Nondualism

Nondualism, also called nonduality, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion, where it is used in various, related contemplative philosophies that aim to negate dualistic thinking or conceptual proliferation (prapanca) and thereby realize nondual awareness, 'that which is beyond discursive thinking', a state of consciousness described in contemplative traditions as a background field of unified, immutable awareness that exists prior to conceptual thought. The English term "nonduality" is derived from the Sanskrit Hindu term "advaita" (अद्वैत), "not-two" or "one without a second", meaning that only Brahman, 'the one', is ultimately real while 'the world', or the multiplicity of thought-constructs, 'the second', is not fully real; and from the Buddhist term advaya, which is also literally translated as "not two" and has various applications, including the Madhyamaka negation of thinking in opposites such as ordinary, conventional truth versus ultimate truth, and in Yogachara the deconstruction of the "apprehension of sensory objects as separate from the perceiving consciousness". A perennialist view posits that nondual awareness, despite fundamental differences in the explanatory frameworks, is a common essence in various religious traditions. According to this view, nondual awareness is not only paradigmatic for Hindu advaita-traditions including Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism, and Buddhist advaya-traditions including Yogachara, Madhyamaka, Zen and Dzogchen, but can also be found in Taoist philosophy, and in Western philosophy, Christian mysticism, and Sufism. Nondualism is also used to refer to the satsang movement, also called neo-advaita, for which nonduality is a central tenet, emphasizing sudden awakening or insight. The term may also refer to monism and nonplurality, the idea of a unitive essence behind the multiplicity of distinct entities. Related definitions include interconnectedness interdependence, and holism or 'wholism', the idea that "all the things 'in' the world are not really distinct from each other but together constitute some...