The concept of non-duality lies at the very heart of spiritual understanding: the profound realization that our spiritual nature, our inherent awareness, is not separate from the individual experiencing it. We often live with a pervasive sense of separation, believing we are distinct entities engaged in practices like meditation, striving for a particular outcome. However, in this conversation between A. H. Almaas and Tara Brach, they discuss how, when we truly recognize this perceived separateness is not the ultimate truth, we begin to align with our true nature—a nature that pervades everything, including our minds, bodies, and consciousness. Scroll down to view video and summary of highlights.
Summary
What exactly is this “true nature” that permeates everything? It is similar to the Buddhist concept of Buddha nature or Tathāgatagarbha. While the word “Buddha” might evoke specific religious connotations for some, the essence refers to the true nature of our consciousness, the true nature of reality, and ultimately, the true nature of who and what we are.
In the Diamond Approach, true nature doesn't manifest in just one way; it appears in a multitude of forms, taking us on many profound journeys: pure awareness, pure presence, pure love. Beyond these transcendent dimensions, true nature also manifests as essential qualities that are more relatable to the human experience. These aren’t mere emotions or fleeting thoughts, but fundamental aspects of our being, such as strength, courage, power, fulfillment, peace, joy, compassion, clarity, and intelligence.
These essential aspects emerge from our true nature, imbuing our individual consciousness and allowing us to feel and experience them as part of who we are. Many people yearn for love, courage, or a sense of capacity in their daily lives, often more so than for abstract concepts like pure awareness or emptiness. These essential qualities are not only vital for navigating the “stuff of life” but are also crucial for our inner spiritual path, providing the perseverance and commitment needed for practice. When these qualities of our true being naturally manifest, both our lives and our spiritual practice become significantly easier and more manageable.
Over time, accessing these essential qualities can lead us to more transcendent experiences like awareness and emptiness. It’s the same nature, simply revealing itself in different facets as we become more in touch with and recognize ourselves as that. Reality is full of surprises, constantly unfolding and manifesting new qualities and realizations. It teaches us not to cling to any single state or condition as the ultimate destination.
The Power of Inquiry and Unveiling Truth
So, how do we access and explore this multi-faceted true nature? The core practice is inquiry, a deep investigation and exploration of our present experience. It’s not about dwelling on our personal history, but truly feeling, sensing, and tasting what is happening right now, as completely as possible. When we encounter obstructions to this complete experience, inquiry involves exploring those obstructions to understand them, allowing them to eventually dissolve.
Curiosity is a powerful guiding attitude in inquiry. No matter what arises, being interested in it prevents identification and opens us to genuine awakening. We become curious about its truth, its purpose, its connections, and its relevance to the present moment. This curiosity is fueled by a deep love for truth—without motive, it is a movement toward understanding truth simply for its own sake. Following this thread of truth, which is interconnected throughout our being and the world, can lead us to deeper and more profound truths, ultimately revealing our true nature and its essential qualities that are also expressions of our true nature:
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Awareness: The foundational capacity to be mindful of what is present, both within our body and mind
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Compassion/Kindness: Essential for engaging with pain and suffering without judgment or rejection, allowing them to reveal their underlying truth
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Courage: Needed to face difficult emotions or experiences like anger, fear, or feelings of abandonment
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Perseverance: The commitment to stay with the inquiry, even when distractions arise
Transforming Emotions and Dissolving Separation
Our emotions, even the most painful ones, are often expressions of something deeper about our true nature, appearing as reactions, distortions, or historical conditioning. By understanding these overlays, we can unveil what lies beneath. For instance, anger, with its sense of intensity and inner heat, when explored without the usual narrative of blame, can reveal itself as pure strength, energy, courage, and assertiveness. The “heat” of anger, when truly felt and allowed to simply be, transforms into the essential quality it mirrors.
Similarly, much of our suffering arises from a deep-seated belief in a separate self. This separate self is essentially an ego structure built up from early childhood experiences and internalized relationships. This sense of being a bounded, independent entity, often identified with our physical body, creates a kind of ‘wall’ of tension and constriction. True liberation doesn’t happen by trying to forcibly dissolve this self, but by gently getting into the self and its content without fear. By acknowledging and understanding the history and experiences that formed these ego boundaries, we allow them to metabolize and release their grip on our consciousness.
As these layers of identification dissolve, the heart naturally opens. The various qualities of love begin to stream through, no longer restricted by past traumas or feelings of abandonment. Non-dual love, a boundless and infinite dimension, then suffuses everything, just like pure awareness. It’s a love that is selfless, effulgent, and generous, recognizing the same inherent nature in all beings.
The Grace of Waking Up
Waking up to our true nature is not solely a result of effort; it’s profoundly supported by grace. Grace can manifest in many ways: fortunate circumstances, supportive relationships, or encountering beneficial teachings and teachers. More specifically, grace can appear as a direct, energetic arising or “downpour” of presence or a quality of awareness, a feeling of goodness and generosity that melts boundaries and the sense of a separate self.
The journey often involves reaching a point of helplessness in our individual efforts. When we recognize that the ego, as a separate entity, cannot truly liberate itself, a profound surrender occurs. In that letting go of efforting, the boundless nature of reality can spontaneously fill us, dissolving the mental concepts of limitation and separation. Our true nature is always calling us home, appearing as the desire or drive to wake up, to be free of suffering, or to live a more meaningful life. This innate drive is a powerful expression of true nature itself, moving to reveal itself within us.
While challenges like cultural conditioning, racism, and power dynamics exist and contribute to our suffering, our true nature remains untainted by these. It is inherently open, non-judgmental, and sees the same essential nature in everyone and everything. Our diverse bodies, colors, and genders are merely expressions of the richness and variety that true nature manifests.
The path of awakening is a precious human opportunity. It invites us to understand ourselves completely, not to transcend our humanity, but to embody our true presence and awareness fully in this life. It’s a journey of continuous discovery, where we learn to live directly and immediately, expressing the inherent qualities of our being, and ultimately realizing that we are not separate from the boundless love and awareness that is the very fabric of existence.