The relationship between Oneness and Maya.
 

Can Oneness only manifest as an ilusion Of Two? If so why? I would be intested in responses to that question.

It depends where we are coming from.

The common idea is that Oneness manifests as duality.

But duality implies a third element - the relationship between the two aspects of duality. So Oneness manifests as a triplicity.

And then there is the idea of Oneness manifesting as "the ten thousand things". The ten thousand things is simply a poetic way of describing the entire world, the indefinite multitude of all forms and beings in manifest existence.

For example, in Zen "When the self advances, the ten thousand things retreat. When the self retreats, the ten thousand things advance."

But this probably originates from Taoism.

Tao produced the One.
The One produced the two.
The two produced the three.
And the three produced the ten thousand things.

All can be considered as correct.

Peace

Deep question Iamit, I'm still wondering why the Unborn decided to create two in the first place...

Enjoying each moment of this illusion until I find the answer to that question.

Regards,

but there aren't two things... the idea of two or more things only originates when you start drawing lines in the sand... without that it all blurs together...

You are very wise Falling Leaves. It's a pleasure to read you.

Regards

Source presents as diversity, contrast, variation at every turn - why? Because it can? It just happens to be its creative nature. Delusion is to apprehend this play of differentiation as separation - as somehow independent and inherently existing - as having, what Buddhists call, ‘own being’.

Can Source simply manifest as One? Yes! It’s doing that all the time. It’s not One OR many, it’s One AS many. Coming to see this Oneness in the midst of its creative origination IS the no-separation realisation.

Surely what source (Oneness) is doing all the time, without exception, is appearing AS The illusion of separation?

Yes, but that’s like saying that what the ocean is doing all the time, without exception, is appearing AS waves. The realisation is to see that the waves are THE OCEAN wave-ing. It’s never NOT the ocean. It’s never NOT the One.

Yes of course. What I am wondering about is why it has to manifest as the the many. Why is it not possible for it to manifest as Oneness DIRECTLY, and not bother with appearing as the illusion of the many at all? It seems that the reason could be that it cant because the appearance of Oneness directly would be no manifstation at all as no contrast.

Maybe Oneness is an illusion also that comes from the projection of the Unborn into It's Dream. Why the Unborn wanted to feel Oneness in the first place, by creating a dream, the Trinity as says IAmThat, to do so?

Or maybe it is just our monkey mind that is not evolved enough to see that they are only lines drawn in the sand as would say Falling Leaves.