THE GROUND OF ART

The practice of meditation consists of sitting practice as well as meditation in action in everyday life situations. This provides some guidance as to how to conduct your life and how to relate to a work of art....When a person becomes a Buddhist or a Buddhist-inspired person, you are already an artist; you are already a poet; you are already a painter; you are already a craftsman. We have to understand this, not only in terms of being arty, clever, resourceful or cunning, but in terms of the solidity [of discipline] in our life situation. We decide to step into the understanding that there is no ego, and we find that there is no maker of ego either. Such a brave step seems to be necessary.
To begin with, it is necessary to emphasize this solid ground [of egolessness and discipline] again and again. Sometimes we find ourselves inspired, but we find it very difficult to be grounded. We have to watch our step very carefully. If things are presented to you in a dramatic way or a fantastic way, there is something else to look into. A sense of stillness, a sense of austerity and a sense of solidity are very important. I would like to present the difficult way to you first, because there is enormous value in that. The hinayana or basic discipline is extremely valuable and necessary before we go beyond.
From "The Doha Tradition," talk twelve in the TIBETAN BUDDHIST PATH, Naropa Institute, July 6, 1974. Edited from an unpublished transcript.
All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo.

When looking for the self

When looking for the self it is very important to remember it is an emotional response that one is examining. When one responds to an event as if one had a self, for example when one feels very hurt or offended, one should ask oneself who or what exactly is feeling hurt or offended.
-- Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness

HOPE FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE

It is fine to look back on the lives of great spiritual teachers, but
equally, it is not particularly romantic. They had the same problems
and difficulties in searching for the teachings that we have in this
century. So there's always hope for all of us; we don't particularly
have to be born perfect. We could just be ordinary people, perfectly
ordinary in the rugged sense; but equally we have a chance to develop
spiritual understanding, as well as to attain enlightenment. So
therefore, the point of looking back to various great teachers is not
that there is something mysterious, something magical about them, but
that they were just ordinary when they began. The point is to see the
way they proceeded through the various necessary situations which
forced them to develop.

From "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation," unpublished seminar, 1970,
Karme-Choling, Vermont.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used
by permission.

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Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
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Because there is the spirit of tree within a tree

Because there is the spirit of tree within a tree, therefore its flowers blossom fragrantly, it turns green, its branches and leaves flourish; this is called the marvel. Even though you may break wood down, you do not see anything you may call the spirit of tree; yet if there were no spirit, the flowers and foliage would not come out. This is also true of the human spirit; even though you cannot open the body to see something you may call the spirit; it is by virtue of the existence of the spirit within you that you perform various actions. --Mayamoto Musashi, The Book of 5 Rings, Shambhala Publications

TRUTH IS LIKE A THUNDERBOLT

July 4, 2007 [Independence Day in the United States]

TRUTH IS LIKE A THUNDERBOLT

Dharma literally means "truth" or "norm." It is a particular way of
thinking, a way of viewing the world, which is not a concept but
experience. This particular truth is very painful truth -- usually
truths are. It rings with the sound of reality, which comes too close
to home. We become completely embarrassed when we begin to hear the
truth. It is wrong to think that the truth is going to sound
fantastic and beautiful, like a flute solo. The truth is actually
like a thunderbolt. It wakes you up and makes you think twice whether
you should stay in the rain or move into the house. Provocative.




All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used
by permission.

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Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
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Consciousness is not limited by time and space

Consciousness is not limited by time and space, ultimately speaking. This is why, even in our present somewhat limited level of experience, we can think of a place like China and an image of that place comes immediately to mind. The mind doesnt worry about the fact that there is a large distance between here and there. -- Kalu Rinpoche, The Gem Ornament of Manifold Oral Instructions Which Benefits Each and Every Being Appropriately

Conventional Realities

Conventional realities are synonymous with habitual patterns, and the authors of habitual patterns are ignorance and desire.

Chogyam Trungpa

Life Would Be Unbearable If Everything Stayed the Same

Life would be unbearable if everything stayed the same because human beings find situations that are fixed and predictable very hard to tolerate. Even in small matters, we become uneasy if we feel there is no end in sight. I know of couples who live harmoniously together for ten years then marry and are divorced within a year. As soon as they feel bound to each other for the rest of their lives, they begin to fight. Impermanence removes our reasons for quarrelling with each other. Arguments only break out if we imagine that our relationships are endless. When we appreciate that our time with our families, partners, and friends may be shorter than we think, we get on better with each other. Awareness of impermanence gives us extraordinary inner strength and resilience.

--from Mind Training by Ringu Tulku, edited by B.M. Shaughnessy, published by Snow Lion Publications

GROUNDLESS GROUND

Shunyata simply means emptiness, nothingness.....Shunyata, or emptiness, is empty of subject-object relationship. Nonexistent subject, nonexistent object. Perceiver and perceptions do not exist. As far as the groundwork is concerned, there is no definite ground. As long as there is definite ground on the spiritual quest, it becomes a struggle, a deliberate attitude of achievement. And once we begin to be aware of our process of searching as an ambitious struggle, that struggle automatically becomes a formulated struggle, a struggle with ideas, a struggle with theology, concept, which is perpetually creating samsaric mind rather than the spiritual path. The spiritual path becomes religion from that point of view, pejoratively speaking. So the shunyata experience seems to be that which frees us from religiosity and lead us to true spirituality.
From "Ground," in GLIMPSES OF SHUNYATA, pages 12 to 13. Published by Vajradhatu Publications. Available from shambhalashop.com or in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume Two. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5,116 subscribers. Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com. Carolyn Rose Gimian Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources. TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com

The Mind

The mind is empty in essence,
Although empty, everything constantly arises in it.
-III Gyalwang Karmapa

