Friday, April 06, 2007

THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA

The best doctor of all the doctors, the best medicine of medicines, and the best technology of technologies cannot save you from your life. The best consultants, thebest bank loans, and the best insurance policies cannot save you. Eventually you must realize that you have to do something, rather than depending on technology,financial help, your smartness or good thinking of any kind -- none of which will save you. That may seem like the dark truth, but it is the real truth. In the Buddhisttradition, this is called the vajra truth, the diamond truth, the truth you cannot avoid or destroy. We cannot avoid our lives at all. We have to face our lives, young or old, rich or poor. Whatever happens, we cannot save ourselves from our lives at all. Wehave to face the eventual truth -- not even the eventual truth but the real truth of our lives. We are here; therefore, we have to learn how to go forward with ourlives. This truth is what we call the wisdom of Shambhala.

From "The Wisdom of Shambhala," in ELEPHANT magazine, Spring 2007.

The Spring issue of ELEPHANT features a column by Chogyam Trungpa, which will appear in each issue. ELEPHANT online is:

http://www.themindfullife.com/news/currentintro.html

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