The Wisdom of the Holy Truths
Unity, Nonduality and Our Experience of Reality
The teachings of the Enneagram as a spiritual path rest on a collection of related spiritual truths. It’s the loss of awareness of these truths that gives rise to the False Self and each particular Personality Type. These Holy Truths (also called Holy Ideas) are not unique to these teachings. In fact, the most fundamental Truth is recognized by mystics in many religions and spiritual paths.
The first and foundational Truth is that of Unity. All is One. Everything that arises and appears in all of existence is part of a single Whole. (Everything that doesn’t arise and doesn’t appear is also part of this Whole as well.) Another way of pointing to this Truth is to say that “nothing is separate from anything else”. This goes beyond interconnection, it is what the Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh calls “Interbeing”. The Hindu mystic tradition of Advaita Vedanta that elucidates this understanding literally means “not two” – A-dvaita. These are the teachings known as “non-dual”. Other wisdom traditions understand this as well.
If All is One, why do we see so many different things around us? In fact, it seems that all of life is separate things! This is because of the second Truth – that of Manifestation. Unity is continuously pouring itself forth as the vast and differentiated universe that we experience. It’s like the ocean creating waves. Watching the ocean, we see wave after wave after wave, but none of these is anything but ocean, there is no part of a wave that is not ocean. In that same way, nothing we experience, nothing about ourselves or others or any aspect of existence, is anything but the One.
We can experience both of these truths, together or separately. We can experience them deeply or just catch a glimpse. I think we experience these truths, and the other Holy Truths, more often than we recognize. One reason for writing about these Truths is so that, when we do have a moment of awareness of one or more of them, we’ll recognize the moment for what it is – a moment of being awake. The word “Buddha” means “awake”. In such moments, we’re in good company!
More Holy Truths arise because of the first two. Here they are below. I encourage you to read them slowly and feel within yourself which ones resonate most strongly, which ones you already recognize. These Truths are functioning continuously in the bringing forth all of existence, right here and right now. They are available to your awareness, right here and right now.
THE HOLY TRUTHS
The first truth is Unity, all is One, all Consciousness, the ocean.
The second truth is Manifestation, multiplicity, the waves.
All boundaries and separate existences are illusory
Everything arises optimally, according to no-plan
Each thing and all things collectively are complete and perfect
Unity is the source of all things
All that exists and happens is the expression of Unity
A moment of remembering any of these truths is a moment of Liberation
Everything that arises is an expression of the ever-changing pattern and nothing is not part of the vast unfolding
Every apparent individual thing is in complete accord with this unfolding
This unfolding is optimal
This unfolding is worthy of our trust
This unfolding supports and is supported by each and every expression
Taken altogether, these Truths express what we experience as Peace, Harmony, Love
Each of these Truths is an aspect of Unity, each rests upon and with each of the others. Because of the truth of Unity, each of the others is true as well. I don’t think this list is exhaustive of the deepest truths of existence. I don’t think we can make such a list. I don’t think we can ever fully perceive the vastness and complexity of the wholeness of reality. We can experience these Truths however, and in so doing experience moments and even lives marked by freedom.
Thank you for reading this post, I welcome your comments and questions below. Please do share this with anyone you think may be interested. If you’re interested in classes, one-on-one consultation, or a conversation to help you clarify your likely Personality Type, please contact me at keith at theawakenedenneagram.com.
Thank you so much, Keith. This is so very helpful to my deepening understanding of the Enneagram, and its own interconnectedness with the non-dual teachings. Unity, “Unicity” as I’ve read from Ramesh in his book “Peace and Harmony in Daily Living”) in everything, complete Oneness and your analogy the the waves being comprised of ocean are so helpful. Looking forward to continued exploration into these Truths through the frameworks of the Enneagram.