Striving
Beyond all reason,
Beyond all we think is true,
striving to make some sense
of all that appears,
striving to come to our senses
by delving into reality itself,
by delving into mind
in order to see what we thought was true
when they told us to join the insane asylum,
to join in the chorus of those who really have no idea,
to join the choir of lunatics living in cubes,
to become one of them
instead of what must be,
We decide to awaken,
We decide to become a Saint,
We decide to walk the Path
that most avoid, and few encounter,
We decide we will never give up
never give up no matter what,
despite all these numerous demons,
despite all these great obstacles,
despite all those morons and lunatics
telling us not to awaken,
we develop a supernatural resolve,
grit beyond grit,
never giving up,
We awaken.
A poem by Robert Aho © 2025
It is not uncommon to give up even before attempting the Spiritual Path. We see those who have awakened and it seems unattainable. We see Saints who have come before us, walking among the world, throwing caution to the wind, then awakening. It’s easy to turn your own Spiritual Path into a great demon by simply doing this, by thinking you don’t have it in you to awaken.
It’s very odd; however, many egotistical spiritual practitioners will try to dissuade you from awakening. Don’t be manipulated by such people, don’t give them the time of day. Even though they may cite many associations with great masters or many decades of meditative practice, they’re really not even beginners. A true Spiritual Practitioner would never dissuade anyone from awakening; and, if they hear someone say that they have awakened, they would only cheer for them. They wouldn’t judge what someone says about their spiritual progress.
I’m not quite sure about my karma, why I have encountered so many egotistical practitioners. Emotionally, after I encounter such people, I feel that I should give up. I don’t see the point if this is the best the world has to offer. Then I realize I’m talking to someone who is not really on the Path, they simply like building some sort of status among Spiritual Practitioners. I’m not quite sure why I encounter so many people like this.
When I simply look at what has happened with my emotions and what I am perceiving, it’s easy to maintain my resolve to awaken. The people who dissuade us from awakening are slaves to the demon of this world. They don’t know any better. This is one of the symptoms of this degenerate age, we have many people utilizing the Dharma for all the wrong reasons. They drive people away and back into utter confusion.
If you look into your own heart and mind, it is easy to encounter a certain Saint, which is entirely an aspect of you. It is this person found at the spark that I have mentioned, this brilliant light of that is Source. We are never separate from that. When we aspire to awaken, which is cultivating this compassionate wish to awaken, then we fabricate our own identity as that of a Saint. In this, all things are possible. We can awaken, just as any Buddha can awaken. We discover that we hold something so precious that it cannot be held by anyone other than a Saint.
This is us, it is in us, as us, as it is.
Please, when you decide to step onto the Path, understand that you are worthy of this. Humbly accept this status, without any sort of pride or social status. Just quietly acknowledge who you have really been all this time in the light of Dharmakaya.
None of us can actually be or become beings of darkness. We can only pretend that is true. We can only fantasize about our dark intentions, as a slave to this world and this great demon who we have created from nothing whatsoever. Our worldly concerns have never served us, and we should understand that they never will. This world of delusion will go on forever. Suffering will go on forever. The only thing we can do is to awaken; and, this means that none of the obstacles this world can ever produce will be able to stop us from awakening.
We need to have the aspirations of a Saint. This is only possible if you cultivate your own entanglement with enlightenment mind. You must replace your deranged self with that Saint who is you. You must recognize that you have something about you that is bright and clear. When you intuitively see this with your mind, then it is time to discover this more thoroughly by simply meditating, by calming your mind then investigating more carefully.
If you wish to awaken, you must realize that it is possible. Your stream of consciousness has encountered an infinite array of possibilities already. Each time you pass through the death bardo, you encounter infinite wisdom, pure, clear, something we think only a Saint can see. Then we forget once more each time we are reborn.
Know that it is not only possible, it is certain that you will awaken.
Blessings in Light,
Robert Aho
Thank you, Robert.
Just yesterday I saw an example of the subject you raise today in a video of a yoga teacher, whose channel is usually very valuable if you are interested in the particular type of yoga he (and myself) is a practitioner.
To my unpleasant surprise, both he and his guests agreed that we can' t know with certainty what the awakened who gave form to old traditions (he particularly spoke about Samkhya) really meant, and that it could all be metaphorical, so we should adapt their words and enrich them with nowadays' notions of Science and Art (!!).
It didn't hurt me, but it was sad to watch such ceremony, not just of personal ignorance, but of active promotion of ignorance by watering down the knowledge and intentions of those who awakened in the past and created a corpus to help others awaken.