“The only Absolute Truths are all Paradoxes.”
-Veridicus Ficta
Non-Duality, known as Advaita Vedanta in Hinduism, is the belief that duality itself is an illusion. This idea resonates across disciplines, including physics, where non-duality is exemplified by light. When asked whether a photon is a particle or a wave, the correct answer is that it is both. This paradox reflects the nature of absolute truths: they are inherently paradoxical.
Duality arises from subjectivity and relativity. The Tao Te Ching describes this interdependence:
“Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.”
-Tao te Ching ch. 2
Here, dualities like “long and short” or “high and low” are shown to exist only in relation to one another. They are constructs of perspective, not inherent truths.
In any case where duality seems to exist, there is always a third perspective—one in which duality dissolves. This third perspective reveals the underlying unity, the Truth beyond duality.
Monotheism or Polytheism?
Through this lens of non-duality, the question of whether the Divine is one (Monotheism) or many (Polytheism) can be resolved. The answer is paradoxical: it is both.
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—illustrates this beautifully. It is often criticized as polytheistic by those who misunderstand it. In truth, it represents a non-dual understanding: the Divine is simultaneously one and many.
Consider the Kool-Aid Man:
The pitcher, the ice, and the liquid are distinct parts of the Kool-Aid Man, yet they are all him. He is simultaneously all of these and none of these.
They are One and they are Plural.
Similarly, the Divine is both one and plural.
Likewise, your body offers another example: Your finger, toe, and nose are all “you.” Each part is distinct, yet all are one unified being. Thus, “The All” encompasses every god and goddess across all religions. It is none of them, yet it is all of them, transcending duality entirely.
The One Person Play
Another way to understand “The All” is as an actor in a one-person play. Each character is played by the same actor, wearing different masks and personas.
When asking how many “people” are in the play, one must clarify:
How many Actors?
or
How many Characters?
Those who claim “God is One” are counting actors. Those who claim there is a Plurality of “Gods” are counting characters. The Truth is both perspectives are correct. The Divine is one Actor playing all roles.
Each of us is a character played by the same Divine Actor. The Actor refracts its consciousness—like light through a prism—into individual, child-like consciousnesses at birth. At death, these fragments return to the source.
Thus, we are simultaneously “God” and “not God.” Whatever we do to others, we do to both the Divine and ourselves.
This concept helps illuminate Jesus’ words:
“Whatever you do to the least of my people, you do to me!”
-Jesus in Matthew 25:40
Yin, Yang, Li, and Yuan: The Ontology of Existence
Yin, Yang, Li, and Yuan: The Ontology of Existence
The Taoist concepts of Yin (陰) and Yang (陽), expanded through the inclusion of Li (理) and Yuan (元), provide a complete framework for understanding duality, non-duality, and the origin of existence itself.
Yuan 元 — The Origin (∅)
Represents the Primordial Source—that which exists before all distinction and the Tao te Ching refers to as the Great Mother, and is known in Western terms as the “Goddess of 10,000 Names”.
The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, it gives birth to infinite worlds.
Yuan is neither Yin nor Yang, neither being nor non-being. It is the unmanifest void, the Null, the foundation from which all things arise, and the Virgin Mother giving birth to all that exists.
It is not emptiness as absence, but emptiness as infinite potential—the state in which no boundaries, categories, or truths have yet been defined.
In Yuan, nothing itself does not exist, and thus all exists.
Li 理 — The Principle (±)
Represents the Logos, the patterning force, and the act of distinction itself.
Li is not a static state, but a process—the recursive principle that divides, organizes, and relates. It is through Li that Yin and Yang are distinguished, and through Li that they are seen to contain one another.
Li is the simultaneity of opposites, the “Both”, and the structure that allows the Whole to recurse within itself.
Li is the reason Yin contains Yang, Yang contains Yin, and the Whole contains itself.
Yin 陰 — The Manifest (−)
Represents the material, the receptive, and the embodied aspect of existence.
Yin is the Divine Feminine and Maternal Matters, the realm of form, substance, and grounding. It is darkness not as absence, but as depth—the fertile ground from which life emerges.
Within Yin lies the seed of Yang, symbolized by the white point within the black—indicating that even in manifestation, the unmanifest is present.
Yang 陽 — The Unmanifest (+)
Represents the ethereal, the expressive, and the illuminating aspect of existence.
Yang is the Divine Masculine and Paternal Patterns, the realm of abstraction, meaning, and awareness. It is light not as mere illumination, but as intelligibility—the capacity to know, to perceive, and to define.
Within Yang lies the seed of Yin, symbolized by the black point within the white—indicating that even in pure abstraction, form is implicit.
🔁 The Living Structure of Reality
- Yuan (∅) is the Source beyond all distinction
- Li (±) is the act of distinction and recursive patterning
- Yin (−) and Yang (+) are the expressed duality
Through Li, Yin and Yang:
- give rise to one another
- contain one another
- and recursively generate the Whole
🌀 The Complete Insight
Visualized as Shapes:
- Yuan is Empty Space
- Yang is a Triangle or Pyramid with Rigid Structure
- Yin is the Waters and Darkness that Flow without Resistance.
- Li is the Adaptive Fractal Forms of Branching Trees or Spiral Shells
Yuan is the Void beyond the system.
Li is the structure of the system.
Yin and Yang are the expressions within the system.
If you still want a “family” framing, here’s the clean upgrade:
- Yuan (元) → The Primordial Source (Pre-Parent / The Unnamed )
- Li (理) → The Divine Child / Logos (The Pattern that Unites)
- Yin (陰) → The Mother / Maternal Material Form
- Yang (陽) → The Father / Paternal Paternal Form
The All exists within the One, the One exists within All.
The Recursive Paradox of Existence.
With You at the Center.
“The Kingdom of God is within You”