EGO AS A STEPPING STONE

Our attitude should be, not so much to destroy ego as a villain or an evil force, but to work with the situation of ego as a stepping stone, a process. At this point, the only material we have is ego. There's no other way to work with spirituality. Ego is the starting point, the only way. Relating with ego is the only path that we have in relating with spirituality and enlightenment. In fact, from that point of view, we should celebrate that we have ego. We have some hope of attaining enlightenment because we have ego. That is the starting point. And that is the attitude of warriors.
From Talk Three of "Meditation: The Way of the Buddha," a seminar at Naropa Institute. June 24, 1974. Edited from an unpublished transcript.All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5,107 subscribers.Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.
Carolyn Rose GimianOcean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com

ELEGANCE

Elegance here means appreciating things as they are. Things as you
are and things as they are. There is a sense of delight and of
fearlessness. You are not fearful of dark corners. If there are any
dark, mysterious corners, black and confusing, you override them with
your glory, your sense of beauty, your sense of cleanness, your
feeling of being regal. Because you can override fearfulness in this
way, tantra [or the highest stage in Tibetan Buddhist practice] is
known as the king of all the yanas [stages on the path]. You take an
attitude of having perfectly complete and very rich basic sanity.

rom THE LION'S ROAR: An Introduction to Tantra, Chogyam Trungpa page 46. Edited by
Sherab Chodzin.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo.

THE BOREDOM OF MOUNTAINS AND WATERFALLS

Boredom is important in meditation practice; it increases the psychological sophistication of the practitioners. They begin to appreciate boredom and they develop their sophistication until the boredom begins to become cool boredom, like a mountain river. It flows and flows and flows, methodically and repetitiously, but it is very cooling, very refreshing. Mountains never get tired of being mountains and waterfalls never get tired of being waterfalls. Because of their patience we begin to appreciate them. There is something in that....If we are to save ourselves from spiritual materialism and from buddhadharma without credentials, if we are to become the dharma without credentials, the introduction of boredom and repetitiousness is extremely important. From "Boredom" in THE MYTH OF FREEDOM AND THE WAY OF MEDITATION, pages 70 to 71. Shambhala Library Edition.
From "Boredom" in THE MYTH OF FREEDOM AND THE WAY OF MEDITATION, pages 70 to 71. Shambhala Library Edition. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo.

FEARLESSNESS AND SPEED

Fearlessness is the absence of cowardice. That is to say, cowardice, or uncertainty, comes from speed, from not being on the spot, and from not being able to lead life properly and fully. You miss a lot of details, and you also miss the overview. To correct that, you need ROOM for fearlessness, which comes from having faith in your existence. Basically speaking, fearlessness is not particularly a reward or a goal, but fearlessness is part of the journey on the path. Fearlessness alternates with fear, and both of those are kindling for the fire. You are nervous, speedy, fearful. Then that brings another area of steadiness, solidity, and calm. So fear and fearlessness constantly alternate. rom "Sacredness: Natural Law and Order," in GREAT EASTERN SUN: THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA, page 90.

THE PROCLAMATION OF DHARMA IS FEARLESS

As is said, all dharmas [elements of experience] are marked with emptiness, so confusion is one of the most fundamental dharmas of all. That is what is known as the Lion's Roar of Buddha. That fundamental proclamation of the conch shell of dharma [the teachings], the trumpet of dharma, the gong of dharma sounds constantly all the time. The light of dharma shines constantly, because there is nothing to defeat, there are no ideas to be defeated by. So the proclamation of dharma is fearless. It is beautiful that we could take part in this process of fearlessness, rather than trying to defend ourselves or protect ourselves or develop ourselves. The whole process of fearlessness seems to be the topic, or the theme, that develops from the inspiration of buddhadharma, the Buddhist teachings. It is something to be joyful about; it is a rejoicing process; it is not regarded as a solemn or serious matter. It is beautiful, because fearlessness also has life in it. It contains tremendous energy constantly, all the time.

Excerpts from "The Ultimate Truth Is Fearless," the Opening Ceremony of the Karma Dzong Meditation Center, 1111 Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado, 25 February 1972.

WILLING TO BE A FOOL

There is lots of room to make mistakes. That's true, absolutely true. But such room for mistakes cannot be created unless there is surrendering, giving, some kind of opening. It cannot take place if there's no basis for it. However, if there is some basis --if we can give
away our aggression or attempt to give it away, if we attempt to open up and strip away our territoriality and possessiveness -- then there is lots of room for making mistakes. That doesn't necessarily mean there is room for dramatic mistakes, but lots of little dribbles of mistakes can take place, which usually occur in any case -- we can't avoid it. We have to allow ourselves to realize that we are complete fools; otherwise, we have nowhere to begin. We have to be willing to be a fool and not always try to be a wise guy. We could almost say that being willing to be a fool is one of the first wisdoms.

From "Wise Fool" in DHARMA ART, page 75.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright

NATURAL INSPIRATION

Genuine inspiration is not particularly dramatic. It's very ordinary. It comes from settling down in your environment and accepting situations as natural. Out of thatyou begin to realize that you can dance with them. So inspiration comes from acceptance rather than from having a sudden flash of a good gimmick coming up inyour mind. Natural inspiration is simply having something somewhere that you can relate with, so it has a sense of stableness and solidity. Inspiration has two parts:openness and clear vision, or in Sanskrit, shunyata and prajna. Both are based on the notion of original mind, traditionally known as buddha mind, which is blank,nonterritorial, noncompetitive, and open.

From "One Stroke" in DHARMA ART, page 100.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

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BEYOND REASSURANCE

Question: How does one get away from the need for reassurance?

Chogyam Trungpa: Acknowledge needing reassurance, acknowledge it as an effigy that looks in only one direction and does not look around. (It is) an effigy with
one face, possibly only one eye. It doesn't see around, doesn't see the whole situation. Do you see what I mean?...Whenever you need reassurance, that means you
have a fixed idea of what ought to be. And because of that, you fix your vision on one situation, one particular thing. And those situations that are not being observed
because of the point of view of needing reassurance, (those things) that we are not looking at, are a source of paranoia. We wish we could cover the whole ground,
but since we can't do that physiologically, we have to try to stick to that one thing as much as we can. So the need for reassurance has only one eye.

