I’ve traversed the winds
of infinity bright;
I’ve entered the domain
where time departs;
I am Dharmakaya remaining
for an eternal moment;
I have become fully integrated
with timeless luminosity,
and, yet, I reappear.
HO HO HO!
~Robert Aho~
A poem from, The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes, pg. 395, © 2021.
It does not seem obvious why I would have written such a work as The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes. It lets people into my Secret Spiritual World. It reveals much about many lifetimes; and, at times, it can seem like I’m making jokes about it all. This is very strange, even very concerning to some. If you read that book without preparing yourself with Bodhicitta, there is no telling what could happen. You must prepare to embark on a journey that may prove to be disorienting.
This insanity of our world, our perpetual life in cyclic existence, has only one cure, and it is called awakening. When we choose to awaken, we choose something very concrete, something tangible in a universe of intangibilities. We choose a single point, a goal for our journey.
The only thing that we can be certain of is our own awakening. If you choose to awaken, it will become obvious to you along your Spiritual Path that this is indeed the purpose of developing Bodhicitta in the first place. It is to cure all that poisons us.
Now, awakening is not something that will necessarily take more than just one moment. It’s that easy. It’s like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz not knowing that all she needs to do is click her heels together. Actually, it’s even easier than that.
The trouble is that, when we are immersed in the disturbances and confusion of life, we quickly forget about our own Spiritual Path. This is even much worse than that, when we are reborn. Finding our Spiritual Path once again, throughout innumerable lifetimes in order to awaken, can be daunting. Even though I have been a Buddhist in many lifetimes, it took me decades of this lifetime to rediscover my Path.
When we waste half of our lifetime not knowing who we really are, the Path of Awakening will remain hidden from us. Awakening will become nearly impossible. As we live our lives, we need to leave clues for future lives, so that we will not remain in confusion. This is good karma, as it changes the whole world.
I was fortunate in this lifetime, as I was able to find one text that had been written by one of my disciples after my death, hundreds of years ago. When I picked up the text, I knew at once what I needed to know. I will not reveal who that was or what the text might have been, simply because it would make people upset; however, it contained what I needed to continue. My disciple’s great compassion helped me to return.
This was not the most efficient way to return to my Spiritual Path. It took a great deal of perseverance and a great deal of luck in finding what I needed. Although The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes is meant to give people confidence on their Spiritual Path, it’s also written as a reminder to me, if I should fall once again into unfortunate circumstances in a future lifetime.
As you may already know from reading the book, I was obliterated unexpectedly by a Chinese bomb in my previous lifetime. This sent me hurtling to the other side of the world, into a Christian family near Lake Superior. It was very strange for me to be here in this context.
Although I was extremely interested in religion, often asking my mother to read the Christian Bible from a very early age, even embracing that for many years, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t really necessary for my Spiritual Path. I was simply, efficiently, seeing things as they are, discovering for myself what these new surroundings were all about. Even though it took decades to even know what it was, I needed Buddhism, along with the specific focus of Dzogchen to rediscover where I had left my Spiritual Path in past lifetimes.
In order to repay the kindness of my disciples, I also developed the intention of helping them by writing this text. It’s not really about my own Spiritual Path, it’s for those who I help and who have helped me. Especially when we discover Dzogchen, when we teach people, when they follow us, they are inclined to following us whenever they can, in lifetime after lifetime. This is a very powerful karmic connection. By writing a book that is available worldwide, it is certain that my disciples will find that, recognize something about it, as well as receive benefit.
The blatantly obvious secret about The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes is that it is a message for those who need to awaken. I reveal much more than is typical in such works. The ending of the book will make this obvious.
If we sincerely wish to awaken, then we will do whatever it takes. I will do what I can to clarify this in upcoming podcasts.
Blessings in Light,
Robert Aho
❤️