Awakening the Unconditioned Mind
- kesha Pillai
- Apr 6, 2021
- 2 min read
Nonduality is inspired by spiritual traditions found in India and Asia. They include the Mahayana Buddhist traditions of Zen, Dzogchen, Mahamudra, and Madhyamaka. Nonduality is also found in Hinduism's Advaita and Chinese Taoism. Buddha, Lao Tzu, Nagarjuna, Bodhidharma, Shankara, and Longchen are among the most well-known of the masters. Despite vast differences in personality and influence, these masters all share a similar experience of consciousness. Many terms have been used to refer to the experience of the complete evolution of consciousness, including self-knowledge, witness consciousness, no-mind, primordial mind, reality, openness, pure awareness, buddha-nature, and the unconditioned mind.
It is easy to see how I am conditioned by the culture, society, and propaganda that surrounds me. Nationality, religion or sect, environmental and education are all examples of our conditioning. Then there are the deeper conditions, such as my aggressive outlook on life. Aggression entails a sense of superiority and a desire for power, status, and prestige. Comparing is another of our conditioning. Comparison means measurement: I am comparing myself to what I believe I am, which I think is better, bigger, or nobler. I think that almost all human beings are conditioned and held within that pattern, regardless of which country or race they are from or which culture or religious dogma they follow.
The root cause of suffering, according to nonduality, is when the mind's attention is captured by "the conversation of the conditioned mind." Why does suffering continue to plague us year after year if I am so opposed to it? I appear to be quite at comfort with my worries and concerns. It is often easier to immerse myself in depressing stories. How I am unloved and unappreciated than to live in a free space where praise and blame, loss, and gain, simply cannot touch me. Freedom from suffering is not dependent on conditions being favourable; it is not dependent on conditions at all. The end of suffering occurs because of a inner shift of understanding. The firmly held view of self is purged through the experience of the unconditioned mind.
The unconditioned mind cannot get rid of fear, a virus or hardship. I may still have a sick body or feel confusing emotions, but I am not fighting for my condition anymore. No matter what my physical or mental conditions are, I am not constrained by them. This is not a state of denial. If anything, I am more aware of my circumstances. But I do not relate to them as “something that shouldn’t be happening.”
Whether we realise it or not, the unconditioned mind is the goal of all human endeavours because we are fulfilled precisely as we are. In the nondual approach, it is not necessary to remove thoughts or emotions to become free. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions arise when we are present to the unconditioned mind, but they no longer condition us. Even though this may sound extraordinary, the unconditioned mind is not something that exists outside of our daily lives. It is an experience in which we discover total freedom during our conditioned existence.
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