Forms of Miracles
“I like miracles. They inspire me. Miracles cause you to believe, to have faith in the unseen, to look further into things, deeper into things. Miracles are the fun of enlightenment. When a teacher does a miracle – an enlightened teacher – and someone sees it, they’re astonished. Suddenly they have faith in what the teacher has to say about self-discovery and spirituality and enlightenment.”
-Rama, Dr Frederick Lenz-
Miracles of Light
Rama said that if people had a chance to be with a truly enlightened teacher while that teacher was meditating, they could not only experience different light effects, but could also observe how he or she creates an energy field around his/her body. They might see him or her disappear in golden light, see through his/her body, or might perceive a variety of colors of light and images. Since this state might feel perfectly natural to the observers at the time, they may only realize some time later, when they’re no longer experiencing that higher state of consciousness, that something unique has happened. Of course, different people observe different things. Some people are able to see the light for the first time, but for many it may take years of spiritual practice to see anything out of the ordinary. Often times our body is physically blocked up, our mind is so caught up in the world of the senses that we are simply not able to let go and allow our inner eyes to see. But eventually, after some effort in spiritual practice, we can all become sensitive enough to perceive these wondrous states, experience these miracles.
Miracles of Transformation
When people start their inner journey they become happier, and even though they will continue to conduct their daily life, they start letting go of their baggage, they let go of the self, and day by day they will experience a more joyous, happier world, a world filled with light and wonder. Letting go of that baggage is the miracle of enlightenment. Their world changes, and the whole world changes.
In reality, for most people life is a bad dream. Things don’t turn out the way they planned. Life is full of pain, desire, and despair. To make this better people will try to get some pleasure out of life in any way they can. Those pleasures, however, will always turn out to be short lived. The real miracle is in the transformation from that world into the one with light and enlightenment, a world that frees you from limitations, from the unhappiness of limited perception.
Miracles are inspiring. Miracles of light, miracles of power and the siddhas – the ability to change things, affect things, these are all great miracles, but the greatest one is your transformation, your journey into light. “And if you’re fortunate enough, you will gain the consciousness in this lifetime to see all things glow, to see that all things are really made up of light.”
Miracles of Wakefulness
When you awaken from the dream of everyday life, you are all of a sudden able to live your daily life – cleaning, driving a car, making dinner, taking a shower – not as simple tasks but as being part of the universe where everything is perfect. To realize that there is nothing in this world that is not perfect, is miraculous in itself. And there is nothing that’s not miraculous. The simplest things in life are miracles, as they all are manifestations of life, of spirit, of God, of the One, of ultimate truth. The solidity of the world is not the truth, it’s only a delusion of the senses and of the self. In reality, everything is made up of infinite, intelligent light. “And if you look into anything, you can follow that light back to its source, which is everywhere and nowhere, which is nirvana, which is enlightenment.”
The further you progress in your studies, the more you see the miraculous in all things. “All things are divine. Yet we pick and choose among them what’s appropriate for us,” which helps us advance on our journey.
Miracles of Silence
As Rama said: “The greatest miracle is silence.” When everything is silent, when during meditation your mind becomes completely silent, the world stops. Life, as we know it, stops, even time stops. Our world, the one with all the plans and dreams, desires and schemes, it all just fades away. Nothing is left from it, just a memory. What takes the place of the world, however, is our connection to spirit, our feeling of eternity and eternality. Instead of our thoughts of what we’re doing tomorrow, a feeling of longing arises, a longing for the world of light from which we came. The real miracle is the light. Our spirit is light, and our being here for this short time is all a miracle. The world for most people is just solid, they have no knowledge of and will probably never experience the miracle of enlightenment. When one’s consciousness expands, however, when they enter into a world of enlightenment, they literally enter a world of light. “You don’t have to be enlightened to have this experience. You just have to start the inner journey.”
Miracles of Learning
One of the most miraculous things is learning. Learning is transformation. The fact that we don’t have to stay the way we are, that we can improve beyond what we ever thought possible, is truly remarkable.
Rama loved teaching. As a teacher of martial arts, computer science and enlightenment, he believed teaching to be a way to guide people to what they need to know. If you are a good teacher of enlightenment you just get out of the way and observe the change in people’s lives, observe how their awareness grows, how they become lighter, how their eyes start smiling. In his own words: “silent knowledge that comes with inner study – that‘s the greatest miracle from my point of view. I like the miraculous. It inspires me. And I choose teaching because it puts me more in touch with it. Like everyone else, I like a good miracle, in other words. It keeps me going. And the miracles that I see are the growth and development of my students or the students of other teachers.”
Sources
Further readings on adventures in American Buddhism
Reprinted or included here with permission from The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism