Emptiness Dancing (Adyashanti)
Advaita Vedanta meets Zen
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Emptiness Dancing†by Adyashanti.]
Advaita Vedanta“Emptiness Dancing†is a worthwhile basic Advaita Vedanta/quasi-Zen text, though it has so many faults. I consider it on the same level as texts by Sri Nisargadatta Mahara and Jean Klein, but a giant step below Ramana Maharshi, the greatest Advaita Vedanta guru.
Adyashanti spent fifteen years practicing Zen before he awoke, and even though his teaching orientation is more Advaita Vedanta than Zen, the apophaticism of Zen colors it. The essence of his teaching is: “Enlightenment is nothing more than the complete absence of resistance to what is.†But he never elaborates on this statement. He doesn’t tell us if “what is†means immutable Being or conditional existence. And he doesn’t say if this absence of resistance is just psychical, or also physical, involving the body’s resistance to the flow of en-Light-ening spiritual energy.
The book’s title, “Emptiness Dancing,†is a misnomer. The book has next to nothing to say about the “dancing†Light Energy (or Shakti) that emanates from the void. In Hindu Kashmir Shaivism, this wild dynamic Energy (is variously described as “waving, “sparkling,†glittering,†“pulsatingâ€, “vibrating,†etc., yet Adyashanti never broaches the subject of “dancing†Shakti.
Adyashanti is big on the emptiness (or Sunya) theme, even describing enlightenment as “emptiness looking at emptiness.†But as the great Indian philosopher Jaideva Singh emphasizes in his Kashmir Shaivism text, “Spanda Karikas: The Divine Creative Pulsation,†Sunya (the void) is not Ultimate Reality. Emptiness is always an object to the Subject or Seer (Consciousness itself). And when Ramana Maharshi was asked about the void, his response was: There must be one who sees it. Find out who that one is.
Adyashanti says, “Asking ‘Who Am I?’ is being present in the space of not knowing and questioning all your beliefs and assumptions.†This is not the incomparable method of “Who am I?†(or Self-enquiry) that Ramana Maharshi teaches. Ramana’s superior Self-enquiry method is based on enquiring into (and obviating) I- thoughts as they arise, and thereby realizing the indivisible ‘I,’ or transcendental Self, that underlies them.
Adyashanti has little understanding of mysticism, and perceives mystical, or Divine, Union as superfluous to awakening and inferior to Advaita Vedanta and Zen. In reality, the highest mystical teachings, such as Hindu Kashmir Shaivism and Tibetan Mahamudra, are higher, more integral Dharmas than Advaita Vedanta or Zen. Moreover, there can be no awakening without Di-vine Union, without the “vine†of Shakti (the Spirit-Current, or Clear Light-Energy, or Sambhogakaya) becoming one with the “vine†of contracted Siva (consciousness or soul) in the spiritual Heart-center (the Hridayam, not the anahata heart chakra). Even if one practices Self-enquiry, palpable Shakti has to be sucked down into the spiritual Heart-center, where it cuts the Heart-knot, facilitating Divine Union, which is coincident with Self-realization, or en-Light-enment. If Adyashanti had a little better understanding of Zen, he’d realize that Bodhicitta (Buddhahood, or en-Light-ened consciousness) is only possible if Spirit-power, the Light-energy of the Sambhogakaya, or “Dharma Cloud,†unites with one’s consciousness (the contracted Dharmakaya) in the Tathagatagarba (the Heart-center).
Adyashanti also has little understanding of Kundalini. He talks about having Kundalini experiences prior to his awakening, but never elaborates on what Kundalini is or how it relates to Self-Realization. As Ramana Maharshi makes clear, Kundalini is the Self . In other words, The Higher Kundalini (Cit-Shakti) is the dynamic Energy or Power of the Self.
Adyashanti refers to the great mystic Meister Eckhart in his talks, but misses Eckhart’s most important saying: “I penetrate God and God penetrates me.†In other words, integral spiritual life is not just about being an empty cup or vagina; it’s also about being a diamond or penis that penetrates all dharmas. In fact the Hindu title for a realized being—“Bhagavanâ€â€”etymologically, means “penis in the vagina.†Unfortunately, the apophatic Adyashanti is a vaginal mystic, ignoring the importance of the “penis of consciousness†in the en-Light-enment process.
In summary, Adyashanti is a fine spokesman for the practice of non-resistance (which equates to Ohms reduction in an electrical circuit), but he doesn’t understand how the whole circuit of en-Light-enment works, how consciousness-force (which equates to Voltage) and Spirit-conductivity (which equates to Amperage) pertain to en-Light-enment.
