On “continual recollection” – I
“To the One who, although nothing but a mass of consciousness, is yet solidified in the form of the world, to the unborne One who is proficient in the play of concealing his own Self, glory to this Supreme Lord!”
Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta, verse 1
A few days ago, my friend Gregory Peters tweeted a verse from Abhinavagupta’s Tantrāloka:
“No lunar day nor asterism, no fasting is prescribed. He who is engrossed in every day life becomes a Perfected Being by means of continual recollection.”
(chapter 29/v65, transl. John Dupuche)
My initial interpretation of this verse was: “residing in wonder as the ground state of one’s being”.
A question was posed in respect to this verse – what does “continual recollection” mean in this particular context? I thought I’d take the opportunity to tackle this – not without some reservations, as though have been reading Abhinavagupta’s works for nigh on two decades, I still struggle to articulate my understanding of his luminous wisdom. But this is important for me. Ever since I came to realize how central the experience of wonder is to nondual tantra, I have been struggling to articulate what this means for me. I may say that I seek to open myself to wonder in the ordinary and every day, to find enchantment and presence in small moments and encounters, but that is somehow not enough. So I’m going to take this as an opportunity to say more about wonder in tantra, both as a beginning, a practice, and a goal. But’s that’s going to have to wait.
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