The Nondual Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

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The Nondual Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-WolffUnless otherwise noted below, all content on this page is written by Thomas J.

McFarlane. Copyright 1993.

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About Wolff Wolff's Realizations Wolff's Philosophy Aphorisms Poetry Publications

Biographical Sketch of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

I recommend the most honorable kind of life that you can live: In all human relationships to cultivatethe attitude that the end is the triumph of good; not my good, but good as such. -Franklin Merrell-Wolff, 1983

Franklin F. Wolff was an American mystic, philosopher, andmathematician who combined an extraordinary intellect with profoundmystical insight and authenticity. Born in 1887 in Pasadena, California, he

The Nondual Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

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was raised in San Fernando as the son of a Methodist minister. Wolffgraduated from Stanford University in 1911 with a major in mathematicsand minors in philosophy and psychology. He then went on to Harvardgraduate school to study philosophy, where he was particularly influencedby the study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. As a result of hisphilosophical studies, Wolff "became convinced of the probable existenceof a transcendent mode of consciousness that could not be comprehendedwithin the limits of our ordinary forms of knowledge." Prior to completinghis degree at Harvard, he returned to Stanford to teach mathematics. Whenit became clear to him that he must "reach beyond anything contained within the academic circles of the West" toRealize Transcendental Consciousness, he left his promising career in academia to engage in a spiritual quest. Whenhe married Sarah Merrell, they joined their surnames to symbolize their partnership in a shared spiritual work.

Wolff's twenty years of seeking included deep engagements within the theosophical, Sufi, and Hindu traditions. Inthe later part of his quest, Wolff was drawn to the philosophical works of the Indian sage Shankara, who foundedthe Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. It was while in deep contemplation of the teachings of Shankarathat, in 1936, Wolff's efforts culminated in two Transcendental Realizations which provided the foundation for hisphilosophy. While the first Realization confirmed the perspective of Shankara's philosophy, the second Realizationwas unexpected and opened Wolff's philosophical view beyond his understanding of Advaita Vedanta. His booksPathways Through To Space and The Philosophy of Consciousness Without An Object provide a detailed record ofWolff's realizations and a lucid philosophical description of Transcendental Consciousness. Wolff's long life wasspent writing, lecturing, teaching, and working the land. He spent his retirement years at the foothills of the easternSierra Nevada near Lone Pine, California and died there in 1985 at the age of 98.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff's Realizations

Wolff grounds his philosophy in his Realizations, and not in mere rational speculation. In his written report of hismystical unfoldment, Wolff identifies three premonitory recognitions and two fundamental, or transcendental,Recognitions.

First Premonitory Recognition: "I am Atman"

Wolff's first premonitory recognition took place in 1922, approximately 14 years prior to histranscendental breakthroughs. Wolff describes this first recognition as a noetic insight into the truth of "Iam Atman". The term "Atman" is a Sanskrit term that Wolff uses to refer to the transcendental subject toconsciousness. Just prior to this insight, Wolff had been engaged in the practice of discrimination ofsubject (Atman) and object (world). This practice of discrimination is fundamental to the teachings ofShankara, the founder of the Advaita Vedanta school of nondual philosophy. The purpose of this practiceis to effect a disidentification and detachment from the objects of consciousness, and a realization ofidentity with pure subjectivity. Although Wolff previously had been intellectually convinced of the truthof the proposition "I am Atman", this time he suddenly realized its truth at a deeper level than theintellect. Although this was only a veiled Realization, it nevertheless brought a sense of Light and Joy,and had persistent positive effects, such as a certain change in the base of thought, bringing clarity wherethere had previously been obscurity.

