The Transparency of Things [Paperback]

Rupert Spira (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2008

The purpose of Rupert's book is to look clearly and simply at the nature of experience, without any attempt to change it. A series of contemplations lead us gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind. It is the conscious Presence that is aware of this current experience. As such it is nothing that can be experienced as an object and yet it is undeniably present. However, these contemplations go much further than this. As we take our stand knowingly as this conscious Presence that we always already are, and reconsider the objects of the body, mind and world, we find that they do not simply appear to this Presence, they appear within it. And further exploration reveals that they do not simply appear within this Presence but as this Presence. Finally we are led to see that it is in fact this very Presence itself that takes the shape of our experience from moment to moment whilst always remaining only itself. We see that our experience is and has only ever been one seamless totality with no separate entities or objects anywhere to be found.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Non-Duality Press (October 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0955829054
• ISBN-13: 978-0955829055
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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118 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Locating Our True Body: The Reality of Sense and Perception, January 4, 2009

By 

Christopher Hebard "chebard" (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Transparency of Things (Paperback)

This book, The Transparency of Things, by Rupert Spira is a very special book. Let me explain why.

Recent years have given birth to a multitude of contemporary western books on the subject of non-duality and the nature of consciousness; few have been particularly instructive. In actuality, to this reader, most are, at best, redundant caricatures of work better espoused by earlier sages.

Rarely does there appear to be specific assistance to the reader attempting to investigate the nature of reality. This seems odd since, by definition, the search for truth must discount beliefs in favor of direct inquiry and experience of the truth.

For this reason, it would seem that "best of breed" literature regarding consciousness would clearly enumerate specific queries and "exercises" designed to provoke deep analysis in the reader in the hope of replacing belief with the tangibility of fact through experience regarding true nature.

In the ancient Indian Upanishads and Vedas, much specific instruction was given to the student on methods for discovering the truth of one's nature. This is not so often seen in contemporary advaitic literature. In fact, there appears to be a growing body of pontification on non-duality but little direct teaching or actionable guidance assisting the seeker in forming his own conclusions.

The Transparency of Things is a notable exception.

Rupert takes the reader on a comfortable stroll as consciousness: stopping, pointing, examining and questioning what our actual experience is in any given moment.

These are not generalities cast about wholesale; these are gentle nudges designed to have you look more closely at the core assumptions of your daily living, the very assumptions that hold our illusory view of the world, body and mind together.

Since the primary focus of the book is to encourage examining our experience in the 'here and now", The Transparency of Things takes a moment to dissect what comprises our moment to moment experience: name and concept from the mind and form from the senses.

Rupert observes how we clothe Reality with these names and forms. He draws our attention to the appearances derived from our instruments of perception that are mistaken for the objects themselves.

Gently, he delivers us to the realization that our own minds and senses act like "a prism through which the unity of Consciousness/Existence appears to be refracted into ten thousand things."

Taking us deeper, he encourages us to witness the daily transition from deep sleep to waking state: a great deal can be observed when awakening daily regarding the emergence of the "I thought" and thew unfolding first, of time, and then, of space.

As Rupert repeats, " Time is the first language of the mind; space is the first language of the senses".

This is the point we continue to return to: Remove the perceptions of mind and senses for even a moment and what is left but Presence, Awareness, Being. In a word, consciousness is all, nothing more.

As this awareness establishes itself, we shed the veiling powers of the senses and mind, transforming our senses/minds into revelatory instruments.

Shine on.

Don't be fooled.This investigation into the reality of our experience eventually leads us to the observation that all of the world of form, both gross and subtle, is nothing more than thought and thought is made of mind;

But, what is mind made of? The same stuff as thought: perception, sensations, memories, even dreams.

At first glance, objects, gross and subtle,seem to appear to consciousness; later, they seem to appear from within it; finally, it is seen that they are consciousness itself.

What is the true nature of the body we experience? Is there a mind? What, exactly, are we referring to when we refer to the"world"? What is "the thing in itself" as opposed to our perceptions of it? Does consciousness reside in our bodies? Or is it the other way around? What exactly is fact and what exactly is belief, parading as fact?

What is the truth of what we experience as distance when viewing objects? When looked at closely, is 'distance' actually our experience or is it merely a learned sensory concept?

Rupert provides easy to follow real time "explorations": using a step by step, methodical approach to many topics that are often superficially glanced over in books, dialogues and satsangs. Here, He takes the time to allow for your complete examination of the underlying truth of the conclusion.

The result: rather than inheriting yet another set of beliefs, no more helpful than those you just let go, you gain direct experience, a knowing unique to you.

This is revolutionary, dismantling deep inquiry. In reality, there is just no other valid method. When your curiosity has been piqued, serious self investigation begins.

Many hope for a spontaneous awakening of the type Ramana Maharshi had as a teenager; such experiences do, in fact, happen. But, so does 00 appear on a roulette wheel in Las Vegas, once every 38 spins.

For the rest of us, as long as there is this core belief that we are human beings, there is the task of deconstructing the house of "separate self", one rafter and nail at a time, until the entire supporting structure collapses due to glimpses occurring outside of time.

As Francis Lucille once said,"As long as there is a belief (that they are a person),I think it is better to do something to get rid of this belief.'

No doubt about it. These are disturbing and disruptive inquiries, asking us to question the very nature of that which we have taken for granted our entire lives. The conclusions obtained have the power to dissemble our views of the world, our bodies and minds at a very intimate level.

So, no, this book and these 'exercises' are not for the feint of heart, gentle though Rupert's approach may be. They are not necessarily another "feel good' set of replacement beliefs that work until life tests us once again with a new series of 'unacceptable' events, designed to awaken us to our hidden misconceptions.

