puts it: “But most of the people who attend these neo-advaita satsangs have not
done sAdhanA,
29
Characteristics of teacher
490. Many satsang teachers and all neo-advaitin teachers imply that the non-dual truth is
somehow self-evident, that
apparent.
In fact, the only self-evident truth is that ‘I am’. The facts
500. Some satsang teachers encourage the idea that enlightenment can be transmitted from guru
to disciple (i.e. by
like radiation.
30
Neo-advaitin Teaching
505.
so on.
519.
It also has to be said that the minimalist message of neo-advaita with its formulaic mantras can
easily be learnt by
the unscrupulous, or unintentionally absorbed by an un-critical mind. Any voluble and quick-
witted individual
31
531.
536.
32
senses and reason? Why should I reject the proven teachings of the past thousand years in favor
of what you are
saying?
537.
life. (Of course, if you fear the loss of face that would
33
Conclusion
… The fundamental problem is the self-ignorance in the mind of
by past opinions and beliefs and so on. All of this takes place
34
fact that there can be no short-term measures. We have genera-tions of wrong thinking to rectify
so that we may learn to look at
ourselves and the world in a completely different way that con-tradicts our present beliefs.
Instinct, habit and deeply-held opinion can never be overturned by a brief question and answer
agenda. It requires a prolonged, coordinated inquiry, using proven techniques, with the help of
teachers skilled in using those
How to Meet
The Book of
Back to the
Essential Guide
Yourself
One
Truth
to Sanskrit
35
INDEX
action
324
advaita, 22
format
teaching, 75
ajAtivAda, 259
avidyA, 46
brahman, 264
I
I am brahman
indirect knowledge, 37
charlatans, 519
creation, 259
J
j~nAnI, 113
jIva
direct knowledge, 37
knowledge, 26
ego, 113
knowledge vRRitti-s, 74
of seeking, 336
enlightenment, 100, 107, 206
language, 6
instant, 475
liberation
36
of no value, 365
relates to mental preparation, 365
prakriyA-s, 431
metaphor
iron-space, 172
road map, 74
mind
is the problem, 51
reader, 1
reality, 171
mithyA, 113
there is only the non-dual, 264
mokSha, 101
morality, 467
sAdhanA, 475
satsang, 147
questions to ask the teacher, 536
psychology, 459
nihilism, 171
teacher
note form, 15
teaching, 452
school
path
scriptures
none, 336
person, 107
seeker
belief that I am separate, 264
Self
we are already, 51
practice
self-ignorance, 27, 46
37
separate, 107
words
story
as pointers, 431
world
worldly knowedge, 37
tattvamasi, 505
teacher
as guide, 74
teaching
gradual, 400
archaic, 432
format, 400
truth
speaking of, 23
U
unity, feeling of, 213
Upanishad
Mandukya, 414
vairAgya, 410
viveka, 410
Document Outline
Contents
Introduction
Key Definitions
advaita Non-duality
Self-Ignorance
Self-knowledge
Teaching advaita
Enlightenment
The ‘person’
Ego
Satsang Teaching
Neo-advaita
Reality
What Enlightenment is
Practice is of No Value
Preparation
Psychology
Morality
Characteristics of seeker
Characteristics of teacher
Neo-advaitin Teaching
Conclusion
INDEX