Second Premonitory Recognition: "I am Nirvana"

The second premonitory recognition took place in late 1935, approximately 9 months prior to the first

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fundamental breakthrough. Wolff describes this recognition as the realization that "I am Nirvana". Priorto this noetic insight, his thought upon the subject of Nirvana had been involved in the confusion thatNirvana is a kind of other-world separate from the relative world of subject-object consciousness. Whilemeditating upon Nirvana, however, it suddenly dawned on him that "I am Nirvana", where "I" isunderstood here to mean the inner core of subjectivity. Like the Atman, Nirvana is never an objectbefore consciousness. It is therefore identical with the subject to consciousness, or the true "I". As withthe first premonitory recognition, this insight was accompanied by a sense of Joy and Illumination withinthe relative consciousness, and had persistent effects. In addition, there was a sense of a Current withprofound depth.

Third Premonitory Recognition: "Substantiality is inversely proportional to ponderability"

The third premonitory recognition took place in late July, 1936, about two weeks prior to thefundamental breakthrough. Prior to this insight, Wolff experienced certain logical difficulties reconcilingTranscendent Being with the physical universe. These difficulties arise from the habit of regardingobjects of consciousness, i.e., any appearance in consciousness that we can ponder or experience, as insome sense substantial. Although Wolff had a prior intellectual conviction that the Transcendent Beingwas more substantial, the intellectual idea alone had failed to have a powerful transformative effect onhis consciousness. This third premonitory recognition, however, had a profound effect on hisconsciousness that served to clear the way for the fundamental breakthrough that would follow in amatter of days. Wolff expressed the insight with the following proposition: "Substantiality is inverselyproportional to ponderability", or "Reality is inversely proportional to appearance". In other words, thedegree of true substance or reality is the inverse or opposite of the degree of ponderability. Thus,concrete objects of experience, which have a high degree of ponderability, are the least substantial.Subtle or abstract objects of experience, on the other hand, which are less ponderable, partake of a higherdegree of substantiality and reality. The effect of this insight upon Wolff was an acceptance ofsubstantial reality where the senses reported emptiness, and a greater capacity to realize unreality, ormerely dependent or derivative reality, in the material given through the senses. This insight broughtabout a more profound shift of identification with the transcendent supersensible reality, and acorrespondingly profound detachment from the objects of consciousness. This shift was decisive inclearing the way for the fundamental realizations that were to follow.

First Fundamental Recognition: Realization of Self, Liberation

The first of Wolff's two fundamental Realizations took place on August 6, 1936. In contrast with theprior insights, which retained objective elements in his own consciousness and thus fell short of genuineidentification, the fundamental Realizations unequivocally transcended the subject-object or relativeconsciousness. Just prior to the first Realization, Wolff had been meditating upon the teachings ofShankara, particularly the discussion of Liberation. Upon meditative reflection, he realized that hisefforts to attain Liberation involved a seeking after a subtle object of experience. But any new object ofexperience, no matter how subtle, was something other than the objectless transcendent consciousness.Thus, Liberation does not necessarily involve any new object of experience or change in the content ofconsciousness. To seek such a new object or experience, therefore, is a mistake. Genuine Realization,therefore, is a recognition of Nothing -- but a Nothing that is absolutely Substantial and identical withthe SELF. The result of this profound realization was the complete and instant cessation of expectationof having any new experience or relative form of knowledge arise. The light of consciousness thenturned back upon itself, toward its source, and the pure Atman was realized as absolute fullness and asidentical with himself. This Recognition was not an experience of any new content in consciousness, buta Re-Cognition of a Truth that is, was, and always will be. It is a nondual knowledge of identity thattranscends space and time. Nevertheless, there were various effects experienced within the relativeconsciousness, that may be considered expressions of the Recognition. Because the Recognition is notthe recognition of any particular effects or phenomena, they should not be confused with the Recognitionitself. Some of the effects Wolff experienced were: (1) A shift in the base of reference in consciousness,

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transplanting the roots of identity from the relative to the transcendent, (2) a transformation of themeaning of self from a point-like principle opposed to objects of experience to a space-like identity withthe entire field of consciousness and all its contents, (3) a sense of penetrating knowledge into the depthsof reality, (4) a transcendence of space, time, and causality, (4) complete freedom and liberation from allbondage. Also experienced were qualities of joy, felicity, serenity, peace, and benevolence.

