Buddhist Non-Duality: A Response to Saltzman's Feedback Loops

This episode of Deep Dive explores the Buddhist Threefold Truth, a foundational concept stating that all phenomena are simultaneously empty of fixed essence, possess provisional existence through interdependence, and embody the Middle Way where these two aspects interpenetrate. The author contrasts this perspective with Robert Saltzman's "feedback loop" model of the self, which, while acknowledging the self as a process, is critiqued for potentially leading to a reductive and nihilistic viewthat overlooks wonder and meaning. The text argues that Buddhism avoids this extreme by embracing the "non-exclusive" Middle Way, recognizing that the self, though without fixed essence, is not nothing, but rather a dynamic, interconnected arising. This understanding is achieved through Shikan meditation, where practitioners observe thoughts and the self through the lens of the Threefold Truth, leading to a realization of interconnectedness and the inherent wonder in all existence.