Is This It Or Not?

 


S. writes to ask:

 
Why do nonduality speakers say things like “this is it,” like they know that there’s only what appears, when at the same time they say we can’t know what we’re seeing is real? I’m not saying I know there’s more than just what’s seen, what they’re calling 'this,' but maybe there’s more to this than just what we see? 
 
Dear S:
 
“Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
---Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
 
All the words will always fail, yet the assumption of what lies beyond words, put into words, comes no closer than a zeno mile. There simply can’t be anything beyond whatever is perceived, for if something indefinable and mysterious and ineffable is mentioned, how is it mentioned if it has not entered perception? Pointing at what isn’t…well, simply isn’t, though pointing at what is, is not “it” either.
 
I’d rather read Alice in Wonderland than listen to most talks on the nature of reality, but that’s a personal preference. Speakers can definitely turn “this is it” and “no-thing” into concepts that seem as rigid and defined as biblical preachers talking of salvation and God. Yet when pressed, most will readily admit they have no idea what they are talking about (nonduality speakers that is; preachers are fairly certain about what they say, and will suggest you are soon to spend eternity in a place with a intemperately hot climate should you argue too much).
 
Even the dissipative structures of the most enigmatic and open language seem to try to paint the air with a brush made of wind. I tend to hear “this is it” more as a statement about the futility of looking for deeper truths, meanings, or other abstract human concepts in life’s appearances rather than a statement that “this” is literally “it.” I’m pretty sure if you query the speakers who say “this is it,” you’ll find it’s not meant to be taken as any kind of final definition about the nature and scope of apparent reality.
 
So, in conclusion, yeah, I’m sure I’ve said “this is it” even though what “this” or “it” is I’ve no clue, nada, but then again I’m just an imaginary girl who fell down the rabbit hole.
 
“If there’s no meaning in it, that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we needn’t try to find any.” ---From Alice in Wonderland
💓

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