Second Fundamental Recognition: High Indifference, Equilibrium

Although Wolff's first fundamental Realization was an unequivocal transcendence of the subject-objectconsciousness, for a period of approximately 33 days there remained certain unresolved tensionspreventing it from being a full state of equilibrium. This tension consisted in the contrast in valuationbetween the superlative Joy, Peace, Rest, Freedom and Knowledge of the Transcendent and theemptiness of the relative world. There was a distinction between being bound to embodied consciousnessand not being so bound, with a subtle attachment to being not bound. Counter-acting this subtleattachment, however, was Wolff's prior acceptance of the bodhisattva vow, a commitment to the value ofrelative manifestation and embodiment, motivated by compassion for all sentient beings. With thismotivation, Wolff resisted his strong inclination to retreat into the transcendent bliss of nirvanicconsciousness. Instead, he sacrificed his strictly personal enjoyment of those transcendent values in orderto maintain a relative embodiment and help liberate all sentient beings. This act of compassion andultimate renunciation led to an unexpected second fundamental Recognition that resolved the residualtensions between the universe and nirvana. This Realization represented a complete Equilibrium, notonly a relative equilibrium between objects, but also an ultimate Equilibrium between relative andabsolute levels of consciousness. Because this realization does not give any more valuation to nirvanathan to the universe, and recognizes no ultimate difference between the two, Wolff called it the HighIndifference. It is the complete resolution of tension between all opposites, the complete transcendence ofall distinctions, including the distinction between the transcendent and the relative. At this profoundlydeep level of Recognition, all self-identity, both in the highest sense of the transcendental Self and thelower sense of the ego self, was no more. In Wolff's words, "I was no more and God was no more, butonly the ETERNAL which sustains all Gods and Selves."

The Three Fundamentals of the Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Based on his fundamental Realizations, Wolff developed a transcendental philosophy which he distilled into threefundamental propositions. Wolff emphasizes that these propositions, like his philosophy as a whole, are conceptualsymbols of an ineffable Reality. Moreover, Wolff acknowledges that the Realizations upon which his philosophy isbased are not necessarily ultimate, and are authoritative only for Wolff and anyone who has had similar Realizations.Nevertheless, the philosophy has value for others who aspire to such Realization. The three fundamentals of hisphilosophy are as follows.

1. Consciousness is original, self-existent, and constitutive of all things.

Wolff's term "Consciousness" here does not mean consciousness as opposed to unconsciousness. Nordoes Wolff use the word "Consciousness" here as a consciousness involving any particular structure ormode of experience, such as the structure of intentionality, or the mode of our typical experience basedon the distinction between subject and object. Rather, the meaning of the term "Consciousness" here isTHAT which is the primordial ground and essential nature of all modes and forms of experience, bothsubjective and objective. In Wolff's words,

The One, nonderivative Reality, is THAT which I have symbolized by 'Consciousness-without-an-object.' This is Root Consciousness, per se, to be distinguished fromconsciousness as content or as state, on the one hand, and from consciousness as an

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attribute of a Self or Atman, in any sense whatsoever. It is Consciousness of which nothingcan be predicated in the privative sense save abstract Being. Upon It all else depends, whileIt remains self-existent.

Thus, Consciousness is primary, i.e., it is first, prior to everything. Not before or first in the sense of timeor temporal sequence, but prior in the sense of not being secondary to or derivative from anything else.Hence, Consciousness is self-existent, i.e., it does not depend upon anything else for its being and isentirely self-sufficient and complete. In particular, Consciousness does not depend upon, and is notderivative from, matter, energy, or any other substance. On the contrary, all experience and all objectsare derivative from Consciousness. Thus Consciousness is constitutive of all things, i.e., all things are, intheir ultimate nature, nothing but this Primordial Consciousness itself.

