Look at that thing you think is real!
It can’t be located!
Illusion, not there, not here, not real,
Just because you sense something
does not mean it is there,
does not mean you can actually locate
that thing,
does not mean you will ever find it!
Gaze at illusion all you want!
Gaze at appearances,
Gaze until you see quite clearly,
these clouds,
those rainbows,
these things you find swimming
round and around
in your mind,
they never really existed!
Appearances, you will find, are nothing
Nothing other than aspects
of this thing
this thing we call empty cognizance,
this thing we call mind;
Though seemingly real,
we discover that this
grand illusion exists
only in our mind,
only through a misinterpretation
of what we sense,
only because we are clinging
to what is not real,
ignorant of what is real,
rejecting all
that does not agree
within this limited viewpoint!
Gaze at illusion,
Watch it disappear
into awareness itself
this magical display
from which it appeared!
A poem by Robert Aho © 2026
When we are born, right from the start we try to make sense out of all these appearances, all that appears to our senses. You can see this in the development of a baby. As they mature, they develop all the tools that they need to live, survive and thrive.
This development is reinforced by people who insist that reality is this way or that way, very strict rules of conduct, explanations of everything that will be encountered in life. It is perfectly normal to assume that the people in our lives know what they are talking about; so, we inherit a way of looking at the world. It’s not something we choose, it’s something we inherit.
For the most part, people never question this inheritance. It’s rarely understood how different cultures, different ways of perceiving, even how each person actually forms completely unique ways of understanding, perceiving and believing what everything means. No two people are actually the same in the way that they perceive the world around them. It’s not possible.
If we look at whatever appears to mind, meaning to really gaze at what appears to our mind, due to our unique senses, various causes and conditions that have molded us into thinking everything we think is real, it doesn’t hold together very well. When we examine mind, we can’t find it. When we examine appearances of mind, they disappear. Past, future and present are all unlocatable. All that we think is real becomes part of a very strange magical display.
Perhaps this is why institutions, cultures and societies do not want us to question anything that they tell us. We’re supposed to believe that this illusion is real, even though it is quite obvious that it is not real. We are corralled into delusion by arbitrary beliefs, which are nothing other than untested lies. This is how we are kept from Awakening, by buying into the agitation and embroilment of a world of delusion. When we Awaken, we are no longer incarcerated by this jail planet, nor by cyclic existence. We discover freedom for the first time in our eternal existence, which, by the way, is also not real.
Now, don’t be fooled into thinking that this illusion is nothing. That is a trap that this world also creates for us. If we think that this great illusion is nothing, then we rather quickly realize our error, a rather tragic mistake. This illusion is real to us in the very same way that our dreams are real to us. If we do something harmful, we feel pain and suffering, which seems quite real. This is simply the order of this thing we refer to as relative reality.
Our physical reality operates under certain laws and limitations. Only great Spiritual Practitioners can overcome the constraints of a physical existence. Only by Awakening can we ever go beyond the ramifications of this cyclic existence. If you become a fully Enlightened Buddha, this physical dimension becomes completely harmless.
When you truly gaze at illusion, you start to see the illusory nature of all appearances. This can be very practical, simply because you increase your capacity when you are no longer tightly clinging to what is not real. You gain the blessing of joyfulness, of open-heartedness, of living a life that is no longer a heavy burden. We can let go of this angst, this feeling of being somehow tormented by a world that lies to us at every twist and turn.
Being a genuine Spiritual Practitioner, that is someone who truly and honestly Aspires to Awaken, means that you begin to see this illusion for what it is, as it is. You become the Ultimate Realist. Awakening means that your constraints fall away, that you discover who you really are, not some idea that you inherited from a long line of people who never knew. Awakening means that you gaze upon this illusion without agitation or embroilment, without the constraints of untested beliefs and assumptions.
Seeing reality for what it is, as it is, is the greatest blessing that you can bring upon yourself. It is essential, if you are a Spiritual Practitioner. It makes it possible to Awaken.
Blessings of Source,
Rigdzin Robert Aho
Robert Aho is the author of Timeless Luminosity and The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes. Both books, written after his death experience, give advanced spiritual advice regarding the complete Spiritual Path, inspiration for living each day and words of encouragement, with the intention of helping people to stay committed to their Spiritual Path, as well as preparing for death. This ultimately leads to discovering your own unlimited power within, which leads to Awakening. Both books are available on Amazon, Zenith Bookstore, as well as various other sources.
It´s been a joy reading this. Thank you.