Water

2023, December, Issue 74

The best way to meditate

is to just float, as in water,

without moving, to just remain

ultimately without concept,

remaining just like that, at ease,

objectless, without self, without tasks,

not doing anything at all, just floating,

gazing upon mind introspectively,

just being at peace, not attaching to thoughts,

no matter what happens, just being present,

relaxing completely in that ultimate moment,

not clinging to anything, to nothing,

to not nothing at all.

~Robert Aho~

A poem from, The Frog: A Spiritual Autobiography, Spanning Many Lifetimes, pg. 13, © 2021.

Sometimes we may think that we have obstacles, such as clouds concealing the brightness of the sun.  This is not a correct understanding of what an obstacle really means.  Those clouds are just water, and that sun is just a thermonuclear reaction.  We need to see things as they are; and, when we see things as they are, we begin to see that everything is an illusion.  Having a bit of water vapor in the sky does not actually conceal who we really are.  It does not obstruct us from that bright light that we will most definitely encounter when we die, or when we awaken.

Obstacles are always something that we create in our own mind.  We might think that a mountain stands in our way; so, we take the example of water once more, knowing full well that water will eventually erode the mountain, turning it into its basic components of various minerals, sand, or maybe gems hidden within.  Water may reveal gems that can also become an obstacle to our own awakening; however, the larger obstacle can be removed.  If we apply this concept to Spiritual Practice or meditation, it is possible to go beyond such obstacles that concepts create.

When water freezes, it may obstruct the liquid water in a lake or stream.  We think that is an obstacle, but then we find that we can walk on water at some point, when the ice thickens sufficiently.  We may think that it is a miracle, and that also might become an obstacle.

If we examine what we observe, we start to see something that our mind didn’t notice at first.  We might glimpse this notion that everything is miraculous, that we cannot really be obstructed from anything, that all is good.  This is the same water above and below, appearing in different way.  This contemplation could actually give us a hint at our real condition, this notion that all is good.  Frozen water preventing us from touching freezing water is not really an obstacle.  We only make it so by ignoring the inherent nature of reality.

Some Tibetan monks are known for chanting next to waterfalls.  When we do this, we are working with energy in our meditation.  Through sound it is possible to awaken, simply because sound reveals our own energetic condition.  Water, instead of remaining as an obstacle, becomes a conduit for awakening.

As many people already know, I sit in contemplation by a lake, surrounded by forests.  Observing water provides much Dharma.  Dharma can be found wherever we look.  Sitting in nature in remote places is most advantageous to our Spiritual Practice, if we observe, remaining present in whatever comes our way.  It’s all Dharma, which makes it sacred, as well as miraculous.  If we miss what appears before our senses, then we miss a great many opportunities for awakening.

In recent days, as I gazed upon a frozen lake, I noticed that a small breeze shifted the ice up onto the shore.  The lake where I live is quite large.  All it took to move this ice is a little bit of wind, a light breeze.  In the same way, we change the world with just a small aspiration of Bodhicitta.  We can move something that seems far beyond our abilities.  We change the world in ways that don’t seem possible to someone who remains in confusion.

When I died, I had removed obstacles by opening my heart and mind completely to what is, as it is.  I was ready to do that, due to many lifetimes of practice, due to remaining completely diligent with meditation, as well as deeper realizations that come of that.  This is why I instantly became the light.  I didn’t let anything stand in my way.  We can all do this, as I revealed in The Frog.  It’s possible for everyone, no matter who you are or how low you may think you’ve fallen.  I know with confidence that I was once even lower than you may think you are now.

When we awaken, we discover that we’re not rising above, we’re not gaining a vision, we‘re not completing a journey.  We remain exactly where we have been all along.  Awakening simply means that we no longer have any obstacles that may have prevented us from knowing who we really are.  This does not mean that such things as mountains, clouds or ice have been removed, it means that we do not let mind create this idea that these obstacles are out there.

By relaxing completely, by remaining present in that condition, we find our own awakening is at hand.  Nobody can prevent you from awakening, we have complete freedom.  It’s up to you.

Blessings in Light,

Robert Aho