2. The Subject to Consciousness transcends the object of Consciousness.

To understand this philosophical proposition, we need to first clarify Wolff's use of the terms subject andobject. Our experience is normally conditioned or structured by the distinction between a subject toconsciousness and objects of consciousness. The subject to consciousness is that which is aware ofobjects or appearances in consciousness. Objects of consciousness are distinct states or appearances inconsciousness, ranging from the most concrete to the most subtle. A concrete object in consciousnessmight be a visual perception of a chair or a sensation of pain in our foot. More subtle objects areappearances in consciousness such as a thought or memory, an intuition about something, or a state ofconsciousness such as an experience of the world that is permeated by a subtle sense of bliss. It isimportant to note that the term "object" as used here by Wolff includes our thoughts, feelings, and otherinner experiences. Such inner phenomena are still objects in consciousness just as much as outerphenomena are.

In contrast to objects in consciousness, the subject to consciousness is the principle or aspect ofconsciousness by which there is awareness of objects. Because an object cannot be reasonably said to bein consciousness if it is not an object of awareness, the existence of any object in consciousnessnecessarily implies a subject to consciousness. At the basis of our relative experience, therefore, is adistinction between subject and object. The second fundamental of the philosophy states that the subjecttranscends the object, i.e., that the subjective principle or aspect of consciousness is more fundamental toconsciousness than the objective appearances in consciousness. This philosophical proposition derivesfrom the insight that, on the one hand, the objective appearances of consciousness vanish in thetranscendent nirvanic state of consciousness, while, on the other hand, the subjective principle ofconsciousness, i.e., the capacity of awareness, is common to both relative and transcendent levels ofconsciousness. The subjective principle is therefore transcendental, while the objective principle is not.

3. There are three, not two, organs of knowledge: perception, conception, and introception.

The third fundamental of Wolff's philosophy is an affirmation of a third way of knowing, or a thirdorgan of knowledge. Secular philosophy in the west admits only two modes of knowledge: perceptionand conception. Perception includes all sensory knowledge we derive from seeing, hearing, feeling,smelling, and tasting. Conception includes all knowledge we derive from thought, memory, imagination,and the like. If we admit only these two forms of knowledge, then our knowledge of reality is foreverlimited to our hypothetical, conceptual speculations about what reality might be "behind" our perceptualappearances. If we are limited to conception and perception alone, any certain, categorical knowledge ofreality and truth is not possible, and there is no rational way to understand the possibility of mysticalrealization or transcendental consciousness. The third fundamental, however, affirms the existence of athird way of knowing, which Wolff calls "introception". The introceptive capacity is normally latent orpartially latent, but can be activated partially or fully, through intentional effort, spontaneously or both.When activated, introception provides immediate, categorical knowledge that transcends the subject-object distinction, i.e., it is not a relational knowledge of something by something else, but a knowledge

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through identity in which there is only knowledge itself that includes and transcends both knower andknown. The third fundamental, in short, affirms that, in addition to the capacity of perception andconception, there is also a capacity for transcendental knowledge.

Franklin Merrell-Wolff's Aphorisms

In addition to using more traditional forms of philosophic expression, Wolff also expressed his Realization in theform of poetry and aphorisms. Regarding his Aphorisms, Wolff writes:

There are two lines of approach to, and employment of, the aphorisms. They may be regarded as seedsto be taken into the meditative state, in which case they will tend to arouse the essentially inexpressibleMeaning and Realization which they symbolize. This we may call their mystical value. On the other hand,they may be regarded as primary indefinables upon which a systematic philosophy of the universe andits negation, Nirvana, may be developed. In this case, they may be viewed as a base of reference fromwhich all thought and experience may be evaluated.

In the following aphorisms, Wolff uses the terms "Consciousness-without-an-object" to refer to "the Sole Realityupon which all objects and all selves depend and derive their existence" (aphorism 54).

APHORISMS ON CONSCIOUSNESS-WITHOUT-AN-OBJECT

(Excerpted from The Philosophy of Consciousness Without An Object by Franklin Merrell-Wolff, and reproducedhere with the permission of Doroethy Leonard.)

