Non-Being (with capital initials) is originally a Taoist expression, adopted by the metaphysician René Guénon, signifying that which lies beyond being and beyond Being (i.e., God as the first affirmation or causa sui).
It is also found in John Scotus Eriugena (9th c.).1

The term Beyond-Being is preferred by Frithjof Schuon, while Deity (Gottheit) is used by Meister Eckhart — and certainly not “divinity” (Gottheit ≠ divinity).

More precisely

Non-Being does not mean negation, absence, or non-existence.
Rather, it designates that which is beyond all determination,
and therefore superior to Being itself,
for Being already implies a first affirmation or ontological unfolding.

From the metaphysical point of view, Being is the first manifestation of the Supreme Principle.
But the Principle, as such, cannot be limited by the Being it founds.
Hence the use of the term Non-Being, to signify absolute transcendence,
beyond every ontological affirmation, every essence, and every causality.

Non-Being thus refers to the Supreme Principle,
the silent source preceding every determination.
It does not belong to the opposition being / nothingness:
it designates that which, transcending Being, makes Being possible.

Comparable conceptions include:
— the Tao (beyond naming and being),
— Eckhart’s Deity (Gottheit),
— Schuon’s Beyond-Being,
— the hyper-essence of Dionysius the Areopagite,
— nirguṇa Brahman in Advaita Vedānta.

The language of Non-Being is necessarily apophatic:
it proceeds by removing what does not apply,
since any positive predication would say too much.

It therefore does not designate a void,
but an ineffable plenitude,
the source of Being and of beings

For further reading

  • Lao-Tzu, Tao-Te-Ching — On the Tao beyond naming and being.
  • Plotinus, Enneads — On the One beyond intellect and being.
  • Dionysius the Areopagite, Mystical Theology — On the “beyond-being” and the apophatic way.
  • John Scotus Eriugena, De Divisione Naturae — On Non-Being as divine hyper-essence.
  • Meister Eckhart, Sermons — On Deity (Gottheit) beyond God.
  • René Guénon, Les états multiples de l’être — Uses the term Non-Being to designate the transcendent Supreme Principle.
  • Frithjof Schuon, The Transcendent Unity of Religions — On Beyond-Being as the Supreme Principle.
  • Jean Borella, Amour et Vérité (Paris, L’Harmattan, 2011) — On Christian apophatism and the language of the Principle.
  • Bruno Bérard, Metaphysics for Everyone (Angelico Press);
    — fr. Métaphysique pour tous (Paris, L’Harmattan, 2022)
    — it. Sui sentieri della metafisica
    — es. ¿Qué es la metafísica?
    — de. Was ist Metaphysik?
    On Being, the Principle, and metaphysical hierarchy.

Footnotes

  1. “Descending first from the hyper-essentiality of His nature, where He merits the name Non-Being, God creates Himself out of Himself in the primordial Causes.” — John Scotus Eriugena, De Divisione Naturae (The Division of Nature), 683A.[↩]