Time and Space
2023, July, Issue 53
It is no coincidence that the first thing that I wrote after coming back from death was something called Timeless Luminosity. It may be that a person does not understand what I am saying with the term timeless. In this case, it really means that time is an illusion. My experience was simultaneously an eternity, a hundred years and five minutes. This sounds like nonsense to anyone who thinks that this world is real.
One of the first things that I said, upon my return, was that this death experience feels far more real than our waking life or dreams. That is not to say that it is real, it is to say that this material world, this physical existence, does not seem at all real. People asked me if death was like a dream. I hated to disappoint them; however, their assumption that this material world is real does not hold water. The premise of such questions begin with an incorrect assumption. I’m very certain about that point.
Even though this physical dimension is very small, dark and much like a dream, it is infinite. My five minutes that was observed as death in the hospital lasted an eternity, even though it was considered to be only five minutes. This limited dimension is not limited by material constraints of time and space, it is limited by deluded mind that grasps at what is not real. Even though it appeared to be very small to me, as viewed from the Sambhogakaya dimension, it is still infinite. Spatial considerations are just an illusion.
The energetic dimension, though appearing far larger than our physical dimension in this universe, is also very small, as compared to Dharmakaya. When we see this illusion of Sambhogakaya as it is, we discover that it is also infinite. I could not believe how incredibly huge all that turbulence was, as compared to our own universe. Even so, our universe, the multiverses, and all that we would group into this idea of a material existence are all infinite.
In reality, I can make no claim whatsoever about the Dharmakaya. It has to be directly experienced in its full splendor. The sense of infinite space does not come close to explaining that. This idea of beyond time, or timelessness, barely scratches the surface. When I say luminosity, I really mean that it is far brighter than anything we have imagined, brighter than a trillion suns blazing in one spot. Language is clunky at best when talking about this sort of thing. Buddhist vocabulary, fortunately, gets close.
When I think about my own life, I’m aware of the eternity passing in each moment. By being instantly present, time and space become this illusion of eternity, very bright, very much more real than what we are conditioned to believe, though also illusory. My lifetimes described in my second book, The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes, only scratched the surface of an infinite array of lifetimes. I was aware of this in the death bardo; however, it was not particularly important to me. It was just a matter-of-factual observation.
In lifetime after lifetime, there was turbulence of mind, a struggle to realize just what is going on here. As each obscuration was defeated, the view became more obvious. When I encountered Buddha Shakyamuni long ago, Bodhicitta arose in my consciousness. In lifetime after lifetime, I carried devotion from that one brief encounter long ago. That carried me to the most amazing experiences in this lifetime, as well as my death.
Bodhisattvas are people who have taken the Bodhisattva Vow, promising to help all beings awaken. It is typically understood that a Bodhisattva remains until all beings awaken, choosing to come back again and again. I imagine a time in the future when all that remains in our physical existence are trillions and quadrillions of Bodhisattvas. All other beings have realized their amazing potentiality by becoming fully enlightened.
They look at one another, upon this realization, and then laugh hysterically. It’s rather hilarious that anyone would remain in samsara after all beings have awakened to this Timeless Luminosity. At that point, the universe becomes fully engulfed by this tremendous light of Dharmakaya. When that happens, as that happens, it starts all over again.
Well, that’s my dream within this big dream of life and death, filled with an infinite myriad of little dreams. We’re in this horrible thing we call cyclic existence forever, at least until we get this great cosmic joke that we think is real. If we practice awakening, if we carry this Spiritual Practice with us through all that we do, if we seek teachings that help us to open our heart and mind, then everything changes for the better everywhere, in all situations, all at once throughout each moment of our lives.
May we all open the door, walking through that to our own awakening, cultivating Bodhicitta in our heart as we proceed. May we all develop great devotion to what is, as it is, our true guru which is Timeless Luminosity. May we all have a good laugh with the other Bodhisattvas at the end of time. May we all awaken as we bring great benefit to all beings.
HO HO HO!
Blessings in Light,
Robert Aho
i cant grasp the the joy and the pain it makes me feel to transcend this illusionary reality.
It makes the changes we experience and often resist to see as a good thing too a bit easier to digest,
as we are part of the whole,being able to see sprinkles of the truth in everything
thank you so much and may all beings awaken
Robert, would you please answer this?
If, as you say, after this cycle of manifestation ends with all beings awakened and the Multiverse absorbed into Source, it all starts again, what´s the point of awakening? What´s the nature of this game, if, as you suggest, after everyone gets awakened, the whole process of manifesting worlds filled with unawakened beings starts all over again from zero? Maybe I misunderstood you?