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1. Consciousness-without-an-object is.

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2. Before objects were, Consciousness-without-an-object is.

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3. Though objects seem to exist, Consciousness-without-an-object is.

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4. When objects vanish, yet remaining through all unaffected, Consciousness-without-an-object is.

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5. Outside of Consciousness-without-an-object nothing is.

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6. Within the bosom of Consciousness-without-an-object lies the power of awareness that projects objects.

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7. When objects are projected, the power of awareness as subject is presupposed, yet Consciousness-without-an-object remains unchanged.

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8. When consciousness of objects is born, then, likewise, consciousness of absence of objects arises.

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9. Consciousness of objects is the Universe.

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10. Consciousness of absence of objects is Nirvana.

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11. Within Consciousness-without-an-object lie both the Universe and Nirvana, yet to Consciousness-without-an-object these two are the same.

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12. Within Consciousness-without-an-object lies the seed of Time.

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13. When awareness cognizes Time then knowledge of Timelessness is born.

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14. To be aware of Time is to be aware of the Universe, and to be aware of the Universe is to be aware of Time.

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15. To realize Timelessness is to attain Nirvana.

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16. But for Consciousness-without-an-object there is no difference between Time and Timelessness.

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17. Within Consciousness-without-an-object lies the seed of the world-containing Space.

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18. When awareness cognizes the world-containing Space then knowledge of the Spatial Void is born.

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19. To be aware of the world-containing Space is to be aware of the Universe of Objects.

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20. To realize the Spatial Void is to awaken to Nirvanic Consciousness.

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21. But for Consciousness-without-an-object there is no difference between the world-containing Space and theSpatial Void.

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22. Within Consciousness-without-an-object lies the Seed of Law.

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23. When consciousness of objects is born the Law is invoked as a Force tending ever toward Equilibrium.

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24. All objects exist as tensions within Consciousness-without-an-object that tend ever to flow into their owncomplements or others.

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25. The ultimate effect of the flow of all objects into their complements is mutual cancellation in completeEquilibrium.

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26. Consciousness of the field of tensions is the Universe.

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27. Consciousness of Equilibrium is Nirvana.

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28. But for Consciousness-without-an-object there is neither tension nor Equilibrium.

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29. The state of tensions is the state of ever-becoming.

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30. Ever-becoming is endless-dying.

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31. So the state of consciousness of objects is a state of ever-renewing promises that pass into death at themoment of fulfillment.

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32. Thus when consciousness is attached to objects the agony of birth and death never ceases.

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33. In the state of Equilibrium where birth cancels death the deathless Bliss of Nirvana is realized.

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34. But Consciousness-without-an-object is neither agony nor bliss.

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35. Out of the Great Void, which is Consciousness-without-an-object, the Universe is creatively projected.

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36. The Universe as experienced is the created negation that ever resists.

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37. The creative act is bliss, the resistance, unending pain.

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38. Endless resistance is the Universe of experience, the agony of crucifixion.

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39. Ceaseless creativeness is Nirvana, the Bliss beyond human conceiving.

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40. But for Consciousness-without-an-object there is neither creativeness nor resistance.

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41. Ever-becoming and ever-ceasing-to-be are endless action.

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42. When ever-becoming cancels the ever-ceasing-to-be then Rest is realized.

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43. Ceaseless action is the Universe.

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44. Unending Rest is Nirvana.

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45. But Consciousness-without-an-object is neither Action nor Rest.

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46. When consciousness is attached to objects it is restricted through the forms imposed by the world-containingSpace, by Time, and by Law.

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47. When consciousness is disengaged from objects, Liberation from the forms of the world-containing Space, ofTime, and of Law is attained.

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48. Attachment to objects is consciousness bound within the Universe.

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49. Liberation from such attachment is the State of unlimited Nirvanic Freedom.