Question: And the way to get beyond that one-eyed vision...?

Chogyam Trungpa: Develop more eyes, rather than just a unidirectional radar system. You don't have to fix your eye on one thing. You can have panoramic vision,
vision all around at once.

From "Genuine Madness and Pop Art" in ILLUSION'S GAME: THE LIFE AND TEACHING OF NAROPA, pages 30 to 31.

NOT ENTRAPPED IN KARMA

If you are captivated by the past, then you can't make a move. But if you have the faintest, slightest doubt of your existence, the faintest suspicion that it could be
changed -- any progressive mentality, rebellious approach, revolutionary approach, whatever -- that breeds further freedom. In other words, the potential of the
embryonic enlightened mind in us can't be undermined by the heavy karma of the past all the time. Sooner or later it's going to break through. So we are not
entrapped in karma, particularly. There is free choice from that point of view.

From "Past, Present and Future," page 16 in THE KARMA SEMINAR, a sourcebook available from Vajradhatu Publications at shambhalashop.com

BELIEF COMES FROM PERCEPTION

It is worthwhile for individuals, even student and teacher, to have
eye-level relationships. There is a Sanskirt term, kalyanamitra,
which means "spiritual friend." It seems most appropriate that we
relate to each other as friends, rather than as student and master as
such. If we relate to one another as equal persons, the world in
which we relate is also an equal situation. The physical living
situation is the only way to relate with our lives as such. I do not
believe in the mystical world, the ethereal world, the world of the
unseen, unknown or whatever. There is no reason to believe in it,
because we don't perceive it. Belief comes from perception. If
there's no perception of something, we don't believe it. Belief does
not come from manufacturing ideas. There may be millions of arguments
and logics set forth, saying that there is an unseen world that
operates on higher levels of consciousness, a world which fulfills
human concerns, punishes those who don't believe, and so forth. But
from the point of view of physics, that is unreal. I'm afraid I'm not
going to say that there is another world. The world that we live in
is the only world.

From "Work, Sex, and Money," Talk One of an unpublished transcript
of a seminar in Burlington, Vermont, April, 1972.

EGO TRUSTS COMPLEXITY

Solidifying by the ego of its space is based on an attitude which trusts complexity. Ego places its trust on very complicated answers, complicated logic. Satipatthana [the sitting practice of meditation] is a way of simplifying the logical mind, the logical mind which...attempts
to fixate, hold onto, grasp, and thus is continually projecting something definite and solid. So the basic practice of simplifying every activity of the mind into just breathing or bodily movement reduces the intensity of the Rudra [or ego] of body.

From "Laying the Foundation" in THE DAWN OF TANTRA, page 9.

Of interest to readers:

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

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

GENUINE BUDDHA

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

April 4, 2007 The Twentieth Anniversary of the Parinirvana, or death, of Chogyam Trungpa

GENUINE BUDDHA

When the enlightened one was with us,When he talked to us,When he walked with us,When he fixed his robes,When he washed his hands after a meal,The enlightened one was always precise, accurate.He possessed ideal total shinjang, without reference point.He was playful and he was accurate.He was clean, neat, tidy.It was beautiful the way Buddha handled his begging bowl.Watching his fingersHe had no discrimination against or, for that matter, rejection of the way phenomena works:Buddha worked with a blade of grass, Pebbles, dirt, in his begging bowl. He washed his robes with such precision,

We like the way the Buddha is in action.Watching Buddha work is magnificent.There is no discrepancy.Buddha is the best friend.He is the best at working with the unworkables,Therefore he is the king.The best monarch we could ever find is the Buddha.The Buddha's gaze and the Buddha's hands -- the way he washed his handsHe washed his hands as a monarch would.He is not arrogant,He is humble and genuine and imperial.We like Buddha's way:Imperial humbleness.There is no one like him.That is why we call him samyaksambuddha.

O how much I love you Buddha!The way you do things properly,The way you feel the world around you,You have no aggressionO Buddha! O tathagata!You are so tamed, You are so beautiful,You are so royal, You are so humble.O to be like you, the genuine BuddhaWho need not clarify or validate You are buddha as Buddha.O how gorgeous to be Buddha!

We love your simplicity.We are glad that you took human birth and that you conducted yourself in the human realm.O Buddha, samyaksambuddha,We love you.We are astonished that you are Buddha,Fascinated that you are Buddha,Totally captivated that you are Buddha,We are inspired to follow your example.Shakyamuni, O Buddha, we love you.We are your best friend, O best friend.

Homage to the sambuddha, the perfect being.I, Chögyam, emulate you. O Buddha,Namo buddhayaBuddham sharanam gacchami.

By Dharma Sagara, Ananda, Buddha Das, Hotei.

Composed in 1982 at the Vajradhatu Seminary, Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania. Reprinted from THE ESSENTIAL CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, pages 101-102.

Editor's Notes: The 1982 Seminary, where this poem was written, began only a few months after the Parinirvana, or the death, of His Holiness the SixteenthGyalwang Karmapa, the head of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s lineage. At this Seminary, Rinpoche composed a number of poems as examples of devotionalpoetry for his students. The last two lines of the poem are Sanskrit and mean: "Homage to the Buddha, I take refuge in the Buddha." Chogyam Trungpa signedfour titles as his name at the end of this poem. Dharma Sagara is Sanskrit for Dharma Ocean; Ananda was the servant and a close disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha;Buddha Das is a mixture of Sanskrit and Hindi, which means "servant of the Buddha"; and Hotei is the name of a legendary Chinese Zen Master, known for hiscrazy wisdom teachings. He is the model for the fat, round-bellied buddha figures that traditionally bring good luck and wealth. In the poem itself, shinjang refers to the quality of being tamed or processed, which results from the practice of meditation. Samyaksambuddha is a Sanskritepithet for the Buddha, which means “the completely perfect awakened one.” Tathagata is another Sanskrit epithet that means “He who has gone beyond.”Shakyamuni is the name of the historical Buddha, which means “sage of the shakya clan.” Sambuddha means the perfect Buddha, the perfectly awake one.

Two notices of interest to our readers:

I. TWENTIETH PARINIRVANA

Information about Parinirvana events and a tribute to Chogyam Trungpa from Buddhist teachers, his family, students, and others is being featured on the Chroniclesof CTR website at:

http://www.chronicleproject.com/

II. The Spring issue of ELEPHANT magazine is now available. A column by Chogyam Trungpa will appear in each issue. The Spring issue features the first column.ELEPHANT online is:

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

The Joke is on us_April Fools Day 2007

In order to become a follower of the dharma [the teachings of Buddhism],
one has to become nonaggressive, beyond aggression. In order to do that,
there has to be some kind of warmth in oneself, gentleness in oneself,
which is known as maitri, and there has to be greater gentleness to others,
which is known as karuna, or compassion. When we begin to make a connection
to dharma, we are willing to open our gates, to tear down our walls. Then
for the first time we begin to realize that the joke has been on us all the
time. Accumulating ammunition and building fence after fence was our trip
rather than something actually having taken place. We have wasted so much
of our energy and economy on that trip. When we begin to realize the joke
was on us and created by us, then we are actually following the dharma,
following our minds according to the dharma.

From "Aggression," Talk Two of THE FOUR DHARMAS OF GAMPOPA, a seminar
given at Karme-Choling in July 1975, published in a sourcebook by
Vajradhatu Publications. Available from shambhalashop.com

Of interest to our readers:

TWENTIETH PARINIRVANA

April 4, 2007 is the 20th anniversary of the Parinirvana, or the death, of
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Information about Parinirvana events and a
tribute to Chogyam Trungpa from other teachers, his family, students, and
others will be featured on the Chronicles of CTR website at:

http://www.chronicleproject.com/

MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE REAL WORLD

[In the practice of meditation] having developed a sense of trust in oneself, slowly that expands its expression outward, and the world becomes a friendly world rather than a hostile world. You could say that you have changed the world: you have become the king or queen of the universe. On the other hand, you can't quite exactly say that, because the world has come towards you, to return your friendship. It tried all kinds of harsh ways to deal with you at the beginning, but finally the world and you begin to speak with each other, and the world becomes a real world, a completely real world, not at all an illusory world or a confused world. It is a real world. You begin to realize the reality of elements, the reality of time and space, the reality of emotions -- the reality of everything. From "Dynamic Stillness and Cosmic Absorption" in THE TEACUP AND THE SKULLCUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ON ZEN AND TANTRA. Page 99.

Bodhicitta

If through listening to this explanation of the Seven Point Mind Training we come to recognise how important Bodhichitta is, this will be an infallible cause of our enlightenment. Of all the eighty four thousand different sections of the doctrine, the precious Bodhichitta is the very essence. By hearing the words of such a teaching, it is impossible even for demons, whose nature it is to kill and to do harm, not to have positive thoughts! Kham, a region in East Tibet, was haunted in the past by many ghosts and evil spirits, and this was one of the reasons why Patrul Rinpoche used to explain the Bodhicharyavatara continually to his disciples. Before long, there were no more ghosts--or at least, no one came to any more harm. Such is the hidden power of Bodhichitta! --from Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the Seven Point Mind Training, by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications

The Heart of Zen

THE HEART OF ZEN

One of the basic points in the understanding of the Zen tradition is to discipline and train the wild animal of mind, which should have become domesticated a longtime ago, because this wild animal has buddhanature -- not just buddhanature, but it is buddha. So Zen is largely based on the idea of what is known as the trustingin the heart, or believing in the heart. Every experience we might go through has the potentiality of truth -- everything -- including the confusion.

From "Beauty and Absurdity" in THE TEACUP AND THE SKULLCUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ON ZEN AND TANTRA. Page 89.

OF INTEREST TO OUR READERS: New from Vajradhatu Publications: THE TEACUP AND THE SKULL CUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ON ZEN ANDTANTRA. Edited by Judith Lief and David Schneider. Getting rave reviews from both Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. Available from shambhalashop.com.

Karma is a natural law like any other natural law

Sometimes we face certain situations where, although we have done something good for others, we may not be able to reap the consequences within this lifetime. When we are talking about the law of causality, we are not limiting its operation to the confines of this life alone, but rather are taking into account both this lifetime and the future. Occasionally people who do not have a proper knowledge of karmic law say that such and such a person is very kind and religious and so forth, but he always has problems, whereas so and so is very deceptive and negative, frequently indulging in negative actions, but always seems very successful. Such people may think that there is no karmic law at all. There are others who go to the other extreme and become superstitious, thinking that when someone experiences illness, it is all due to harmful spirits.... It is also possible for very negative people to experience their positive karma ripening immaturely due to the very strong force of negative actions, and thus to exhaust the potentials of their virtuous actions. They experience a relative success in this life, while others who are very serious practitioners, as a result of the force of their practices, bring upon this lifetime the consequences of karmic actions which might have otherwise thrown them into rebirth in lower realms of existence in the future. As a result, they experience more problems and illnesses in this life.

Just resolving not to indulge in a negative action is not enough. It should be accompanied by the understanding that it is for your own benefit and sake that you must live with awareness of the law of karma: if you have accumulated the causes, you will have to face the consequences; if you desire a particular effect, you can work to produce its causes; and if you do not desire a certain consequence, you can avoid engaging in actions that will bring it about. You should reflect upon the law of causality as follows: that there is a definite relation between causes and effects; that actions not committed will never produce an effect; and that once committed, actions will never lose their potentiality simply through the passage of time. So, if you wish to enjoy desirable fruits, you should work for the accumulation of the appropriate causes, and if you want to avoid undesirable consequences, you should not accumulate their causes.... [Karma] is a natural law like any other natural law.

--from Path to Bliss: A Practical Guide to Stages of Meditation by H.H. the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, translated by Geshe Thubten Jinpa, edited by Christine Cox, published by Snow Lion Publications

Crazy Monkey Mind

The mind is like a crazy monkey, which leaps about and never stays in one place. It is completely restless and constantly paranoid about its surroundings. The training,or the meditation practice, is a way to catch the monkey, to begin with. That is the starting point. Traditionally, this training is called shamatha in Sanskrit, or shi-ne inTibetan, which means simply "the development of peace." When we talk about the development of peace, we are not talking about cultivating a peaceful state, as such,but about simplicity.

From "Trapping the Monkey" in THE TEACUP AND THE SKULLCUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ON ZEN AND TANTRA. Page 72.

OF INTEREST TO OUR READERS: New from Vajradhatu Publications: THE TEACUP AND THE SKULL CUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ON ZEN ANDTANTRA. Edited by Judith Lief and David Schneider. Getting rave reviews from both Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. Available from shambhalashop.com.

However much you suffer

However much you suffer, the suffering is just the dance of what is,
so you shouldn't be depressed.

--Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, The Great Path of Awakening

Milarepa

Anger is the cause of falling to the Realms Below; Knowing this, one should refrain from wrath, Even at the risk of life. -The Jetsun Milarepa

Warrior's Philosophy

The starting point is acknowledging that some kind of goodness exists in us. It is necessary to take that arrogant attitude, positively speaking. There is some feeling of upliftedness. We are worthy people, and we have something going for us. We are not all that totally wretched. Of course, we do have the wretched aspect that we have to face and look at. That is absolutely necessary in order to realize the other part. But they don't actually interact as counterparts. It's simply that you go through your clouds, and then you see your sun. That is the basic approach, the basic idea we should take towards the worthiness of our existence. That, by the way, is the warrior's philosophy of looking at ourselves.

From Talk One of "Warriorship in the Three Yanas," an unpublished seminar given by Chogyam Trungpa at the Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, August 22, 1978. OF INTEREST TO OUR READERS: New from Vajradhatu Publications: THE TEACUP AND THE SKULL CUP: CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ON ZEN AND TANTRA. Edited by Judith Lief and David Schneider. Getting rave reviews from both Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. Available from shambhalashop.com. Look under publications by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

Fundamentally Awake

Something exists in us which is basically awake, as opposed to asleep.There is something intrinsically cheerful and fundamentallypride-worthy.It is intrinsic, which is to say: without conning ourselves into it. Itisone-hundred-percent gold, beyond twenty-four carat. According to theBuddhist tradition, that is what is known as Buddha nature. In Sanskrititis often referred to as tathagatagarbha, which means that the essence[garbha] of those who have already gone beyond, the tathagatas orbuddhas,that essence exists in us. We take that attitude: that we ourselves arefundamentally awake. We ourselves are good already. It's not justpotential. It's more than potential.

>From Talk One of "Warriorship in the Three Yanas," an unpublishedseminargiven by Chogyam Trungpa at the Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, August 22,1978.

Milarepa

It is most precious to be born a worthy and leisured human being. Knowing this, one should with care observe the precepts as if protecting his own eyes.

- The Jetsun Milarepa

Beyond Facing Ourselves

Once we decide to look at ourselves, we may experience ourselves as wretched, in the most profoundly degrading situations, or some of us may have brilliant andgood situations happening, too. Whatever arises, we look at ourselves, either based on hope or fear, whatever there may be. The important point is looking atourselves, finding ourselves, facing ourselves, giving up our privacy and inhibition. Once we have done that, we turn to the good side of things. We begin to realizethat we have something in us which is fundamentally, basically good -- very good. It actually transcends the notion of good or bad. Something worthwhile,wholesome and healthy exists in us. But don't jump the gun and try to get ahold of that first. First, let's look. If we actually face ourselves properly and fully, we will find that something else exists there, something beyond facing ourselves.

From Talk One of "Warriorship in the Three Yanas," an unpublished seminar given by Chogyam Trungpa at the Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, August 22,1978.

Facing Ourselves

We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot of people. A lot of peopleturn to something that they hope will liberate them without their having to face themselves. That is impossible. We can't do that. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to see our gut, our excrement, our most undesirable parts. We have to see them. That is the foundation of warriorship, basically speaking. Whatever is there, we have to face it, we have to look at it, study it, work with it and practice meditation with it.

From Talk One of "Warriorship in the Three Yanas," an unpublished seminar given by Chogyam Trungpa at the Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, August 22, 1978.

What is a Warrior?

Anyone who is interested in hearing the dharma [teachings], anyone who is interested in finding out about oneself, and anyone who is interested in practicingmeditation is basically a warrior. The approach of cowardice is looking for some tremendous external help, whether it comes from the sky or from the earth. Youare afraid of actually seeing yourself; therefore you use spirituality or religion as a seeming way of seeing yourself without looking directly at yourself at all. Basically,when people are embarrassed about themselves, there's no fearlessness involved. Therefore, anybody who is interesting in looking at oneself, finding out aboutoneself, and practicing on the spot could be regarded as a warrior.

From Talk One of "Warriorship in the Three Yanas," an unpublished seminar given by Chogyam Trungpa at the Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, August 22,1978.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

MISUNDERSTANDING AWARENESS

Openness and awareness is a state of not manufacturing anything else; it is just being. And there is a misunderstanding,...which regards awareness as an enormous effort -- as if you were trying to become a certain unusual and special species of animal. You think now you're known as a meditator, sonow you should proceed in a certain special way, and that way you will become a full-fledged meditator. That is the wrong attitude. One doesn't try to hold oneself in the state of meditation, the state of awareness. One doesn't try painfully to stick to it.
Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche

Page 118, in "From Raw Eggs to Stepping-Stones" in THE PATH IS THE GOAL: A BASIC HANDBOOK OF BUDDHIST MEDITATION.

