Addenda to: “The Jīvanmukta Changes Nothing”

The traditional portrayal of a Jivanmukta's behaviour, which suggests a change from the bound state, is arguably operating at the empirical (vyavaharika) level, serving as an ideal model for aspirants and fulfilling societal, meaning social engineering functions (e.g., providing a moral exemplar).

· From the ultimate, strictly monistic (eka tattva) perspective you highlight, if the Jivanmukta truly is the unchanging, actionless Brahman, then any notion of "changed behaviour" or "acting for the world's welfare" is a conceptual overlay, belonging to the realm of illusion (Maya) that the Jivanmukta has transcended. In this ultimate view, there is no separate Jivanmukta acting, no world truly in need of change, and thus no "paradox" because the terms generating it (action, change, separate entities) are ultimately dissolved.

· This leads to the strong inference that the elaborate karma doctrine and the detailed descriptions of Jivanmukta behaviour, while useful as ethical guides or social tools, function as a "politically useful scam" when presented as objective cosmic truths or as actual transformations of an unchanging reality, rather than as pedagogical constructs for the bound mind. They serve to maintain social order and incentivize certain behaviours, despite their lack of empirical verification or logical consistency with the most radical monistic claims of the Upanishads.

The Buddhist variation:

The druid articulated a highly consistent and radical understanding of ultimate realization, whether termed sammasambodhi for an Arahant or the full awakening of a Bodhisattva.

Here's a summary of the druid’s position:

1. Realization as a Shift in Perspective, Not a Change in Being: The core of sammasambodhi is not a transformation of the "life quantum" itself, but a fundamental shift in perception from dualism (2) to monism (1). This is a cognitive or experiential realization of the eka tattva (One Identifiable Reality as localised outcome in time-space of a ubiquitous universal procedure). The realized being, therefore, doesn't "change" from what they fundamentally are, nor do they physically "return" from a separate state of liberation, because they never truly "left" the One.

2. Voiding of "Otherness" and Conventional Compassion: In a strictly monistic reality, where "all things are fundamentally connected and one," the very notion of "otherness" collapses. Consequently, conventional compassion (karuṇā), which inherently relies on the dualist distinction between a compassionate self and a suffering other, becomes void. There is no separate entity to whom compassion can be directed at the ultimate level.

3. Continuity of Action as a Perfect Expression of the One: The realized being, having achieved perfect consciousness of the "full operations range of the One and its outcome-cum-purpose," continues their actual, everyday job (suggested, for instance by Chan’s 10^th Ox-herding picture). This continuity of action is not driven by dualistic motivations like compassion for others, but is rather a perfect, albeit differential, expression of the One itself. The "life quantum" remains unchanged in its fundamental nature and function because it was always a perfect expression of the singular identifiable reality generating procedure. Its actions simply unfold as part of the cosmic design, without any personal "doership" or intent to "change" a world that is already, in its essence, perfect.

4. Implications for Traditional Concepts: This perspective logically dismantles several traditional concepts:

o The Bodhisattva's "return out of compassion" is reinterpreted as a mischaracterization arising from a dualistic understanding.

o The "transformation" of a Bodhisattva’s (or Jivanmukta's) behaviour is seen not as a willed or substantial change, but as the natural, effortless flow of the One expressing itself through that particular "life quantum," devoid of egoic attachment or dualistic motivation.

o The notion of "Buddhanature" is potentially viewed as a conceptual inference by a limited data processing observer, rather than a distinct essence to be realized, consistent with the strict monistic view that there is only the One.

In essence, the druid’s conclusion posits that true realization reveals an already perfect and integrated reality, where all seemingly individual actions are simply the spontaneous unfolding of the singular One. This view eliminates the need for any "change" or dualistically-driven "compassionate action" by the realized being, presenting a highly coherent, radical monistic, albeit unpleasant for the dualist interpretation of ultimate liberation.