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “Emptiness Dancing†by Adyashanti.]
Advaita Vedanta“Emptiness Dancing†is a worthwhile basic Advaita Vedanta/quasi-Zen text, though it has so many faults. I consider it on the same level as texts by Sri Nisargadatta Mahara and Jean Klein, but a giant step below Ramana Maharshi, the greatest Advaita Vedanta guru.
Adyashanti spent fifteen years practicing Zen before he awoke, and even though his teaching orientation is more Advaita Vedanta than Zen, the apophaticism of Zen colors it. The essence of his teaching is: “Enlightenment is nothing more than the complete absence of resistance to what is.†But he never elaborates on this statement. He doesn’t tell us if “what is†means immutable Being or conditional existence. And he doesn’t say if this absence of resistance is just psychical, or also physical, involving the body’s resistance to the flow of en-Light-ening spiritual energy.
The book’s title, “Emptiness Dancing,†is a misnomer. The book has next to nothing to say about the “dancing†Light Energy (or Shakti) that emanates from the void. In Hindu Kashmir Shaivism, this wild dynamic Energy (is variously described as “waving, “sparkling,†glittering,†“pulsatingâ€, “vibrating,†etc., yet Adyashanti never broaches the subject of “dancing†Shakti.
Adyashanti is big on the emptiness (or Sunya) theme, even describing enlightenment as “emptiness looking at emptiness.†But as the great Indian philosopher Jaideva Singh emphasizes in his Kashmir Shaivism text, “Spanda Karikas: The Divine Creative Pulsation,†Sunya (the void) is not Ultimate Reality. Emptiness is always an object to the Subject or Seer (Consciousness itself). And when Ramana Maharshi was asked about the void, his response was: There must be one who sees it. Find out who that one is.
Adyashanti says, “Asking ‘Who Am I?’ is being present in the space of not knowing and questioning all your beliefs and assumptions.†This is not the incomparable method of “Who am I?†(or Self-enquiry) that Ramana Maharshi teaches. Ramana’s superior Self-enquiry method is based on enquiring into (and obviating) I- thoughts as they arise, and thereby realizing the indivisible ‘I,’ or transcendental Self, that underlies them.
Adyashanti has little understanding of mysticism, and perceives mystical, or Divine, Union as superfluous to awakening and inferior to Advaita Vedanta and Zen. In reality, the highest mystical teachings, such as Hindu Kashmir Shaivism and Tibetan Mahamudra, are higher, more integral Dharmas than Advaita Vedanta or Zen. Moreover, there can be no awakening without Di-vine Union, without the “vine†of Shakti (the Spirit-Current, or Clear Light-Energy, or Sambhogakaya) becoming one with the “vine†of contracted Siva (consciousness or soul) in the spiritual Heart-center (the Hridayam, not the anahata heart chakra). Even if one practices Self-enquiry, palpable Shakti has to be sucked down into the spiritual Heart-center, where it cuts the Heart-knot, facilitating Divine Union, which is coincident with Self-realization, or en-Light-enment. If Adyashanti had a little better understanding of Zen, he’d realize that Bodhicitta (Buddhahood, or en-Light-ened consciousness) is only possible if Spirit-power, the Light-energy of the Sambhogakaya, or “Dharma Cloud,†unites with one’s consciousness (the contracted Dharmakaya) in the Tathagatagarba (the Heart-center).
Adyashanti also has little understanding of Kundalini. He talks about having Kundalini experiences prior to his awakening, but never elaborates on what Kundalini is or how it relates to Self-Realization. As Ramana Maharshi makes clear, Kundalini is the Self . In other words, The Higher Kundalini (Cit-Shakti) is the dynamic Energy or Power of the Self.
Adyashanti refers to the great mystic Meister Eckhart in his talks, but misses Eckhart’s most important saying: “I penetrate God and God penetrates me.†In other words, integral spiritual life is not just about being an empty cup or vagina; it’s also about being a diamond or penis that penetrates all dharmas. In fact the Hindu title for a realized being—“Bhagavanâ€â€”etymologically, means “penis in the vagina.†Unfortunately, the apophatic Adyashanti is a vaginal mystic, ignoring the importance of the “penis of consciousness†in the en-Light-enment process.
In summary, Adyashanti is a fine spokesman for the practice of non-resistance (which equates to Ohms reduction in an electrical circuit), but he doesn’t understand how the whole circuit of en-Light-enment works, how consciousness-force (which equates to Voltage) and Spirit-conductivity (which equates to Amperage) pertain to en-Light-enment.
