LIGHT—LUMINOSITY—CLARITY
Realizing something or not realizing it makes all the difference. Introduction to Light
When we think of light, we think of the luminous light of the Sun, the light of a candle, electric light, energetic light, or something similar; we usually think in those terms.
I want to explain what is meant by light here. It is something very complex. Light has a great diversity of meanings ranging from one extreme to the opposite. In your heart, there is a very pure presence: the pure presence of space. That is light; it is a very subtle light. When you feel movement, there is something flowing. That flow can be a flow of very pure energy, or it can be joy, inspiration, devotion: a very profound experience that flows. That is also light. When in practice you open your eyes, your senses, your mind, you see things: you see a flower, a tree, a river, rocks; all these external appearances are also light. Thus, from pure presence to gross appearance, everything is light.
If, in the house—in the space of the house—you turn on a light, the house illuminates, the inner space of the house illuminates; if you open a window, luminosity travels outward. The light from outside can enter, and the light from inside can go out, and this experience happens in space.
However, commonly, when you relate to forms, you lose the ability to relate to light; light is in all forms, but you can no longer see it. It is like the Sun: the Sun is unique; it shines, it illuminates everyone, it is reflected in all windows, in all rivers, and on any surface capable of reflecting it. Nevertheless, if you try to see the reflection of the sun on a piece of charcoal, you will not be able to see it; although the sun is reflecting on the charcoal, the charcoal cannot show that reflection. The luminous essence permeates everything, but some things do not have the reflective quality. We do. We can have the experience of the unlimited luminosity of the universe because we have the reflective quality of pure consciousness.
We can have the experience of the luminosity of unlimited space within ourselves and by ourselves. Because we have that possibility, we can go from a particular experience to the experience of the Universe, from a particular place to all places. Light is what allows us to see; light is what allows us to emerge from our darkness. If there is no light in a room, we cannot see, but if there is no light within us, we are lost. When you feel peace and experience peace, that is light: it gives you life, it gives you energy. When you feel joy, that is light, it is the light in experiences. When you see a light in your meditation, when you suddenly see white flashes, or a beautiful deity in a dancing posture, that is also light, it is a vision light; you can perceive light in many ways.
It can be said that open awakened consciousness is light at the base; when you see flashes in a vision, you can say it is light in energy, and when you see a goddess or any deity as a form of light, it is manifested light. Both the light at the base and the manifested light—even our entire being, our body—is the same light. When you have pain in your knee or back, or a lot of pain in your body, you do not necessarily feel much light, but it is light; it is a gross light, samsaric light, but it is light, and in that samsaric light, there is nirvana.
The most subtle light is the pure presence in the heart. And what is the grossest? If you can say: “Ah, I live in a beautiful world!” that beautiful world in which you live is light. On the other hand, if you say: “Oh, I live in a terrible, miserable world!” then it is probably not a very pure light; perhaps you are living in a very dark light. The world you experience, you have created yourself. When we look at each other, we say: “He is very pleasant,” or “she is very pleasant,” “we are very good friends,” “that person is so pleasant, so good, so active, so full!” We can look at each other and find good qualities. Those qualities come from you, you are projecting them: that is certain. But on the other hand, we say: “Oh, this other person always causes problems! They are not kind, they are not peaceful, they are not loving, they are selfish!” and of course, that also comes from you. Sometimes, when two people see the same situation, everything seems fine to one of them, and everything seems wrong to the other. It is clear that this way of seeing things comes from within us. If you find yourself in a situation where everything seems wrong to you, it is fine to see it that way as long as you are able to use your knowledge of the Dharma to reflect on it; you can use it and say to yourself: “Well, this is what I am experiencing.” It is not that you have to agree with everything, nor repeat to yourself: “Everything is my projection.” You can simply say: “I recognize that I have a lot to do with this.” You need a little compassion for yourself to be able to feel compassion for others. So, it is not about looking outward, at what you are projecting, but about asking yourself: “How do I feel? What is it that I am feeling through my experience?”
Awakened Consciousness
Basically, we give ourselves very little time to connect with ourselves. The more we connect with ourselves, the better we can connect with awakened consciousness. That awakened consciousness is what I refer to as light. There is a very beautiful and very subtle level of awakened consciousness, and there is a very gross level. For example, if you are chopping a potato, you have to have consciousness; otherwise, you will chop your finger instead of the potato. This consciousness is more related to the potato and the knife and, certainly, to the finger. But the other type of awakened consciousness refers more to being aware of yourself: an awakened consciousness that comes more from the inside out and encompasses everything, rather than a specific consciousness that jumps from a particular place and looks at only one thing. Thus, the broader awakened consciousness encompasses the narrower awakened consciousness. There are three different forms of awakened consciousness. In the book Wonders of the Natural Mind, there are three examples: the first is the metaphor of the snowflake dissolving in the ocean; the second is that of a ray of light melting frost. For the third, I make this analogy: it is like when you go to one of those fairground games where you put in a coin, and then heads start to pop out, and you have to hit them very quickly as they appear, and if you get distracted for a moment, a head will come out and stay there for a while without you hitting it. This head represents an experience that remains undissolved in your life.
In any case, there are three forms of awakened consciousness, and the best is represented by the snowflake dissolving in the sea. It is when you have reached such a broad level of awakened consciousness within you that, regardless of what you are experiencing, this experience simply dissolves; there is no place for it to remain. You can say to yourself: “I feel angry,” and the next instant the anger is gone. It is like a large snowflake in the sea: in an instant, it becomes liquid, effortlessly. It is effortless liberation because awakened consciousness is very deep and permeates everything.
In the second example—the ray of light melting frost—you might think there is some effort involved: the ray of light descends, heats the frost, and melts it; the activity of heat is what melts the ice. It is a consciousness that pays specific attention to the problem: “Ah, I have a problem with anger, I need to work with my anger.” This consciousness is a 24-hour-a-day observer that always watches if anger appears, and when this anger arises, it sends a light and dissolves it. It is always vigilant, unlike the previous one, where there is no one watching.
The last example—and this is my own invention—has more to do with conceptual awakened consciousness, and it is what we usually do in our lives: when we have a problem, we try to deal with it and solve it; otherwise, the problem will deal with us. If a problem arises, you deal with it; if a second problem arises, you deal with it; you go one by one, and this involves a lot of effort. In general, effort is defined as progressive conceptual work; it is not simply being and letting it dissolve, but rather working hard to dissolve it.
The first awakened consciousness is not conceptual at all; the second involves a certain sense of effort, and the third is very conceptual and involves a lot of effort. The type of consciousness is defined by how you dissolve.
In Dzogchen, it is said: “Realizing something or not realizing it makes all the difference.” The difference is that realizing is nirvana, and not realizing is samsara: it is a big difference, samsara is suffering, and nirvana is supreme bliss. Because we do not realize, we have focused only on the external, we have moved away from ourselves.