Gathering Dharma

2025, May, Issue 151

Look at mind,

look at what appears,

these precious teachings

that have gone unnoticed,

see the waves we call thought,

see what you don’t know;

Look with your mind, at mind, at mind,

Just look!

You don’t need eyes for this,

you need mind to see clearly;

Look at Mind!

When you look, your mind sees,

Waves of mind, waves emanate from that;

These are thoughts;

When you look, you see Dharma,

which are teachings you might not have noticed;

Gather that from whatever appears;

Don’t worry about beliefs or sectarian nonsense,

simply gather the Dharma

gather that for your most unique Spiritual Path,

your journey into reality, at long last,

letting go of what is not helpful,

examining quite thoroughly,

when it helps in profound ways,

awakening to what is

Ultimately True,

at long last,

as it is.

A poem by Robert Aho © 2025

Sometimes people take a very strict sectarian view as the Path. This might be helpful for a time; however, as the Dharma begins to open their heart and mind, tensions inevitably develop. Clinging to even the most profound sectarian view will become a demon, which is none other than a tremendous obstacle which can prevent us from awakening. We need a light touch.

I have found that it is most important not to cling too tightly to whatever it is we might believe. When we discover something profound, it is very tempting to cling tightly to that, defending every aspect of whatever that might be. This is a very common problem; and, as thus, it makes what I am about to say very unpopular:

Let go of all your beliefs! They are useless! If we wish to discover reality, we must let go! Imagine yourself flying through this rather turbulent multiverse, never staying in one universe for more than a fraction of a second. What good is any belief under such circumstances?

It is not uncommon for me to be approached by people who are hoping that I can provide some reassurance or confirmation of assumed beliefs, about death and what comes afterwards. I can do no such thing! When we open our heart and mind completely, we discover an ineffable condition that cannot be reified in any way. This is why we must be ready to let go.

When we go through life, we discover many many beliefs all wrapped up in nice neat little packages. Sometimes they are known as philosophies, sometimes religions, sometime scientific paradigms or schools of thought. Upon careful examination, none of them can hold up to honest scrutiny, even though we may do our best to defend them to the hilt. Since they are all based upon mind, they are all impermanent and inaccurate where reality is concerned. Reality cannot be reified in any way; so, whatever you believe, it will most certainly fall apart. Are you ready for when that happens?

When we die, everything falls apart. We face an ineffable reality that cannot hold up to any idea we mere humans create for our own reassurance. And, see this clearly, there has never been a belief that has been shared among humans that did not begin as a human creation. If it is a belief, it is quite separate from reality. It is always just a fantasy.

Now, that said, we can’t just automatically reject belief, expecting that there can be any sort of positive result. We must investigate mind, which means we must also look at all of our beliefs directly. On top of that, we must gather as many teachings as we can, in order to aid us in our investigation of mind. If we have a question, we must find a way to answer that, then find a way to let go of that answer, and so on.

Dharma, looked at in this way, is the teachings of all appearances which can help us to awaken. Dharma is revealed through Spiritual Practice, by honestly scrutinizing our own delusions. Dharma is the inner teaching revealed to us by our very own efforts to awaken to reality, as it is.

In time, whether we are more inclined to take some sort of sectarian view, or something nonsectarian, or whether we benefit from more of an open interfaith approach, we begin to discover our Real Nature. We start to have some sense of that clear light found at our heart center through our very determined Spiritual Practice. When we start to see how all of our ideas about reality cannot hold water, when we learn to become more open-minded and capable of letting go, we realize that we have discovered something truly useful—which is this notion that life is really like a dream, just another illusion that we fabricate for ourselves.

To understand the illusory condition of what we had thought was solid and real, always staying the same, we have discovered a good place that we can call the first step on our Path. By being able to discover this most profound Dharma through gathering all Dharma from all sources in our life, we find that we are onto something that will truly help us to navigate what surely awaits us all. In time, by being realistic, we will all awaken.

Blessings in Light,

Robert Aho