Deepak Chopra leads a Diamond Sutra-style inquiry into the non-conceptual ground of reality — the formless presence that precedes all thought, perception, and symbol. He guides listeners toward a direct recognition of awareness as the source of all conceptions.
Transcript
By now, you must be familiar with my repeating, almost ad nauseum that who you are and what fundamental reality is, is nothing conceptual or perceptual, nothing symbolic, but the source of all conceptions and perceptions. That fundamental reality is the formless presence, which is the field of infinite possibilities, So Buddhists actually explore this very well in something called the Diamond Sutra meditation, where they speak of a direct apprehension of emptiness or suchness free from discourse or discursive Construction where the duality of perceiver and perceived relaxes. Phenomenology points to a pre-reflective, preconceptual givenness of experience and immediate what it is like that is there before we think about it, because, once you think about it, it becomes a moment in time. So these things show up in practice as deep presence in meditation, and they can be a shift from attending to the narrative, which is my progress, my insights to a simple, unadorned luminosity of sensation, space, and awareness. So why don't we try the Buddhist diamond meditation approach style, which is kind of consistent with the way I've been speaking about fundamental reality as non-dual. So you can do this eyes open or closed. Gently sense your arms, legs, and especially the belly, like feeling the tube of the body from inside without image. Just raw sensation. Notice there is awareness knowing these sensations. Let that be simple, not mystical. Just Sākṣī. Sākṣī means witnessing. Now, hold these questions very softly. What is it like right now in this body, in this field? What is the actual feel of being here? Stay with the felt immediacy, not the idea of it. Let anything arise, thoughts, moods, subtle anxiety, curiosity, briefly name it, tightness, anticipation seeking. Maybe subtle fear. After naming, drop the word and sink attention into the raw texture beneath the label. Like sensing a Vṛtti. Vṛtti breath means fluctuation directly as vibration prior to story. Now, ask yourself softly if I don't call this fear or excitement. What is it as pure sensation, or how does this vibration want to be felt right now? Let experience show itself instead of you deciding what it is. Now, track this, move into familiar knowing. Bring attention specifically to the moment, you know what this is. Watch for the click of recognition. Oh, this is that pattern, this contraction around this fear, or this is a non-dual state. As soon as that click happens, pause. Ask, what just happened in my system when I concluded what this is? How does this conclusion feel in the body, in the field? You're not attacking the concept. You're studying the act of conceptualization like any other arising Vṛtti or fluctuation. And now let's step to the edge of not knowing. Here is the precise edge. You can feel the urge to already know what is happening. Let that urge to be fully aware. Sense it as energy pressure in the head, leaning forward, tightening in the chest. Then ask gently, what if I did not know what this is? What is this before I pin it down with a label? And let the answer be, I don't know. Instead of filling that gap, feel the texture of not knowing itself. Stay a few breaths in this raw not knowing, like resting in a luminous, slightly uncanny presence, openness. As the compulsion to know relaxes a bit, something subtler often becomes obvious. Notice the simple presence that is here even when you do not know what the experience means. Ask very slowly, what is this aware field like? Independent of what appears in it? Is this awareness itself seeking or is seeking just another movement within it? Do not rush to call it Brahman or non-dual as concepts stay with the bare feel of field like presence, transparent centerless quietly, self existing And now let's touch the non-conceptual edge of it. Gently refine attention, sense that there is perception. Sounds, sensations, subtle energies, but notice that for a moment you do not have to recognize or name any of it. Ask what is experience when it is not yet divided into this or that. What is reality here before I say anything about it, even awareness or self. Let everything be exactly as it is, but as if the labels have become transparent, like subtitles, you can see through this is the felt taste of reality thinning out of conceptual grip. If a thought arise, oh, this is non-conceptual reality, smile inwardly recognize it as another Vṛtti fluctuation, vibration and include it in the same open field. Before we close, without analyzing the session, ask one simple question. What is unmistakably true about reality right now? Let the answer so-called be something directly felt not a philosophy. For example, there is undeniable presence, or everything is appearing in one indivisible field. You do not need a philosophy, just stop. No need to build a teaching or map from it. Let the recognition echo in silence as you reenter ordinary activity. So this is a diamond style inquiry into non-conceptual reality. It is on the edge of knowing and not knowing. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma.