Collapsing Into Now

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

This quote is attributed to Padmasambhava, the person who firmly planted Buddhism in Tibet. It sums up the idea of karma—past, future, and present. My teachers always said that karma is very complicated, but also very simple. It gets complicated when we do not learn from it. It is quite simple when we realize it is all in this very moment. 

The intention of our practice of meditation is to bring us to this moment with awareness—and everything becomes clear. Think of past experiences and they are present. Think about the future and those thoughts are also present. It could be said there is no past or future because they either end or begin in the present. 

So, when we let the mind remain in its own present condition, infused with the thought of compassion for all beings, nothing else matters. We can relax and watch the crystallized patterns in the mind dissolve naturally, because we are not held prisoner by our idea of time and process. We experience a sense of relief; our whole life is compressed into one point of awareness and it feels like we collapse into a comfortable chair after a long, long, difficult day of work.

Sometimes this is referred to as the “exhaustion (or liberation) of delusion.” Our perception of the world becomes less filtered by our emotional struggles—and happiness dawns in a fresh and unconditioned way; like seeing a glorious sunrise for the first time. When we catch a glimpse of that sunrise, it is important to abide in the light… and rest our mind in unlimited space.