Rigdzin

2025, December, Issue 180

Awareness in each moment

All good constancy

in this rather obvious

Nature of Mind

Remaining without distraction,

Without reification,

Without concept

in this state beyond our ordinary way

of thinking, of trying, of grasping,

beyond our ordinary mind,

beyond this idea we have

about applying

Effort;

The Rigdzin has touched Ultimate Reality,

And now, and now,

Remains with full awareness,

being present in this moment

of appearances,

this moment which requires

Nothing,

nothing to do, nothing to change,

nothing to elaborate upon or

confuse or distract;

This awareness holder remains in each moment,

filled with delight,

filled with this knowledge

beyond belief, beyond concept, beyond duality,

vision without losing anything at all;

The Rigdzin is ready to traverse the turmoil and turbulence

of life, of dreams and death,

all the same continuum,

All Good,

All beyond these ordinary constraints

of life, of these dreams, of death itself;

In perfect equanimity,

This Rigdzin sees the beginner with that spark

aspiring to awaken,

the same as master, the same as

Ultimate Guru

the same, the same

bright ineffable aware,

the same beyond reality,

the same condition as

Timeless Luminosity.

A poem by Robert Aho © 2025

Since my death experience, especially after writing Timeless Luminosity, many people have asked me if I became enlightened when I became that amazing bright awareness for all eternity, losing self completely in that condition beyond all obstacles. Knowing full well that many highly egotistical Spiritual Practitioners would become very upset if I ever made such a claim, I immediately, and to my own amusement, began writing the book The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes, making the claim that I was the lowest of the low. This seemed to satisfy and amuse a great many Spiritual Practitioners who were all full of themselves. I even heard a teacher laugh about me, calling me the frog man. I became someone of whom they could laugh and feel vastly superior, when the mood hit them.

Now, don’t think for a second that I’m a glutton for that sort of punishment, it’s just that I see no reason to make people all agitated, even those who have approached Spiritual Practice for all the wrong reasons. If someone has begun to practice meditation, and they do it so that they can appear to be one of the cool kids, get a lot of attention, or so that they can feel superior in some way, well, at least they’ve begun something that will make a bit more sense after they come to a big crash in their Spiritual Practice, when they encounter the necessity to build it all back up again.

What I only briefly touch on is that I recognized the Nature of Mind prior to my death experience, and that I have been similar people in past lifetimes, at least three past lifetimes by my reckoning; although, I don’t think it’s important to reminisce about such things. It doesn’t help much in the present. It only helps if you need to merge once again with your Spiritual Practice.

When one has realized the Nature of Mind, we could say that that person is a Dzogchenpa. When a Spiritual Practitioner remains in that realization, really a constant state of awareness, remaining present in that knowledge beyond our conceptual constraints, then that person is a Rigdzin. To be quite honest about my Spiritual Practice, I must confess that I have been a Rigdzin since returning from the death bardo. I didn’t really want to say anything, because that would upset quite a few individuals. I also didn’t want to talk about my realizations in past lifetimes, because that would cause certain individuals who harmed me along the way quite a lot of consternation and remorse that would not help them at all.

When an awareness holder, or Rigdzin, goes through life, it is often with a light touch. Holding this awareness, we know that it is the exact same as our initial Aspiration to Awaken. It is the same bright condition, the most precious thing that we could ever possess. A Rigdzin will typically do whatever they can do to help people awaken; however, this is beyond the constraints of a Bodhisattva. It is not conceptual, it is a way of being that spontaneously springs from our Real Nature, from Ultimate Reality. A Rigdzin thus lives with the nondual condition beyond all constraints. If you are a Rigdzin, you are free.

When you Aspire to Awaken, know that this is the same knowledge that is held by all Buddhas, by all Rigdzins, by all Bodhisattvas and Great Masters of every level on the Spiritual Path. We are all equal in this; so, look at your own mind! Start where you are! Stop comparing yourself to others!

If you look outside yourself, you will never even rise to the level of a beginning practitioner on their first step. If we wish to awaken, we don’t compare ourselves to others or worry about impressing people. We gladly take the lowest position, then get back to business.

Our business, as Spiritual Practitioners, is to Awaken. We must imprint our consciousness with this Aspiration. In the death bardo, our karmic winds propel us with Enlightenment Mind. The death bardo becomes no problem.

Please Awaken,

Rigdzin Robert Aho