Root of Confusion

2025, February, Issue 135

Appearances of mind,

Gathered by senses, appearances,

appearances with no inherent existence,

apparitions with no foundation,

swooshing past mind, a blur

passing our mind before we even notice;

And in that, we grasp what is not now,

We desire meaning where questions cannot exist,

We desire purpose when action is not possible,

We desire,

as we cling to this notion,

or that deadly fantasy,

these unreal notions of self and other,

as we fib ourselves into believing,

intellectualizing that this nonsense is real,

that our perceptions are some sort of object,

that naming something makes it so;

We cling to confusion within turmoil,

as we perpetuate confusion,

as we fib ourselves into belief,

obsessing about some sort of mythical subject,

fixating on some sort of fanciful object,

all those things not really there;

We think illusion is real, this dream

expanding, contracting, exploding,

this eternal seriously nonsensical impulse,

not realizing that each moment laughs at us,

even though each moment is entirely unique,

fantastic, with entirely new appearances,

appearances that we can’t really see

or hear

or smell

or taste

or feel,

or even perceive with our mind;

It is all lost in laughter as we grasp

at this great fleeting moment of confusion,

appearing at the

Root of Confusion,

All because we are trying,

Trying to make some sense

out of what can never stay the same.

A poem by Robert Aho © 2025

If you have been listening to my talks or reading my books and articles, you already know that I have spoken often about the Key to everything. If you have heard me repeat that a hundred times, then you can be certain that your understanding is at least superficial. This key, of course, is Bodhicitta. Without deeply investigating what this Key is, however, without further intensive insight, it can be no more than pretense. We need to discover the real meaning, looking deeper, where the root of confusion diverges into true knowledge.

Real knowledge is like a great vista opening before our eyes, it is like stepping out of a dark tangled forest, seeing the sun and a vast expanse of sky. The light is shining in that open sky. Clarity opens our heart and mind. We see at last that all of our struggles have been pointless. We discover where we have been all along, as well as who we really are.

Some may argue that they need to struggle some more, walking around helplessly and aimlessly, getting tangled further in that dark place of mind. They may have a point, not having suffered sufficiently. Some people need a great deal of convincing before they are ready to let go of that tangled mess. Awakening is not something that they want to even consider.

When we examine the root of our confusion, it does not take long before we realize how pointless it has all been. By relying on our confused mind to navigate, only by accident will we discover this bright condition of our Real Nature. We can see that our confused mind is addicting; so, some people wish to return to that, giving up at once after being given a glimpse of what can be.

In order to discover just what is going on here, we must find a way to our infinite potentiality, finding the Path to complete full Enlightenment. We can say that getting tangled in a dark forest might help us meet our goal, but that is just another way to confuse ourselves. We need to get to the root of confusion in order to really understand the importance of this Key to our Liberation. We need to untangle ourselves by stepping into the light.

The Key is great compassion suffused with the aspiration to awaken. If we do not have an inner understanding of this, a deeply penetrating knowledge of Bodhicitta, then that Key will be easily lost. We may never find it again if we have not entered fully into that knowledge, or it might take a million lifetimes to discover once again. In that next discovery, we can once again treat this knowledge frivolously, like some old tidbit of trivia, or we can really take the deep dive into Bodhicitta.

Bodhicitta requires full attention, as well as a deep understanding of why we must cultivate this attitude in all that we do. We must not only notice that we see a source of light, we must investigate and understand that knowledge thoroughly. This means meditative practice, practicing in our daily life, as well as within dreams, putting that knowledge into action. This means realizing who we really are.

It's not a comfortable feeling when we encounter this light. The most common reaction is to simply go back into hiding. A courageous Spiritual Practitioner, however, will step forward into the light of our Real Nature, even if we do not yet know what that is. We simply let the light shine through, persevering into our luminous condition. We are habituated by darkness and shadow. Stepping into the light, or opening our heart and mind, means that we begin to break our bonds. We let go of the tangled mess by developing a serious commitment to Spiritual Practice.

We then aspire to awaken.

Blessings in Light,

Robert Aho