When All Has Turned To Ashes, Enter Bliss : Explorations of the Vijnanabhairava Tantra

See the entire world as a blazing inferno. Then, when all has turned into ashes, enter bliss.

~ Vijnanabhairava Tantra, verse 53 [from Yoga Spandakarika: The Sacred Texts at the Origins of Tantra, by Daniel Odier]

Today we're going to explore this verse from the Vijnanabhairava Tantra, that most sublime conversation between Bhairava and Bhairavi, who ~ lovingly united in the same knowledge ~ left the undifferentiated state so that their dialogue might enlighten all beings. Or ~ in Taoist terms ~ who emerged from Wu Chi into Tai Qi, becoming the dance, within the manifest world, of Yin and Yang, both fully conscious of their Divine origins, and through every movement, every word, every thought of their dance, pointing to that Divinity … so that those observing this performance might also be awakened to their own True Nature.

Let’s take a closer look, now, at the practice described above …

See the entire world as a blazing inferno.

Have you noticed that every single being (human and otherwise) is headed, irrevocably, to their death? The Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh points to this obvious though often-ignored fact quite beautifully when he says: The “destination” is your grave … so why hurry?! Our world, with its constant dying, might well be seen as a giant funeral pyre: one being after the next being thrown into it, turned to ashes: dust returning to dust. A bit depressing, yes?

Then, when all has turned to ashes, enter bliss.

So where, within this rather stark and unsettling discovery, do we find this “bliss”? For most of us, the thought that we’re dying and our friends and relatives and all other living beings are dying, brings feelings of sadness, anger or fear, yes? The paradox, however, is that to the extent that we can really look this “reality” in the face ~ and see it in the face of all others ~ to this extent there might arise (perhaps slowly at first, and then in torrential waves) a vast tenderness, a realization of the preciousness of this very moment, and a commitment to honor it as precious, to interact with our loved ones (and all others) with the full realization that this could be our last interaction with them. And to develop this awareness is beautiful.

Yet the practice has an even deeper level, out of which arises the question: when all (the manifest world) has turned to ashes, have I in any way been affected? And if we’re able to find, and rest within, an “I” that is untouched by the kaleidoscope of the phenomenal world, with its ever-shifting shapes and colors, its appearances of birth-and-death … If we find this “I” we might just be surprised …

Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. To read more of her yoga-related essays, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger

Related articles