Awareness is not an object
Morning Lily
Awareness is not a discreet experience
One common confusion that a lot of people have when they start meditating in the non-dual traditions is trying to understand Awareness. Because we are so used to looking at the world through the lens of sense objects we automatically think that Awareness is something we will find within the contents of our own experience. We think Awareness is some incredible experience we will find at the end of long heroic journey. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Awareness cannot be found in the contents of our experience because Awareness is not an object. Awareness is the subject from which all experiences arise.
A good way of thinking about this process is akin to a perceptual shift. In the image below, you don’t need to expend a lot of effort to see the two faces as a vase. The process of seeing the vase is instantaneous. It is a conceptual shift, not a discreet experience of bliss or eternal happiness. This understanding is important so that one does not chase experiences. Obviously, spiritual experiences are important, and are good milestones of one progress but it is a fallacy to assume that the point of these practices is to have a discreet experience of Awareness. The goal is not to get high on spiritual experiences but realizing that Awareness is the base that underlies all experiences, spiritual or otherwise.
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Metaphors for Awareness: Advaita 10th Man Story
Awareness, which is the background of our experiences, is always present and is the foundation of all of our experiences, good and bad. It’s true nature is peace and happiness. In Vedanta, this Awareness is commonly described as Sat-Chit-Ananda. Sat is Existence, Chit is Consciousness and Ananada is bliss. Our innermost nature is happiness but because our mind is turned outwards we seek this happiness in objects.
This story concerns ten young boys who were studying at their teacher’s home in ancient India. The boys decided that they would like to return to their village for a festival and to visit their families. The teacher was a bit concerned about their going because he had to take care of his family and would not be able to accompany them to their village. To solve this issue, one of the boys spoke up, and said that he would take responsibility for the group and make sure that they all arrived safe.
The teacher reluctantly agreed to let them go, and they started on their journey. In the beginning, to make sure everybody was accounted for, the teacher counted the ten boys and sent them on their journey to their village. On the way to their village, the 10 boys had to cross a big river. The boy who was leading the group advised all of them all to hold hands, and carefully cross the river together. They did so, but the current was so swift that the boys could not hold on to each other, and some were swept downstream.
As they scrambled up the banks on the other side of the river, wet and frightened from their experience, the leader advised them all to line up, so that he could count them and make sure that they all had crossed safely. The leader counted, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine." Nine? He had them line up differently. The count was again nine. The leader counted repeatedly, and every time he came up with the count of the number nine. Nine! Nine! One boy had not made it across! One boy was lost! One boy had drowned!
A wise man, sitting nearby, watched the whole scene as it unfolded. He immediately understood what had happened, and he approached the leader of the group. The boy poured explained his situation and was distraught. "I took responsibility for the group, and now one of us is lost. One of us has drowned in the river. "The old man told the boy, "Don't worry. I can help you. I know where the tenth boy is."
The old man then asked all of the boys to lineup and started to count. The boys lined up, and the boy who had been leading the group took the last place in the line. The old man counted. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine..." And then arriving at the leader, the old man said, "Ten - you are the tenth man." The leader was elated! "I am the tenth man!"
This story is an excellent metaphor for Awareness because it illustrates the point that Awareness cannot be found outside yourself in an experience. You are Awareness and always present in every experience. You cannot have an experience without your “Awareness” being present. Because we are so enamored and caught up by worldly experiences, we forget to count ourselves as the Witness of these experiences. You are always present in every experience that you have. Even if you feel that you were not present in experiences of intense bliss, ecstasy or in deep sleep, the fact that you were able to recall that you were not present means that you were always present.
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