Trust me, the inevitable conclusions are worth the effort; un-obscured life shines with presence, happiness and peace which return to the forefront. We stand in awe at the complexity and beauty of it all and bow to that which is.

Rupert's book is thorough and worthy of a much deeper review; I am reluctant to spoil the valuable experience each will have exploring The Transparence of Things at this juncture. It is best to make the commitment to read the book in it's entirety.

One warning: I promised to finnish this tome within one week for review back to the author.It turned out that the material was so rich and well presented that it took three months and as many complete readings for me to fully digest it's message.

It is a remarkable and substantive work. I hope we see more of the same soon.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and brilliant, March 11, 2009

By 

Randall Friend - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Transparency of Things (Paperback)

Rupert Spira's book, The Transparency of Things, is one of the clearest books on Nonduality to come along in a long time.

Rupert gently leads the reader through a simple and honest look at the nature of experience, the nature of experienc-ing. He clearly peels back the layers of conceptual separation to reveal the direct fact of Consciousness - Consciousness aware of itself AS the body, mind and world.

Seeing what is being pointed out in this book requires an openness, a laying aside of pre-conceived notions - yet if there is an honest look into what Rupert is saying, Reality becomes obvious.

He writes that all objects which are assumed to be outside are nothing but perceptions, sensory input which is taken to be a separate world. As the investigation gets "closer to home", he similarly evaluates the sensations which are combined in concept to create the idea of a body and mind.

Rupert clearly points out that this is never anything outside of Consciousness itself - nothing anyone is doing - Consciousness simply has the innate freedom to identify with an object which is appearing.

This is a definite must-have in any serious nonduality library. Yet if the clear and direct message is met with the arsenal of pre-existing beliefs, confusion will remain. If there is a desire to get to the core of the message of nonduality, a willingness to lay these learned assumptions aside for a bit, Rupert's clear message may penetrate that bubble of illusion called "ME".

Brilliant, well-written book and very highly recommended.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart and Sensuous, June 5, 2009

By 

Jerry Katz "Nonduality.com" (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Transparency of Things (Paperback)

Rupert Spira pole dances on the lamppost of consciousness. This book is smart and sensuous in equal measure.

Some of Rupert's moves are basic:

"All we have is experience. The mind is simply the experience of the mind. The body is simply the experience of the body. The world is simply the experience of the world."

Some are intermediate:

"We conceptualize a mind, a body and a world that exist outside, separate and independent of experience, that are considered to exist when they are not being experienced. However, such a mind, body and world have never been experienced. Nor would it be possible to have such an experience because, as soon as it is experienced, it would, by definition, fall within experience and would therefore no longer be outside, separate from or independent of it."

Some moves are advanced and wondrous:

"Experiencing is the essential ingredient of the mind, the body and the world, and Consciousness is the essential ingredient of experiencing.

"What would the mind, the body and the world look like if experiencing were removed from them?

"And what would experiencing look like if Consciousness was removed from it?"

Rupert breaks down the advanced and wondrous moves into its basic parts, thus clearing and widening the path to self-realization.

METHODS:

Rupert suggests looking "more and more deeply into the nature of ourselves...." He gives experiments for looking into experience, sense perceptions, and consciousness. Throughout certain chapters are peppered questions, some of which are addressed in detail and others which stand as inquiries for the reader's consideration.

"...take a sound that would normally be conceptualised as taking place at a distance. Refuse any story that the mind tells us about the nature and whereabouts of that sound. Does it not occur in the same place as the thoughts and sensations? Does it not arise within consciousness? Are the sound and Consciousness not one seamless experience? Is the sound at a distance from Consciousness, separated from it? Is there a border or interface between the sound and Consciousness?"

THEMES:

The themes of life are considered:

Deep sleep: "Deep sleep takes the shape of the dreaming and waking states and is their substance...."

Ego: "It is Consciousness pretending that its essential nature has the same characteristics as the body/mind in which it seems to appear, and which in fact appears in it."

Happiness and Desire: "Desire is the form of Happiness. It is the shape that Happiness itself takes when it overlooks its own presence and begins to search for itself elsewhere."

Experience itself: "We experience `one thing,' a multifaceted object comprising mind, body and world, and this `one thing' refers to the totality of our experience at any moment."

Art: "[Cezanne] felt that art should lead us to Reality, indicate that which is real, evoke that which is substantial. It should lead us from appearance to Reality."

Ethics: "...if we truly feel that everything and everyone is an expression of the same one Reality that we ourselves are, we will act accordingly and will quite literally behave towards others as we would behave towards ourselves."

Practice: "It would be disingenuous to believe that there is nothing to do, that Consciousness is all there is, there is no separate entity, simply because we have heard or read it so many times. Such a belief leaves us worse off than we were in the first place."

Love, suffering, seeking, memory are other themes addressed.

CONCLUSION:

Spira acknowledges his "friend and teacher" Francis Lucille. Lucille's teacher was Sri Atmananda (Sri Krishna Menon), who authored two volumes, Atma Darshan and Atma Nirvriti. The works of both teachers are recommended along with Rupert Spira's as they are intimately interconnected. The Transparency of Things is a significant contribution to the small body of Direct Path literature.

I also note that the publisher, Non-Duality Press, is now no longer publishing books solely in the new tradition of (so-called) neo-advaita. They still are, and in addition they are publishing Direct Path books. The difference is noted by Dennis Waite: "[Direct path] differs from neo-advaita in that all of its teachings begin from the present evidence of one's experience, and its statements are backed by rigorous logic. Whereas a neo-advaita teacher might state that `This is it' and expect the seeker to understand what is meant, the direct-path teacher will begin with a simple observation or statement that everyone can agree with."

Rupert Spira's home page is www.rupertspira.com.