Non-Dual means there isn't a gap between subject and object, that what we perceive as a gap between things is an artificial creation and a conditioned perception. With meditation practice that separation disappears and we can see that it wasn't there in the first place. Buddhist say that the subject, object and act of perception are joined: the eye, seeing, and the seen are one. At the center of Zen experience is non-dualism.
These days many teachers and practices talk about it in a way that departs from the Zen understanding. Sometimes it becomes a commodity. When non-dualism becomes a goal to achieve or an idealized state or something special, then this isn't true to the heart of Zen. Also, when we are attached to non-dualism we are also far from our true nature. The awakening of non-dualism in Zen isn't separate from the activity of refinement, or working with the difficult problems of our lives.
Non dualism doesn't mean completely non-dual nor totally unified or merged. These can be likely misconceptions. It means the merging of difference and unity, that both uniqueness and the whole of things are interacting. This is the paradox of reality, the not-two not-one essence of Zen. Many Zen parables, teachings, and questions help students ponder the mystery of non-duality and how it arises from shunyata, the emptiness of reality.
Zen is a tradition of realization in action, of wisdom meeting the moment. Just having an intellectual understanding or even awakened insight would be like Mark Twain keeping a frog in his pocket without letting it hop about. Zen practices can help us discover how to live non-dualistically in our work, home, relationships, and stewardship of the earth.
Non-Dualism
