Fear

2023, November, Issue 71

Knowing that we are indestructible,

among these indescribable conditions of mind and the nature of mind,

knowing that,

knowing that we have developed this

enlightenment attitude,

knowing all that,

having found the nature of mind,

discovered this cosmic joke,

knowing that we are present in that;

It is time to become fearless,

time to develop inner strength,

undeniable courage standing against any and all

demons, any fear of destruction or obstruction,

any and all that stands in our way, make friends with that;

It is time to open our heart and mind

to the inevitable forces that will rush in;

We can confidently, abundantly without hesitation,

become ferocious, become that strength

that is beyond fear

or concern about personal safety;

Staring into the abyss of death

nothing can shake this new-found wisdom, of opening

to this attitude of indestructability,

of deathlessness,

of this great strength;

This undying heroism cannot be swayed

by worries about death,

the real condition of this illusion has been realized!

Staring fearlessly into the condition of our

certain demise, seeing death for what it is, remaining quite relaxed,

we conquer that condition

completely;

Seeing the bardos of life and death,

seeing that for what it is,

what is there to fear?

We see this at last, with clarity

as we gaze into timeless luminosity

seeing at last our real deathless condition,

we can no longer be conquered,

we can no longer

fear our everlasting

oppressor, we

take refuge

in our own

timeless wisdom;

Seen at last

we become

present

in

that.

~Robert Aho~

A poem from Timeless Luminosity © 2020.

Be very careful that you do what you can to understand reality.  Death is not a destination, as it appears to us from our limited point of view.  Death is nothing more than a transition, or a gap between what we think is now real and what we will discover next.  In our relative condition, we believe this or that, jumping to one conclusion and then another, not really applying ourselves towards some sort of investigation or discovery.

We need to look at our thoughts, without judgement or grasping.  Just watch your thoughts as they appear and drift by.  Gaze inwardly at mind, seeing appearances for what they are, not as what we wish or believe them to be.  When we start to relax into a luminous state, we no longer see thoughts, we simply exist within a state of unity, which some call Samadhi.  We remain undistracted in a natural way.

If we can do this, then the gap between lives, the death bardo, will not give us any problem.  If we die, however, in a state of agitation or confusion, then the death bardo can present great problems for us, both in that gap and in our rebirth.  I speak from experience, as you know, if you have read The Frog.  Even though I had some past lifetimes where I was fairly well respected as a yogi, I still had a future lifetime when I wasn’t able to remain at ease in the death bardo.

This current lifetime, of course, as you already know, I had no problem going into the death bardo and coming back a couple times.  This is because I have spent many years preparing for death.  To me, it is no problem, and there is absolutely nothing to fear.  If we take charge of our mind, by gazing at mind, by learning to remain at ease under every circumstance, then there is no problem.  If, however, we continually do battle with our own mind, our own life, then there is no limit to the problems we can cause for ourselves.

Fear, or anything that causes fear, is really something that should be abandoned.  It gets in the way of our own awakening.  We should replace that fear with an ongoing persistent practice of Bodhicitta.  While the aspiration of Bodhicitta is not the same as this Samadhi that we strive to achieve before it is time to die, the Ultimate meaning of Bodhicitta is the same as what we experience in Samadhi.  In that case, Bodhicitta is taken to the nonconceptual level, being pure enlightened mind, or the mindset of this luminous wisdom that I’ve mentioned.

Sometimes people get very confused by what I say, because of some misunderstanding that they might have.  When I say that we have nothing to fear, people might wish to die or even take action.  This is an incorrect interpretation of what I am saying.  This fear needs to be shed so that you can have the courage to face death, by preparing, by developing your mind more and more.  You will need a life for this.  It is very important to take good care of your life and not do any sort of violence towards yourself.  You need to eat right, get enough sleep, reduce stress and seek medical care when you need it.  Even being lazy about meditation is a form of violence towards yourself. 

This is your chance as a human to either have another fortunate rebirth, or to awaken.  You need the attitude of fearlessness from the start, even if you do not have much courage.  Just keep in mind that awakening means going beyond obstructions.  Let fear go.

Blessings in Light,

Robert Aho