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50. But Consciousness-without-an-object is neither bondage nor freedom.

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51. Consciousness-without-an-object may be symbolized by a SPACE that is unaffected by the presence orabsence of objects, for which there is neither Time nor Timelessness, neither a world-containing Space nor aSpatial Void, neither Tension nor Equilibrium, neither Resistance nor Creativeness, neither Agony nor Bliss,

neither Action nor Rest, and neither Restriction nor Freedom.

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52. As the GREAT SPACE is not to be identified with the Universe, so neither is It to be identified with any Self.

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53. The GREAT SPACE is not God, but the comprehender of all Gods, as well as of all lesser creatures.

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54. The GREAT SPACE, or Consciousness-without-an-object, is the Sole Reality upon which all objects and allselves depend and derive their existence.

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55. The GREAT SPACE comprehends both the Path of the Universe and the Path of Nirvana.

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56. Beside the GREAT SPACE there is none other.

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OM TAT SAT

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Poetry by Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Although Wolff gave expression to his Realization primarily in philosophical form, he also wrote some beautifulpoetry. Two of his shorter poems, Compassion and The Nameless, give a taste of this side of Wolff. These are bothexcerpted from Pathways Through to Space by Franklin Merrell-Wolff, and reproduced here with the permission ofDoroethy Leonard.

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Compassion

O Compassion! More than the other loves of men, less than the High Indifference;Calmly standing by and waiting; years, centuries, millennia;Taking to Thyself the suffering of all; transforming toward Joy;With Light restraining Darkness; with good, evil;Refusing release while others are bound; melting differences;Accepting impurity, giving purity;Bound by no law, yet acquiescing in bondage;Available for all as the light of the sun, yet forced on no man against his will;Needing nought for Thyself, though giving to all in need;The Base of all hope for this humanity so low;Pure Radiance Divine.Sweet art Thou, unutterably sweet; melting within me all hardness;Stirring inclusion of the low as the high; the evil as the good; the weak as the strong;the unclean as the pure; the violent as the considerate; none left out;Awaking new understanding and patience beyond Time;Arousing forgetfulness of the petty in the grand sweep of the noble;Equalizing regard, yet exalting true worth;Reaching beyond all contradiction.To Thee I sing, glorious Spirit; grandest God mankind can know.

The Nameless

Above, below, to right, to left, all-encompassing,Before and after and all between,Within and without, at once everywhere,Transforming and stable, ceaselessly;Uncaused, while fathering all causes,The Reason behind all reasoning,Needing nought, yet ever supplying,The One and Only, sustaining all variety,The Source of all qualities, possessing no attributes,Ever continuous, appearing discrete,Inexpressible, the base of all expression,Without number, making possible all number,Containing the lover and the beloved as one,Doing nought, remaining the Field of all action—The actor and the action not different—Indifferent in utter completion;Diffused through all space, yet in the Point concentrated,Beyond time, containing all time,Without bounds, making bounds possible,Knowing no change;Inconceivable, yet through It all conceiving becoming;Nameless ever and unmastered;THAT am I, and so art Thou.

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Publications related to the Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Merrell-Wolff, Franklin.Unpublished Essays, Transcriptions, Tapes, and CDs.

Please direct inquiries via email to Doroethy Leonard at Doroethy@cox.net or via mail Sept. to May to

Doroethy Leonard5825 N. 12th Street, #10Phoenix, AZ 85014

and June to Aug. to

Doroethy LeonardP.O. Box 758Lone Pine, CA 93545

Merrell-Wolff, Franklin (1994).Franklin Merrell-Wolff's Experience and Philosophy: a personal record of transformation and adiscussion of transcendental consciousness: containing his Philosophy of Consciousness Without AnObject and his Pathways Through To Space (Albany : SUNY Press). ISBN 0-7914-1964-9.

