"The Already Awake" is a concept in non-dualistic (Advaita) spirituality, referring to the recognition that one's true nature as pure awareness was never absent enlightenment is not attained in the future but recognized as always already present.
- Appears in Neo-Advaita teachings (Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Rupert Spira)
- In Zen Buddhism: Buddha-nature is inherent in all beings awakening is the recognition of what was always already there
- In Advaita Vedanta: "tat tvam asi" (That Thou Art) you are already Brahman (ultimate reality); the sense of being a separate self is the only veil
- The "Already Awake" framing holds that seeking enlightenment is itself the obstacle the seeker is already what is sought