There are different types of boredom

There are different types of boredom that we usually experience. Insecurity, lack of excitement, being idle, nothing happening... In vipashyana, the boredom we are talking about is a sense of being idle, and this is unconditional boredom. The experience of vipashyana awareness has a quality of all-pervasive, thick cream. It has body, at the same time it is fluid, and it is somewhat challenging. - Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Awareness is like a wind

In talking about open mind, we are referring to a kind of openness that is related with letting self-existing awareness come to us. And awareness is not something thatneeds to be manufactured: when there is a gap, awareness enters into us. So awareness does not require a certain particular effort. Such an effort is unnecessary inthis case. Awareness is like a wind. If you open your doors and windows, it is bound to come in.

Page 116, in "From Raw Eggs to Stepping-Stones" in THE PATH IS THE GOAL: A BASIC HANDBOOK OF BUDDHIST MEDITATION.

When alone

When alone watch your mind,
when with others; watch your mouth...
Lama Karma Rynchen Rinpoche

COMPASSION WITH A THOUSAND ARMS

One often finds Avalokitesvara [the bodhisattva of compassion] portrayed as having a thousand arms [and a thousand eyes], and these symbolize his innumerableactivities. He took a vow to save all sentient beings in that very lifetime....As long as there are more sentient beings and as long as there is more that needs to bedone, his compassion also increases. And this shows that compassion is something within us. Where there is new suffering or a new outbreak of violence, thatviolence contains another eye, another hand of Avalokitesvara. The two things always go together. There is always a kind of negative, but there is always a positivewhich comes with it. In this particular sense, then, one should not exclude the negative and work only for the positive, but realize that the negative contains thepositive within itself. Therefore the act of compassion, the act of Avalokiteshvara, is never ending.

From "The Mahasattva Avalokiteshvara," pages 450-451 in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume One.

A Poem to Buddha

You overcome the temptations of the world
You are inspired by the simplicity of life without passion
Your exertion is the only way to conquer the seduction of the world
The victorious one, compassionate,
Propagates profound dharma to all beings.

Bewilderment
Brings passion and aggression
The world of samsara
Is endless suffering.

Realizing deception
I seek the path of non-ego
I find the delighted Buddha.


You understand my hopes and fears
You are both pleasure and pain
You are my friend eternally,
I would like to ask you to be my teacher.


Chogyam Trungpa,Unpublished poem, written at the Vajradhatu Seminary, Pennsylvania, 1982.

Patrul Rinpoche

Once you feel the wish to practice Dharma, do not let laziness or procrastination take over even for a moment. Set to work immediately, spurred on by the thought of impermanence. That is what is called diligence in action. -- Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of my Perfect Teacher

Freedom

FREEDOM
Giving birth to bodhicitta in one's heart, buddha in one's heart, brings freedom. That is the notion of freedom in Buddhism, altogether...We are talking about freedom from the constriction of our own capabilities. It is as if we were extraordinary children, possessing all sorts of genius, and we were being undermined by the society around us, which was dying to make us normal people. Whenever we would show any mark of genius, our parents would get embarrassed. They would try to put the lid on our pot, saying, "Charles, don't say those things. Just be an ordinary person." That is what actually happens to us, with or without our parents. I don't particularly want to blame our parents; we have also been doing this to ourselves. When we see something extraordinary, we are afraid to say so; we are afraid to express ourselves or to relate to such situations. So we put lids on ourselves -- on our potential, our capabilities. But in Buddhism we are liberated from that kind of conventionality....Fundamentally speaking, ladies and gentlemen, here is the really good news, if we may call it that: We are intrinsically buddha and we are intrinsically good. From "What Is the Heart of the Buddha?" in THE HEART OF THE BUDDHA, THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume 3, page 311. (THE HEART OF THE BUDDHA is also available in paperback.)

Fixations

We cannot work with our fixations if we do not acknowledge them and
accept their existence.

The more we accept them, the more we are able to let go of them.

--Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, The Heart of the Buddha

Crash Course

Particularly in the Western hemisphere, when you go to a new country, you take a crash course to learn how to conduct yourself. A lot of business people get into acrash course to learn how to eat with chopsticks, how to move and behave, what to eat or not eat, what to say and whether it is polite to finish the food on yourplate or leave something behind. However, when you come to a spiritual master, you don't come having had a crash course on how to handle a guru. You havealready had a crash course of your own, which is your own neurosis, your confusion. That's fantastic. It's a very vivid crash course, a very good one. It's honest andgenuine experience. You come along as you are, as they say.

From "Tradition and Sanity in Zen and Tibetan Buddhism," Talk Ten of Fourteen, from THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST PATH, Summer, 1974, Naropa University.Forthcoming as a DVD series from shambhalashop.com.

GENUINENESS

Student: The point of genuineness seems to be so simple that it's almost impossible to understand. Could you say something about non-genuineness and theproblems that we get into when we're trying to be confident? From that, maybe we can get a better idea of genuineness.

Chogyam Trungpa: I could give you a lot of examples. Inviting depression is one way of not being genuine, and refusing to be a human being and trying to be asuperman all the time is another way. In either case, we are trying to be somebody or something else and not paying attention to what's happening. You see, whatwe generally do is constantly, constantly substitute for ourselves somebody else who doesn't even exist. Nevertheless, we keep on doing that. When we fail to findour own quality right away, we run into trouble. Being genuine from that point of view is being indestructible in some sense. It depends on how much you can be awarrior.

From "Basic Goodness," a talk to directors of Shambhala Training, January 1978.

UNCONDITIONAL CONFIDENCE

Student: Would you say that unconditional confidence is the same as tenderness?

Chogyam Trungpa: Yes, very much so. The unconditional confidence is the pragmatic aspect of that tenderness. It is the action arising from the softness. It is just
like watching the sun rise. First, it is very feeble and one wonders whether it will make it. And then it shines and shines. Confidence is not arrogance or pride or
anything like that. Confidence is a natural unfolding process. It's not a question of needing confidence or not needing it. It's naturally there.

