The Embodied Divine

There is a junction where the un-manifest meets the manifest, where the formless meets form. It is like the meeting point of ocean and wave. In this meeting point the un-manifest becomes manifest, the formless becomes form, the ocean takes the form of a wave and the Divine is embodied.

And you are that meeting point, that channel for the embodied Divine. Not only you, but everything you see, hear, taste and touch. It is all an expression of the formless in form, an expression of the Divine in matter.

Suchness

In Zen, we use the word Suchness to describe this meeting point. When we see a person or object, we see both the form and the formless it is an expression of and cannot exist without. We see both the manifest and the un-manifest, both the material and the Divine. In this way everything is seen as essentially One. There is no separation anywhere. No manifest form can exist without the un-manifest it is an expression of. When we truly realize this deep in our own experience as both manifest and un-manifest, we are free from the conditioned concepts of this and that or this versus that. Nothing appears as separate and independent any longer. Our own identity is no longer separate and independent. It includes all that exists, both form and formless, both manifest and un-manifest, both material and Divine.

In this way, we are free to see life as it is without limiting it to concepts or beliefs. How can you describe this? How can you contain this in any thought or concept? It is unlimited, infinite, beyond all thoughts of space or time.

A Concept To Free You From Other Concepts

This meeting point is also a concept used here to free you from the other concepts that are limiting you. The manifest and un-manifest, form and formless, material and Divine have never been separate so there is really no meeting point between two separate things. There is just what is. And what is is beyond description or any concept.

In this moment, you are both manifest and un-manifest, both form and formless, both material and Divine. You are both the wave and the ocean.

Shifting Attention

Through most of our lives our attention was directed exclusively to form alone. And I include thoughts and feelings as form. Our attention rarely, if ever, strayed to the formless which is always here and which no form could exist without, just as no wave could exist without the ocean. As we begin to awaken, our attention begins to include the formless. At first this may happen with sudden flashes of realization. In Zen, we call these moments Satori, or clear seeing. As this happens more frequently and for longer periods of time, our attention begins to rest as much on the formless as it does on form. Eventually we realize that there has never been any separation between form and formless. They have always been One, just as the wave has never been separate from the ocean.

All form arises from the formless. All that is manifest arises from the un-manifest. All that is material arises from the Divine and can never be separate from it. All that is manifest has the nature to be constantly changing, a dynamic expression of the un-manifest. Only the un-manifest in its un-manifest state can be said to be unchanging as it has not yet manifest to change. Manifest and un-manifest inter-are. They are One. When we talk about Oneness or nonduality, this is what we mean. Nowhere in all existence can anything stand by itself alone.

If you are able in meditation to surrender your attention to form and relax back into the formless, to surrender all concepts and thoughts, to enjoy this vast infinite spaciousness, you cannot help but experience the oneness of form and formless. All separation dissolves. If you are fully present, you cannot help but notice this dynamic play of form ceaselessly arising from and returning to the formless.

Here you truly experience the absolute and undeniable perfection of all life.