The Edge
2024, July, Issue 105
“For many years in this lifetime, I went through a very strongly rational process. I plunged whole-heartedly into science and analytical thinking. It became a bad habit.
I learned, after much examination, that science in the West is really just the other side of the religious coin. For some strange reason, politics had found a way to remove critical thinking from religion. I suppose it made people infinitely easier to control if you could tell them anything, insisting that they should have blind faith, in order to send them off to war or take their fortunes.
Any idiot could become a king or a lord, suddenly having the authority to command people to their doom. They would tell people that they had a divine right, and that questioning this was a lack of faith. It’s a good system for sociopaths, scoundrels and villains.
So, I plunged into science, not just one field, but all of them. I especially loved scientific philosophies and the constantly shifting points of views, or paradigms. It was like a dance. Getting into the nitty-gritty of theory was so very interesting to me. I suppose that makes me odd, because theory is a class at universities that people tend to detest. It can be rather daunting. For me, it was like candy, looking at this sea of ideas, changing, coming into crisis, improving, rebelling, innovating, all with the idea of coming closer to truth, through a rational means of examination.
I loved science, and I still do. Unfortunately, and fortunately for me, I was also able to discover the limitations of science. At that limit where science cannot go, I discovered a boundary that is lightly guarded. I discovered the fault in conceptual thinking.”
From, The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes, pp. 118-119© 2021.
So, each time I describe my own death, I have said in one form or another that, to really understand what that is, we must understand what it is like to go beyond conceptual thinking. This confuses people, simply because we aren’t really habituated to relax enough to directly experience anything. We don’t even know what direct experience really is. From a conceptual point of view, it sounds terrifying, if we really think about it. It’s the difference between feeling the warm glow of a campfire and becoming that fire. It’s terrifying, and it sounds preposterous, if we are latching onto concept.
The boundaries of our conceptual mind are really not that difficult to discover. They’re right there, as close as can be. They are a subtle occurrence between what is known and what is not known. At first, the conceptual mind sees nothing. If we are prone to latching onto extreme views, we might mistakenly think that everything is nothing.
It can get pretty absurd, if we go down that path. The ‘Everything is Nothing Crowd’ is quite popular right now. Everybody’s trying to out-nothing each other as some sort of a bizarre pecking order competition. And, I really can’t blame them for jumping to such strange conclusions about everything. It’s all we are left with when we discover the boundaries of concept and belief. We discover a place rather close to us that seems like void.
Unfortunately for those who are celebrating their discovery, I have bad news for them. They have barely begun to scratch the surface. As profound as it might seem, this void where we can’t find the thinker or the container for thought is just our lack of understanding due to a sort of stupor we find ourselves in. It’s very profound; however, it’s not a particularly useful realization.
Beyond this void is a dimension of energy that is not perceptible to the conceptual mind. It contains the explosive turbulence of all possibilities. It’s an illusion, but it’s not nothing. This energetic dimension will rip you apart, if you are not prepared. I spent a hundred years there, as I skillfully traversed all the storms, remaining perfectly at ease throughout. You will need to do the same; and, that’s why I am explaining the importance of mantras and meditation. We will need to know what to do with the infinite waves of energy that will most certainly come our way in the death bardo.
So, it’s important to explore every aspect of science, as well as rational thought, philosophies, theories, explorations and understanding of all phenomena. Never ever simply accept anything without questioning absolutely every aspect of it. You have a brain, you should use it to its fullest potentiality.
When you discover that there is a boundary to all of this rational thought, as well as scientific endeavors, don’t freak out, don’t jump to extreme conclusions. Simply rest in the knowledge that you’ve encountered the edge. That’s a good time to utilize the key of Bodhicitta. Endeavor to discover our real condition, beyond and including this conceptual mind. It’s time to awaken to reality.
Awakening can only happen when we step beyond the edge of religious and scientific thought. It can only happen if we really investigate just what is going on here. It can only happen if we question everything and every nuance of everything. Our own awakening is a profound discovery of what has always been right here.
Blessings in Light,
Robert Aho