Publisher's Summary:

Here is an account of the enlightenment experience and its consequences written by a trainedphilosopher and mathematician who is also a master of English prose. Merrell-Wolff experiencedenlightenment, became established in the state, and wrote clearly about the value and nature of theknowledge he attained. This is a record of transformation in consciousness written during theactual process itself, supplying an unusually intimate view.

The author faces the epistemological problem directly—the problem of demonstrating the realityand value of knowledge springing from mystical roots. He gives serious attention to thephilosophical and psychological criticism, writing with an eye to the pitfalls indicated by suchcriticism. He did not write only for those who believe easily.

Merrell-Wolff, Franklin (1973).The Philosophy of Consciousness Without an Object (New York : Julian Press). ISBN 0-517-54949-2.

Merrell-Wolff, Franklin (1973).Pathways Through To Space (New York : Julian Press). ISBN 0-517-54961-1.

Merrell-Wolff, Franklin (1995).Transformations in Consciousness: The Metaphysics and Epistemology, containing Franklin Merrell-Wolff's Introceptualism, and a forward by the editor, Ron Leonard (Albany : SUNY Press). ISBN 0-7914-2676-9.

Publisher's Summary:

This book presents a philosophy that includes the enlightenment experience—that embraces thewider ranges opened by the door of realization—while not excluding the contents of the morecommon experience. A realization in consciousness that finds no place or adequate recognition inphilosophical systems proves the inadequacy of those systems. The author first briefly surveys theprincipal schools of modern Western philosophy in order to show how they fall short. He thenpresents his philosophy grounded on the authority of direct realization resulting from a

The Nondual Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

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transformation in consciousness.

Merrell-Wolff, Franklin (1970).Introceptualism, (Phoenix : Phoenix Philosophical Press).

Leonard, Ron (1999).The Transcendental Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff (Albany : SUNY Press). ISBN 0-7914-4216-0.

Publisher's Summary:

This book provides a critical exposition of the philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff, a twentieth-century mystic and philosopher—an exceedingly rare and fruitful combination. Wolff's training inphilosophy and science convinced him that it was important to ground his thought in immediateawareness to avoid the pitfalls of mere intellectual speculation. As a mystic, he included firsthandaccounts of his experiences and transformations, the sort of invaluable primary data that is mostoften lacking in a mystic's writings.

Ron Leonard discusses Wolff's influences and realizations and uses phenomenological and analyticmethods to explore the implications of his work within the contemporary philosophical context. Inparticular, Leonard focuses on Wolff's two primary claims: (1) that Consciousness, transcendingthe subject-object structure, is primary, and (2) that there is in mystical experience a means ofknowing other than sensation and conception. This book explores the accounts of Wolff'sgrounding in the immediacy of his Realizations, and the nature and philosophical significance ofmysticism for our understanding of knowledge, reality, and ourselves.

"Ron Leonard does an outstanding job of explicating the philosophy of Wolff, as well as bringingthis philosophy to bear on central issues in the study of mysticism. He also does an excellent jobof weaving contemporary philosophical programs—such as phenomenology, theories of the self,egological/nonegological theories of consciousness, and the religious use of language into hisanalysis." —Robert A. Holland, Hofstra University

"I like the author's ability to express Wolff's mystical experiences and the philosophy followingthese experiences clearly and his ability to integrate these experiences into a coherent philosophicalsystem. Leonard's ability to analyze Wolff's use of pure mathematics in his transcendentalexperiences is admirable." —Joan Price, Mesa Community College

Barušs, Imants (1996).Authentic Knowing: the convergence of science and spiritual aspiration (West Lafayette : PurdueUniversity Press). ISBN 1-55753-085-8.

