Dualism. We Ponder over it. We like it. And, we resist it. Thus, the result is attachment to our sense of being as separate and opposing in our behavior. Duality was ineluctable after the dawn of our self-consciousness. We began to perceive a self-image structure within our beingness. Dualism became a fundamental factor in our existence. Thus, people witness themselves, the world and universe from a self-contemplation perspectives. Equally, duality became a conceptional foundation for individual and collective development.
But, how did this happen? Might we say that people welcome the concepts of comparison and separation?. Was, or is duality essential to our evolution? This is unlikely. But, I cannot answer this question as either yes or no with confidence. Is dualism necessary for the further development of humankind? Here again I feel it is not possible to answer this question. Instead, let’s first consider a few definitions and aspects of duality / dualism.
– A dual state or quality. The quality or condition of being dual.
– An instance of opposition or contrast between two concepts or two aspects of something; a dualism.
– We consider masculine and feminine as aspects of duality. But, biological reproduction is the result of evolutionary processes. Yes, we label this development dual. However, there are species that reproduce through the process of parthenogenesis (virgin birth). Apomixis is a similar process in plants. Thus, these processes illustrate that reproduction, the act of being, is also singular in essence. I realize that these topics interrelate with controversial discussions of cloning. But, that is not the focus of our consideration. Let’s acknowledge dualism as a subjective mind game.
– Consider duality to be the nature by which anything and everything has opposing truths. Thus, this suggests that essentially everything is true.
– Buddhism teaches the philosophy that there are lower and higher truths. This suggests that duality is a lower truth.
– Nagarjuna, Buddhist teacher and philosopher (c. 150–250 CE), practiced emptiness (śūnyatā) and also “not-self” (anātman) in his teachings. These teaching suggest a practicable non-duality as an alternative to the structures of conceptional dualism.
Additionally, an interesting consideration for our discussion would be the Buddhist practice of suchness. Tathata, which means suchness. And, some people also use the word as-is-ness to describe Tathata. Tathata thusness is a word to describe reality. We could say. It is the way things are. This suggests that suchness is neutral. Therefore, non-duality or duality are not the practice of suchness. Instead, everything simply is as it is now. The idea of suchness is the closes to nothing that is everything that is not truly possible to explain as nothing or everything. Suchness flows with the vibration of isness.
I wish to end this article with an excerpt from the Tao Te Ching. You might be familiar with this insight. The first chapter illustrates the philosophy of isness with the act of being.
Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu
Chapter One
Tao (The Way) that can be spoken of is not the Constant Tao’
The name that can be named is not a Constant Name.
Nameless, is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The named is the Mother of all things.
Thus, the constant void enables one to observe the true essence.
The constant being enables one to see the outward manifestations.
These two come paired from the same origin.
But when the essence is manifested,
It has a different name.
This same origin is called “The Profound Mystery.”
As profound the mystery as It can be,
It is the Gate to the essence of all life.
