A student questions the apparent separation implied by meditation metaphors, and the teacher explores the limits of language in pointing to undivided experience.
A student questions the apparent separation implied by meditation metaphors, and the teacher explores the limits of language in pointing to undivided experience.
In our discussion, the issue was: why is there so much separation in this idea of there being a "me" and then an emotion? In your ocean analogy, there's the ocean, there's the wave, and then there's a "you" riding it. For me, it just feels more like I am the ocean. This is a wave arising within me. If I imagine myself to be the wave, or the one riding the wave, that's when it feels painful. But if I am the ocean and I recognize that, then it's not a problem, and the wave just settles.
Yes, those are different stages. Every teaching, every map, every pointing can be appropriate or not, right or wrong. But at that level, nothing that is spoken is true.
That makes more sense to me, because it was starting to feel confusing why there seems to be so much separation.
The limits of every metaphor
But there isn't separation, right? It is as you describe the experience. I wouldn't even say "I am the ocean," because there isn't an "I" that is the ocean or the surfer or the wave. It's all of that.
Yes, that's even better.
And then that is, in a sense, the surfing as well: you can move into the tasting of being the ocean a bit more than the wave or the surfer at any time. A movement back and forth. A movement, so to speak. There isn't anything actually moving, but there is a sense of what's being tasted more in the foreground.
Tasting without a taster
It's like, I've heard people say that it's just awareness being itself, relating to itself, which is not really a relating. But when you say "tasting," it again feels like two.
I understand. But the only way to continue from there is to be in silence.
Right. As soon as language comes in, there's no other way to talk about it.
Then you must say: the tasting is not done by anything, and it's not tasting anything. It's just one taste.
That's actually the name of a company.