The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

THIS LIFE: THE NATURAL BARDO 117whole landscape in itself. We are so arrogant that we believeonly "seeing is believing." Yet the great Buddhist teachingsspeak of innumerable worlds in different dimensions—theremay even be many worlds very like, or just like ours—andseveral modern astrophysicists have developed theories aboutthe existence of parallel universes. How can we possibly saydefinitively what does or does not exist beyond the bounds ofour limited vision?Looking at the world around us, and into our own minds,we can see that the six realms definitely do exist. They exist inthe way we unconsciously allow our negative emotions to projectand crystallize entire realms around us, and to define thestyle, form, flavor, and context of our life in those realms. Andthey exist also inwardly as the different seeds and tendencies ofthe various negative emotions within our psychophysical system,always ready to germinate and grow, depending on whatinfluences them and how we choose to live.Let's look at how some of these realms are projected intoand crystallized in the world around us. The main feature ofthe realm of the gods, for example, is that it is devoid of suffering,a realm of changeless beauty and sensual ecstasy. Imaginethe gods: tall, blond surfers, lounging on beaches and ingardens flooded by brilliant sunshine, listening to any kind ofmusic they choose, intoxicated by every kind of stimulant,high on meditation, yoga, bodywork, and ways of improvingthemselves, but never taxing their brains, never confrontingany complex or painful situation, never conscious of their truenature, and so anesthetized that they are never aware of whattheir condition really is.If some parts of California and Australia spring to mind asthe realm of the gods, you can see the demigod realm beingacted out every day perhaps in the intrigue and rivalry of WallStreet or in the seething corridors of Washington and Whitehall.And the hungry ghost realms? They exist wherever people,though immensely rich, are never satisfied, craving to takeover this company or that one, or endlessly playing out theirgreed in court cases. Switch on any television channel and youhave entered immediately the world of demigods and hungryghosts.The quality of life in the realm of the gods may look superiorto our own, yet the masters tell us that human life is infinitelymore valuable. Why? Because of the very fact that we have