Dabbling

2025, May, Issue 147

Dabbling in this idea, of awakening,

this thing you feel is just a silly notion,

something you heard from a famous person,

some guru told you to awaken, after you

climbed up to the vista of a tall mountain,

you heard that and chuckled to yourself, thinking

it is just unrealistic, a distraction from important things, just

a dabble for midnight speculation over stiff drinks,

and a laugh, where you pretend to be some

earth-shattering expert, as you laugh at this thought,

this nonsensical thought you had about awakening,

you’re dabbling with this thing,

this thing you brag about,

proclaiming your expertise, extrapolating

to your drunken cohorts in the insane asylum,

exclaiming that you found something, and

now you know something really profound,

as you dabble in such speculation,

as you go stumbling around drunken in this

knowledge,

this all-around-you-tangled-undergrowth-of-mind,

engaging in all that endless frustration, all

that deep suffering, rather than

taking the deep plunge into true knowledge,

rather than rising above it all into clear bright light,

rather than touching that rainbow,

dabbling, always dabbling in the dark corners

of this endless mythical forest of mind,

remaining in perpetual shadow,

just dabbling,

talking a big talk about that,

about that apparent halo you think is real,

floating around your head, rather than

realizing just what that is at your heart center,

rather than awakening, rather than

taking the serious effort to discover

Timeless Luminosity,

or finding a way to go beyond this dark existence,

simply being as lazy as you can possibly be,

rather than making this supreme effort,

this compassionate aspiration to awaken,

where you never give up, never give up;

Can you see, can you realize

just what you have done,

creating this endless comedy

this face of self and other,

this nonsense of mind?

Either you are deadly serious,

genuinely wishing to awaken,

or you completely waste this human life,

this supreme opportunity to awaken,

by remaining in doubt, by having no idea,

by clinging to what is not real, and

by not wanting to discover what is real,

by pushing away in distaste,

by choosing the path of eternal misery;

It’s your choice, your opportunity

to discover Ultimate Reality for yourself,

by letting go of what is not real,

by examining all that appears to mind;

This is your great fortune in finding the Path,

at long last, you have discovered a Path

to liberation at long last,

at long last, at long last,

as it is.

A poem by Robert Aho © 2025

When we dabble in our Spiritual Practice, it’s really a complete waste of time. If we wish to awaken, that is where our Spiritual Practice begins. If we have this aspiration, then we need commitment, we need to do much more than just dabble around the edges. This takes our spiritual life to a completely new level. We must take that seriously or we really haven’t even begun. It doesn’t matter how many books or empowerments you’ve received, if you don’t make the supreme effort, you’ll never discover reality.

Now it’s true, awakening itself takes absolutely no effort; so, some people clamp onto that idea, completely getting the wrong idea, thinking that they don’t ever need to practice. Practice, in this case, means looking within or meditating. They might even quote great masters to prove their point. Unfortunately, when they do this sort of cherry-picking, they ignore the numerous times these great masters emphatically tell their students to meditate as often as possible. It takes a supreme effort to get to the point where awakening is possible.

Dabbling sort of reminds me of when a person dips their toe in the water, before deciding to take the plunge. Since I’ve had the good fortune of leading groups in meditation, I’ve seen it all. What often happens is that a person will dabble, feeling satisfied with that, then go brag about their spiritual accomplishments. I’ve seen people who claimed to have meditated for over forty years, and still they had no accomplishments whatsoever. This is because of dabbling.

If you take your Spiritual Practice seriously, you will see results right away. A serious practitioner is someone who never misses a day of meditation, someone who practices what they learn on a regular basis. If you have some sort of sensitivity to energy, you can tell at once if someone is a serious Spiritual Practitioner. You feel their calm, their enhanced spiritual energy. This doesn’t come from dabbling.

I’ve spent many years practicing for many hours each day. Now that I’m a Dzogchen practitioner, my practice is 24/7. We find ways to deal with everything. When I’m agitated, for instance, I immediately acknowledge that, maybe laugh. So, a serious Spiritual Practitioner is not afraid to laugh. Such things help us to seriously, efficiently, practice.

When you commit yourself to the Spiritual Path, never give up. Always remain committed to awakening, which means others will awaken. This ever-increasing mandala of spiritual successes means that you are bringing maximum benefit to the world. It’s not about ignoring the world around you, it’s about opening your heart and mind to the possibilities. This is awakening.

Blessings in Light,

Robert Aho