Genuine Path

2023, October, Issue 66

Awakening is not religious,

awakening is not scientific,

awakening has nothing to do with philosophy

or belief

or anything you might think;

Awakening is opening your heart in this moment,

awakening is opening your mind completely,

opening to that which is beyond thought;

Awakening cannot be understood through conventional means,

it is beyond all,

it is not an object, it is weird, inexpressible;

Awakening is a condition of total and complete presence of mind,

aware of the essence of all,

beyond any description or concept or knowledge;

Belief cannot help you awaken,

objects of mind are simply obstructions

obstructions to that ineffable radiance beyond time,

demons which must be confronted;

To awaken means abandoning ignorance,

curing your self of the poisons of mind;

Awakening means abandoning all those ideas about reality,

abandoning this obsession with what is not real,

to awaken means we abandon that which binds us,

even those things we feel are precious,

or essential;

To awaken means we see all phenomena as it is,

without elaboration or fabrication;

To awaken means realizing this empty cognizance,

realizing this Nature of Mind,

again,

as it is.

~Robert Aho~

A poem created and found at end of Chapter 14, in The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes, © 2021

Just as Buddha Shakyamuni could not magically make people enlightened, neither can I snap my fingers, giving you the awakening you must discover.  You will need your own Spiritual Practice, as well as your own genuine efforts, awakening in your own way.  There is a Path, there is a Way for you to discover, even though it differs from person to person, each according to needs and the type of person you may be.

Spiritual Practice, however, really only begins with Bodhicitta.  Until we kindle the aspiration to awaken, we are merely seekers, wandering aimlessly, grasping at random ideas that might help us, if even that.  If we do not ignite Bodhicitta with a solid focused determination, such as Sisu, then our Spiritual Practice will not last.  It will simply dwindle away or become lost in short order.  If we do not have the determination to practice every chance we get, certainly every day, then our Spiritual Practice may disappear within a matter of weeks, never to return.  We’ll be right back where we were.  It’s a sad thing to think about; however, many people toss their greatest gift in the trash, thinking they will find something better.

Of course, when I say that one must aspire to awaken, I’m taking it to a much higher level than we may have heard in the past.  This is because, I am teaching according to what I know will work for you.  In my own experience, I know what works; and, I have observed in others many examples of what does not work.  I would say in all circumstances that, if a person approached their own Spiritual Practice with the Key of Bodhicitta, enhanced with the extraordinary quality, this perseverance we call Sisu, then there would never be any problem.

Many great masters have referred to our current situation as a degenerate age.  In these times, we find many people who practice or teach the Dharma for all the wrong reasons, such as fame, fortune, or simply looking cool.  They may simply dabble with profound teachings, or lock onto intellectual explanations, or fall into many traps along the way, not even knowing what they did, simply because they did not really listen to the teachings or take them to heart in the first place.

If we are on the Spiritual Path, we must be determined to awaken.  If we are to awaken, then we must be serious about the Dharma.  The Dharma is not an accessory, it’s not about getting attention or consuming some sort of religion, meaning it’s not something we pick up at the store in the spiritual aisle.  The Dharma is what leads us to discovering reality—that’s it.

When we are Spiritual Practitioners, we practice by looking at mind.  This is at least true until we realize the Nature of Mind.  When that happens, we then practice by genuinely becoming accustomed to our Real Nature.  All Spiritual Practice is mind, until we discover the Nature of Mind, which is Dzogchen.  When we discover Dzogchen, we discover who we really are; and, Dzogchen is not something that can really be explained.  We need to discover through direct experience, just as I explained many times with my incredible death experience.

In order to begin on the Spiritual Path, we also must genuinely desire awakening.  With that firmly established, we gaze at mind.  In order to discover just what is going on, we need to see that we’re just in a situation; so, we sit, noticing thoughts come and go.  We start seeing how we attach labels and emotional misunderstandings to what we think is reality.  We start to see that there is really nothing to that.  We need to be genuine and honest.  If we approach meditation with dishonesty, such as trying to fit in with a group or wanting to be a famous meditation guru, then it’s just a waste of time.

It needs to be genuine.

Establish the Spiritual Path, do it properly, then awaken.

Blessings in Light,

Robert Aho