Genuine Altruism

2024, August, Issue 112

With the dawning of our

Realization,

This Realization beyond extremes,

Realization beyond intellect and belief,

This bright condition of total clarity,

Timeless Luminosity, ineffable, brilliant

Awareness that cannot be explained,

We now know Ultimate Bodhicitta,

We now really know that bright altruistic

Great compassion is our real condition,

Beyond ideas about awakening and Path,

Beyond notions of heaven and hell;

This bright condition of realization,

This ineffable reality that we have

Shrouded with darkness for all eternity,

That we have ignored, that we have

Sought as an unknown seeker,

That we have imagined was there, imagined

In our yearning to embrace true love beyond,

That we also have pushed away with aggression,

Hating that which we did not know,

This bright condition of awareness,

Unified, not separate, not dual, not explicable,

This amazing realization in clear brilliant clarity,

This altruistic being who we’ve resisted becoming

Is who we really are.

A poem by Robert Aho © 2024

A Bodhisattva is one who lives altruistically, for the benefit of all, often foregoing their own enlightenment in order to bring others to awakening.  A Bodhisattva must have genuinely committed themselves to helping others.  This idea of becoming a Bodhisattva requires great compassion and an unbreakable commitment, or it wouldn’t be possible to be a Bodhisattva.  The Path of a Bodhisattva often begins with a publicly observed vow and ceremony; however, this is not completely necessary.  We can become a Bodhisattva simply by genuinely having this altruistic commitment, a strong foundation of Bodhicitta.

Sometimes people think that a Bodhisattva is a sort of supernatural being, someone beyond our understanding.  They might place magical powers upon the idea, thinking that they will never be like that.  In reality, a Bodhisattva is simply someone who has taken the vows, either inwardly or outwardly, to help others achieve enlightenment.  It’s a commitment to help others any way that you can.  Anyone who sits before a lama, reciting the Bodhisattva Vows, is then instantly a Bodhisattva on the first Bhumi, or levels of spiritual progression.  This first step is joyful, a step which can really be understood as perfect joy.  This is a genuine first step.

Now, please understand that this is not a religious teaching that I’m conveying to you, it is a reflection of our real condition, something that becomes obvious when we become fully integrated in the light, within the nondual reality beyond all obscurations.  When I died, upon my return, I felt very strongly that I needed to let people know how important it was to live an altruistic existence.  We need to send ripples into the universe that are not shrouded in nastiness or covered in darkness.  We need to help people to open their heart and mind to reality, something that has eluded them for an eternity.  This requires great compassion.

Great compassion is the strength of our aspiration to awaken.  It is the rock that anchors us.  Without great compassion, we really haven’t yet established Bodhicitta.  Our aspiration to awaken is at the heart of Bodhicitta; however, it is great compassion that provides us with the stability to go on.  Without great compassion, helping others becomes simply too much, in very short order.  When we decide to live altruistically, we build the confidence of great compassion.

This is what makes the Spiritual Path so special; and, it is why I maintain that the Spiritual Path does not really start until we develop Bodhicitta.  It is Bodhicitta that unlocks all doors.  Without Bodhicitta, we will have no mastery over our own lives.  It is necessary so that we are not simply driven helplessly by the winds of karma.  Without Bodhicitta there is no way we can turn the other cheek when someone strikes us.  Without Bodhicitta we cannot awaken, because awakening itself is the discovery of Ultimate Bodhicitta.  Just like someone who aspires to sail across the ocean, we need to acquire a boat and practice sailing first.  It’s not possible without some abilities.

When we are preparing for death, we must prepare our heart and mind for this journey.  What we encounter with death will boggle the mind, if we simply utilize selected beliefs that have comforted us.  Death is beyond anything we have ever been told, well beyond any human belief.  When you encounter the storms of the energetic dimension, you are likely to see things that will seem absolutely horrendous.  If your mind is easily disturbed by appearances that you did not expect, then karma will simply sweep you away into another lifetime, and then again and again.  If you have developed the ability to remain at ease under all circumstances, then your journey will be rather pleasant.

This is why it is so important to take advantage of your human lifetime, as well as your exposure to meditative practices.  You are living the rare good fortune of having the ability to awaken, to obtain mastery over cyclic existence.  People often squander this opportunity, not knowing how precious our life is, not knowing that we can establish Bodhicitta once and for all.  This begins with an altruistic commitment, one where you finally treat yourself with due respect, deciding that awakening is not only possible, it is essential unless we wish to continue with great suffering.

Blessings in Light,               

Robert Aho