The image of the butterfly coming out of its cocoon has often been used to express transformation. It is a wonderful expression of change, but in our human experience we all too often try to carry our cocoons with us after it is no longer needed. Our cocoons are made up of many things. From our beliefs, conditioning, religions, and our spiritual searches. These cocoons may have served some purpose as we learned more about ourselves, but to try to keep them with us after we awaken can keep the mind stuck in the past.
We have read about this or that saint, guru and holy man or woman who after an experience of oneness staying in their religions and trying to fit their new insight into the dead past of their beliefs. They are seldom truly awakened, if ever, because of the baggage they tried to carry and still be free.
I feel there must be many fundamentalist religious people who came to a powerful insight, experience that was transforming to them then go on to lose that reality by thinking it had something to do with their religious beliefs. What was alive and wonderful becomes just a memory that is distorted by the past.
If they had come to really understand what the basic cause of their discontent was that drew them into the search for god or truth, then they would not have held onto the past. They would have seen that it was not so much a matter of bringing god down to us, as it is to erase the false images of who and what we are to see that reality is what we have always been and did not need to be brought to us. When seen and understood with that clarity, they would never go back to the mind created images of religion.
Our spiritual practices can also be a burden once we awaken. If those practices are an effort, in any way, then they are just baggage after awakening. In many ways they are baggage from the beginning. To use a historical example: the Buddha tried all sorts of practices to try to bring about a transformation, to awaken, and none of them helped. Then he reached a point of hopelessness and deeply looked into what it all meant. He came to an awakening, not because of the practice, but in spite of it. From what I have read, he never meditated after his awakening. There was need reason to, he was awake.
It is sad to see how religion, in this case Buddhism, can create more baggage for those trying to follow the teachings of one who was awake. After the awakened one leaves, the religion builds a huge cocoon for the comfort of the followers. They get so lost in their dream building that they lose sight of the reality their teacher tried to show them. If one is lost in the religious cocoon, they are very unlikely to dig their way out of it.
In all religions there have been very few who dug their way out to see the light of reality. One of the main reasons for this is that the structure of the religion is based in the dream world of ego. As one tries to fit into that belief system they lose their own ability to see for themselves. Few have the guts to stand up and ask whether or not this or that religion has any reality. So most people try to find something comfortable to help the ego feel a little more secure. And if it finds some comfort, then they will protect their belief from anything that put doubt in their mind. They are willing to fight to the death to protect their dream world. After all, they are the chosen ones.
For those rare beings that have to know the truth at all cost, they will not find comfort in mere belief and dogma. They will question everything, every belief, every teacher, saint or so-called spiritual master without fear. They are already freeing themselves of all the debris of years of conditioning and in time will awaken. When they do, their earlier openness to the truth and the need to truly be free, will keep them from trying to carry their cocoons along with them. They will not try to teach any dogma to anyone. They will not need conformation from some religious figure to give them the badge of authority for having awakened. They will just be the truth. They will not help you be comfortable in your dream world. They will do their best to destroy the nonsense people have believed for millennia. Seeing with clarity, they will know that there is nothing from the past to carry forward. It was all a dream, so what can one carry with them? Freedom is not freedom from some one else; it is freedom from our self-image and all that created it.
A very close friend told me recently that he had had what seemed to be a heart attack a few months back. He was losing consciousness yet was still very aware. He said it was like when you are flying in a jet plane and for a few moments the jet engines are turned off and you just feel like you are floating through silence in peace. This experience moved him deeply, and thankfully he is well.
Being free of the past is much like my friends experience. You are just floating through life’s experiences, knowing that it cannot end but not caring if it does or doesn’t. This does not mean we don’t run into turbulence from time to time, but when you do you understand it and keep floating on. You carry no baggage that would pull you down.
We humans are facing a major crises in the world like no one has experienced in the past, and there is not only a need for transformation, it will help bring about the transformation. It is time we either awaken or we parish. As we awaken we have to leave the past behind. We can either stay in the cocoon and shrivel up and die, or we can become what we truly are and be free. Once out of the cocoon of past, don’t look back.