From "Basic Goodness," a talk to directors of Shambhala Training, January 1978.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Whether one looks at a Sugata's face or any other part of his body, one never feels one has looked enough. It is an example of ultimate beauty. Similarly, those for whom everything is backed by the realization of the unborn nature no longer have ordinary attachment and aversion, and such persons can therefore act like enlightened beings: whatever they do is bliss. Since they have fully realized the absolute nature, there is no question of telling them, "This is the right thing to do; that is something you should not do." They have no concepts or limits, so they can act as they wish. Everything they do will be nothing but bliss. (DK)

--from Zurchungpa's Testament: A Commentary on Zurchung Sherab Trakpa's Eighty Chapters of Personal Advice by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications

Shantideva

Because of its immateriality, the mind can never be harmed by anyone.

Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva

FEARLESSNESS AND SPEED

Fearlessness is the absence of cowardice. That is to say, cowardice, or uncertainty, comes from speed, from not being on the spot, and from not being able to lead life properly and fully. You miss a lot of details, and you also miss the overview. To correct that, you need ROOM for fearlessness, which comes from having faith in your existence. Basically speaking, fearlessness is not particularly a reward or a goal, but fearlessness is part of the journey on the path. Fearlessness alternates with fear, and both of those are kindling for the fire. You are nervous, speedy, fearful. Then that brings another area of steadiness, solidity, and calm. So fear and fearlessness constantly alternate.

From "Sacredness: Natural Law and Order," in GREAT EASTERN SUN: THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA, page 90.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo.

THE CHALLENGE OF WARRIORSHIP

The challenge of warriorship is to live fully in the world as it is and to find within this world, with all its paradoxes, the essence of nowness. If we open our eyes, if we open our minds, if we open our hearts, we will find that this world is a magical place. It is not magical because it tricks us or changes unexpectedly into something else, but it is magical because it can BE so vividly, so brilliantly. However, the discovery of that magic can happen only when we transcend our embarrassment about being alive, when we have the bravery to proclaim the goodness and dignity of human life, without either hesitation or arrogance.

>From 'Sacred World' in SHAMBHALA THE SACRED PATH PF THE WARRIOR, pages 147 to 148 in the Shambhala Library Edition

THE BODHISATTVA'S FEARLESSNESS

Student: Could you explain more of what you mean by being a warrior or a soldier on the path?

Chogyam Trungpa: Being a warrior is not necessarily being a soldier, but it is being fearless and willing to trod on the path.....It is not that you are unafraid of enemies or fearless towards certain particular things. It's different than saying, "I'm not afraid of rattlesnakes. I'm not afraid of dogs." That's very dualistic, a special kind of adolescent approach, a boyish approach to growing into manhood. When we talk about basic warriorship here, we are talking about being a bodhisattva [someone who has taken a vow to put others before him or herself], someone who's willing to include everything and willing to work with everything without any fear. Even fear itself is frightened by the bodhisattva's fearlessness.

From "Bodhisattva and Paramita," Talk Nine of THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST PATH, the first seminar given by Chogyam Trungpa at the Naropa Institute, Summer, 1974. Unpublished.

Of interest to readers: For continuing reports on the activities of the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project, see the blog at ChogyamTrungpa.com

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

A TALKING MIRROR

Student: How does the development of a relationship between a man and a woman or a marriage relate to the spiritual path?

Chogyam Trungpa: You relate with a lot of people, including your husband or wife. I don't see any particular problems. At some point, your mate becomes a spokesman of the universe to you, because your mate or your friend has been with you for a long time, so they have knowledge of you from the inside out, roughly, somewhat. I think a marriage situation is extremely creative from that point of view. There is the sense of understanding that somebody is actually a talking mirror who minds your business.

From "Bodhisattva and Paramita," Talk Nine of THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST PATH, a seminar at the Naropa Institute, Summer, 1974. Unpublished.

Great Eastern Sun

GREAT EASTERN SUN

Normally, when you see a brilliant light, that light comes from a finite source of energy. The brightness of a candle depends on how much wax surrounds it, and the thickness of the wick. The brightness of a light bulb depends on the electric current running through it. But the Great Eastern Sun is eternally blazing; it has no need of fuel. There actually is greater luminosity that occurs without fuel, without even a pilot light. Seeing the sacred world is witnessing that greater vision, which is there all the time.

>From SHAMBHALA: THE SACRED PATH OF THE WARRIOR, page 141 of the Shambhala Library Edition.

The practice of compassion begins at home

The practice of compassion begins at home. We have our parents, our children, and our brothers and sisters, who perhaps irritate us the most, and we begin our practice of loving-kindness and compassion with them. Then gradually we extend our compassion out into our greater community, our country, neighbouring countries, the world, and finally to all sentient beings equally without exception.

Extending compassion in this way makes it evident that it is not very easy to instantly have compassion for "all sentient beings." Theoretically it may be comfortable to have compassion for "all sentient beings," but through our practice we realize that "all sentient beings" is a collection of individuals. When we actually try to generate compassion for each and every individual, it becomes much more challenging. But if we cannot work with one individual, then how can we work with all sentient beings? Therefore it is important for us to reflect more practically, to work with compassion for individuals and then extend that compassion further.

--from Trainings in Compassion by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, published by Snow Lion Publications

Mind has no form

Mind has no form, no color, and no substance; This is it's empty aspect. Yet mind can know things and perceive an infinite variety of phenomena. This is it's clear aspect. The inseparability of these two aspects, emptiness and clarity, is the primordial, continuous nature of mind. --Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Stamping on Kleshas

We need to correct, or to overcome, all the wrongs or bad circumstances that we experience. Instead of having a negative attitude toward practice and not wanting to practice any longer-- --whenever such perversions and problems occur, they should be overcome... To correct all wrongs means to stamp on the kleshas. Whenever you don't want to practice-- --stamp on that, and then practice. Whenever any bad circumstance comes up that might put you off-- --stamp on it. In this slogan you are deliberately, immediately, and very abruptly suppressing the kleshas. --Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, from: Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness, Pg. 212-213, Slogan # 40

Voice of Clear Light_Excerpts from Current Issue

THE VOICE OF CLEAR LIGHT News and Inspiration from Ligmincha Institute Volume 6, Number 12 Dec. 19, 2006

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For easy reading, we recommend that you print out "The Voice of Clear Light."

