Examine this life,
see that self that we create, that
cannot be located;
See that self, see that
it is your own creation;
See that you
you defend with your life,
your ego, your self;
If
if you can see
the immaterial nature
of this life, this self, this illusion
that which you hold so dear,
then it is easy, oh so easy
easy to see what will happen next
when all changes, when everything is different;
As our consciousness
transmigrates, transmigrates through moments
from life to death to that next life, even in this life,
it keeps doing the same, transmigrating
between moments, it transmigrates, as it goes on
changing, fabricating, creating, inventing
this idea of self,
working so hard to fabricate
that which continuously appears
appears to all the senses,
which are oh-so-pathetically-limited;
If this consciousness transmigrates
through the winds of karma,
through uncertain oceans of suffering,
transmigrates through moments
moments without awakening,
then the cycle begins
begins again;
We are reborn
in a new life, just as
every moment of every life
in every moment of this life
every moment becomes a new life;
It's not this self that begins again
again, through cyclic existence,
this self doesn’t begin again,
it’s not a new self, because
self never existed, it is
awareness
in each moment
appearing as delusion,
it is delusion,
this fabrication
we call
self.
~Robert Aho~
A poem from, Timeless Luminosity, pp. 50-51, ©2020.
Imagine that you are dreaming; and, in that dream, you and every other being is light. When you think about this, you realize that light is moving at a phenomenal velocity. These beings of light are sort of ignited by this brightness that flows through you, that is you. This light does not really have form; although, you find yourself trying to create form out of everything that you perceive. You’re in a dream, and you are light. That is your dream.
When we die, there is this transition between relative realities that some call transmigration. When this happens, we don’t have a body. Our body is dead, or seemingly left behind. Since we don’t have a body, we aren’t using our senses. It’s simply not possible. Even our mind is no longer using our brain as a transmitter of sorts. What is that that we’ve become? Is it anything at all?
This can be rather confusing, depending upon the way you tune into this idea of existence. I mention rebirth from time to time; however, many believe that they will go into a state of ethereal something, like a ghost or angel or some sort of heavenly spirit or a soul. These sorts of possibilities that fill our imaginations are endless. Despite all the trappings of belief, what happens happens, it is what it is. Reality cannot be denied. It doesn’t depend upon our beliefs, our imagination or this sparse human conceptualization process we call intellect.
Some people become upset with me when they hear my story about the first time that I died, the part where self disappeared completely into the light. My story is about dying as fully as possible. This experience was really as far as possible, without going into another body, or becoming reborn. I returned from that amazing light, after becoming fully integrated into that.
When I explain how self disappeared completely into the light of Dharmakaya for an eternity, some people become quite a little bit upset. It’s not a comforting thought, if you have not prepared yourself for reality, as it is, if you have never sat in contemplation regarding our impermanence and the certainty of death. People want to know that we will spend eternity in some sort of family gathering that never goes wrong or has to deal with some drunken relative, that sort of thing. They want to hear about real happiness for all eternity, or some other similar fable. When I say that this does not happen, because self has never ever been real, and our real condition is not like that, it’s not something many people want to hear.
To understand this transmigration, we need to see what is happening now.
When we sit in contemplation, gazing at mind, paying attention to just what is happening here, we begin seeing that we work very hard at creating this fictitious self. With each moment, we begin to observe how self falls apart instantly, only to be recreated by our own awareness. We can observe how everything changes completely from moment to moment, or even infinitesimally small fractions of moments, everywhere, all at once.
These atoms, these waves of energy, these particles, these thoughts, keep reverberating, resonating nonsense we create. Self is something that we think we understand, even if we really don’t. When we see all that, we start to understand the fabric of existence. We start to see our own delusion in this vast field of what appears to be substantial. We start to see how incredibly difficult it is to fabricate self.
When your own awareness becomes observed, you see that your own awareness is far greater than this thing called self. You can begin to see exactly what transmigrates by looking at your own life. You can awaken by being present in that eternal awareness.
Blessings in Light,
Robert Aho
To understand this transmigration, we need to see what is happening now.
thanks again for your precision in describing how thought repeats its endless games.
today i was working quite intense,gardening,doing physical labour,contemplating on my recent heartbreak,everyday thoughts ,everyday annoyances.
when i sat down for a break ,smoking a cigarette,i remembered this recommended practice of chanting om intensensly, then just holding the aum sound in your head,followed by a time of complete silence ,letting go of all thoughts arising.
even if the practice is recommended to do for one hour,these few minutes i had the time for and invested in it ,worked quite well,a refreshing new and empty self was perceived.
just my experience for starting practice ,maybe of help for others to take a break from all illusion
christof