Author's Summary:

I am not afraid of trying to do the impossible, and in writing Authentic Knowing I was not afraidto try to penetrate beneath the usual level of discourse concerning spirituality and science. Talkedinto writing it by one of my students, by the time I had finished, I realized that I had succeededbeyond my expectations. This book is not for those who are satisfied with the usual scientistic ornew age ideas about reality but for those who are looking for a more comprehensive discussion. DoI have all the answers? Of course not. As Jeffrey Mishlove, author of The Roots of Consciousnesshas said "This extraordinary book invites its readers to wrestle with questions of spiritualawareness, in the light of modern science and humanistic thought." Instead of answers, I invite thereader to join me in an exploration of the deep questions concerning life in order to seek to achievegreater clarification. In a review published in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, ThomasDraper has said "Thoughout, the author proves to be a worthy and mature guide for a journey thatcontemplates both the spoken and the unspoken, the seen and the unseen, and keeps its sojournerswithin light's bounds." Allan Combs, author of Synchronicity: Science, Myth, and the Trickster has

The Nondual Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

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summed it up as follows: "This book is about the search for authentic personal and spiritual truthin an age of confusion and distraction. In it Baruss moves . . . toward that which is essential andvalid, in other words toward truth. Most satisfying. In the tradition of Franklin Merrell-Wolff,Imants Baruss is a mystic, mathematician, philosopher, and above all a seeker."

Barušs, Imants (2007).Science as a Spiritual Practice (Imprint Academic).

Author's Summary:

Science as a Spiritual Practice is in three parts. In the first part I argue that there are problemswith materialism and that self-transformation could lead individual scientists to morecomprehensive ways of understanding reality. In the second part I take on the contentious notion ofinner knowledge and show how access to inner knowledge could be possible in some altered statesof consciousness. The third part is an analysis of the philosophy of Franklin Wolff, who claimedthat the transcendent states of consciousness which occurred for him resulted from hismathematical approach to spirituality.

McFarlane, Thomas J. (1995)."The Spiritual Function of Mathematics and the Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff" (published onthe web at The Center for Integral Science).

This essay presents Merrell-Wolff's writings on the spiritual function of mathematics, selectedfrom his three major works, Pathways Through To Space, The Philosophy of ConsciousnessWithout An Object, and Introceptualism. Mathematics, according to Wolff, functions as a bridgebetween the relative and transcendent states of consciousness. It serves, on the one hand, as avehicle for crossing from the transcendent to the relative by providing a highly subtle and preciselanguage for expressing the immediate contents of transcendent states with minimal distortion. Onthe other hand, it also serves as a vehicle for crossing from the relative to the transcendent byproviding highly abstract and universal symbols for generating insights through contemplation.Wolff emphasizes, however, that although the structure of this mathematical bridge is provided bythe highly subtle forms of thought, an actual crossing of the bridge requires the motivating powerof love and devotion.

McFarlane, Thomas J. (2003)."The Heart of Franklin Merrell-Wolff's Philosophy" Published in Sangha: The Newsletter of theFranklin Merrell-Wolff Fellowship, Fall 2003 (part I) and Winter 2004 (part II).

This article is based on a keynote address delivered at the Franklin Merrell-Wolff Reunion andGathering in Lone Pine, California on 31 May 2003. It is a discussion of the paradox that whiletranscendental realization is ineffable, yet language and philosophy can nevertheless be a way ofrealization. In the process of dissolving this paradox, the nature of conception is examined andrelated to the capacity to become aware of the nirvanic dimension of thought.

McFarlane, Thomas J. (2008),"A Peculiarly Beautiful Path to Yoga" The Newsletter of the Franklin Merrell-Wolff Fellowship, Summer2008 (part I), Fall 2008 (part II). [related video, 55 min., streamed]

Keynote presentation at the Franklin Merrell-Wolff Conference in Lone Pine, California, 7 June2008. This commentary on Wolff's book Pathways Through To Space, Chapter 61, "The Nature ofPonderable Matter" is best appreciated by those with some familiarity with Wolff's philosophy.

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The Nondual Philosophy of Franklin Merrell-Wolff

http://www.integralscience.org/gsc/[11/26/2011 1:17:17 AM]

no part of these materials may be reproduced in any form, except for fair use such as private study, research,teaching, criticism or review.

Copyright 1993, Thomas J. McFarlane.