What is Heaven?

I knew it would be frustrating, but nevertheless I felt a compulsion to watch Barbara Walter's television special on Heaven the other night. The draw for me, of course, was that she planned to interview His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

Walters actually did a pretty good job of having a lot of different religious viewpoints represented, but I was frustrated that the messages we heard from so many of the clergy, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, was that our popular images of heaven ought to be taken literally. They didn't say this specifically, but it was clear that they did indeed take all the typical images of the afterlife at face value. I was disappointed that no contemplative perspectives were offered which would say, "Perhaps these images that we have inherited from previous generations who have speculated on the afterlife are far too limited to really convey the reality of what lies beyond this life?" Maybe we talk about streets of gold, or heavenly mansions, or being reunited with our loved ones, because these are the best images we can come up with using our limited human minds to describe an experience beyond words and description?

For example, many of those interviewed expressed their belief or desire to be reunited with their loved ones after death. I long for that as much as anybody, but perhaps that reunion is far vaster than what we typically imagine. What if there will be a time when we can know our loved ones far more intimately than we have ever known them here, when all of the barriers, whether physical, psychological or spiritual, will be broken down, and we can see each other the way God sees us? And better: what if we can see every other being who has ever lived at this same intimate level? What if we could experience the love of every being at a level exponentially greater than anything we've ever experienced on earth? Basically, we would experience the vast interconnectedness of all life without the barriers of "self." We would not just "see" each other in heaven, we would know all others on a level beyond anything before, so that we experience only Knowing and Being?

In Walters' interview, the Dalai Lama expressed the traditional Tibetan belief that "heaven" is actually part of the six different realms of existence, and that it is a place of peace and comfort similar to what the theistic traditions describe. However, he was careful to point out that "reaching" heaven just means we can continue our spiritual journey with fewer of the hindrances and obstacles of this realm. The point is not being someplace, but being a particular way. Again, the point is the experience of interconnection, compassion and understanding. This will of necessity require us to let go of all images, concepts and ideas that we have clung to, including our ideas of heaven.