My Dear Friend,
Sat Nam and Happy Spring time from the Rockies!
I was recently taken by these descriptions from H. H. the Dalai Lama’s current book The Universe in a Single Atom. In my new book forthcoming from Light on Light Press this summer I write extensively about Yoga Cosmology. Indeed, all that His Holiness says below is “spot on” with the millennial views of our great Yoga traditions, so I want to share it. The only thing to clarify is that, in the context of our Yogic journey, “destruction” below means the destruction of our false/ oego self which prevents us from the freedom and happiness of Awakened life– which is our birthright:
The Great Flower Ornament. An Ancient Buddhist Scripture
The evolution of a particular universe system is understood in terms of four principle stages, known as the eras of 1) emptiness, 2) formation, 3) abiding and finally, 4) destruction. Each of these stages is thought to last a tremendously long time, twenty “medium aeons,” and it is only in the last medium aeon of the formation stage that sentient beings are said to evolve. ~ H. H. the Dalai Lama
Joseph Campbell the great story-teller in The Hero with a Thousand Faces— that’s you and me!– put the stages above this way: beginning, muddle, resolution. Our Yogic journey is about that resolution, in the midst of all the splendor of the Universe that His Holiness points to above. His description struck me as an opening to understand, and find patience with, the part each of us is playing in the universe. Every point in the cosmos today is acting as a basis for the creation of a new universe, particularly the one that is bursting with Love. It’s something to think about: is our universe part of an eternally reproducing cosmos? Certainly our lives our that way!
By the way, the photo below is that of my colleague from Light on Light Press and Magazines, Dr. Kurt Johnson, with His Holiness just last fall in India. Kurt is adding some wisdom as well to the book I am preparing for release in mid-2021!
Sat Nam
Love,