A printable PDF version of this month's edition of VOCL, in reader- friendly newsletter format complete with color photographs, will be available online later in the month. Please check the link for VOCL on Ligmincha Institute's home page at www.ligmincha.org. You can also access an archive of previous issues at: http://ligmincha.org/study/vocl.html

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IN THIS ISSUE:

"The confidence of knowing oneself" – an edited excerpt from oral teachings given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 2006

Excerpts from teachings of Bon and Buddhist masters on the root poisons of desire and aversion

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"THE CONFIDENCE OF KNOWING ONESELF" – an edited excerpt from oral teachings given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 2006

When we talk about ignorance, especially in tantra or dzogchen, we are referring to a lack of knowing oneself, a lack of realization of oneself, or a lack of knowing the nature of mind. The classic definition of ignorance is "the mind that does not know itself." But it is hard for people to relate to that definition from an ordinary perspective. We ask: What does "not knowing myself" mean? Or for that matter, what does "knowing myself" mean?

What we are more familiar with is the result of not knowing oneself. When you don't know yourself, then as a result there manifests a lack of confidence. "Lack of confidence?" you ask. "Yes, that I know." There are people, though, who only recognize their lack of confidence as it relates to something in particular – like their job, or their ability to do something. They are more aware of their lack of confidence in action than they are of their lack of confidence in the stillness. They are more aware of their lack of confidence in appearance, rather than in its essence. They are more aware of their lack of confidence in objects, rather than in the subject. These are all weaker understandings of lack of confidence. But if you can really sense the more deep-seated lack of confidence that comes from not knowing your true self, then you will come to understand that its source can only be from within oneself, from one's mistaken view.

The teachings talk about "having confidence in the view." They don't talk much about having confidence in the action, or in the appearance. Confidence in the view for a practitioner has nothing to do with trying to change anything or do anything. So, having confidence in the view doesn't make sense to those in the Western mainstream, where the conventional focus is all about action, about the result, about what is produced, about the expected return. You are taught that confidence is found in the doing.

This issue of confidence is similar to the notion of trust. Trust as it relates to the dharma can also be confusing to Westerners. Generally, when we think about trust in the worldly sense, it has to do with getting some sort of return. When you lend money to someone, you say, "I trust you to return my money, or to return the money in this amount of time, or with this amount of interest." Or, "I trust that you will be nice to me because I have been nice to you." "I trust that you will be generous back to me because I have been generous to you." From this perspective a "no-return trust" in the dharma seems almost meaningless.

But then we also on occasion hear people say something like, "I have been sick, and I've been trying to do everything that I can to heal myself. I am going to try this last possible thing, and I trust that if it works, then it was meant to work. And I trust, too, that if it doesn't work, then it wasn't meant to work. I trust completely in the outcome of this last attempt at healing, whatever the outcome is." That is a deeper kind of trust or confidence based not on externals, but instead on oneself. It has more to do with one's view, one's own experiences of mind and of who one is, rather than its being dependent on and conditioned by situations and by actions.

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EXCERPTS FROM TEACHINGS BY BON AND BUDDHIST MASTERS ON THE ROOT POISONS OF AVERSION AND DESIRE

"Seeing One's Anger," an edited excerpt from oral teachings given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 2006:

When you feel yourself getting really angry at someone, in those moments you feel like there's no way out. You feel like there is no way out because there is no clarity, no space, there's no direction there. In those situations, it's as if you are suddenly trying hard to push something very heavy, and the only tools you have to push it are the wrong tools. And it may dawn on you in that moment of pushing that you are, indeed, using the wrong tools. That leads to even more stress as you begin to see the hopelessness of what you are continuing to do, doesn't it?

As we were saying, our first rule is that we don't have to do anything when we feel anger. Try just saying: "I don't have to do anything, I don't have to discuss, I don't have to argue, I don't have to talk, I can just walk away from this." That doesn't mean you shouldn't come back and reflect on it and talk about it later. It just means that right now is absolutely the wrong time to act. By your simply being conscious of that fact, you release yourself from that moment rather than getting more wrapped up in your trying to do something, your trying to push something even harder in that moment.

***

>From the edited transcript of oral teachings given by Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche during Ligmincha's summer retreat, 2000:

So this famous "I" is the basis of anger, attachment, jealousy – everything. When the "I" is projected out there without realizing the empty nature, then that is eternalism. If you fall into emptiness without any balance of clarity, then that is called nihilism.

The "I" doesn't exist in the way we grasp and feel it. Everything you have is "my" – my head, my nose – but where is this "I"? You might say it depends. You can say, "I am here." You might feel that when you are hungry, the "I" is more in the stomach. You say, "I am hungry." But if you look at the stomach, at the object, you can't find "I" there. You create it by yourself. Sometimes when you have a headache you say, "I have a headache." You make your head as "I." You create the "I" in everything else in the same way.

When you look to the object, you cannot find "I." When you realize nothing exists, and you realize that everything is created by you, then there is no need for emotion. Where is the anger? Everything is created by you; nothing is created from the object side. Normally, we are thinking "I" very strongly exists. That is true of all sentient beings, even birds and insects. You can make them angry. They grasp and have emotions even if they are unable to speak. That is real ignorance. We are following ignorance and that is the source for the emotions. If you pull apart this ignorance, there is no need for anger or emotion. Just like at a cinema: You never think the screen is going to create something real. It is the same for the emotion. So this is the real teaching.

***

>From "A Path With Heart" by Jack Kornfield:

When we look, we see that wanting creates tension, that it is actually painful. We see how it arises out of our sense of longing and incompleteness, a feeling that we are separate and not whole. Observing more closely we notice that it is also fleeting, without essence. This aspect of desire is actually a form of imagination and accompanying feeling that comes and goes in our body and mind. Of course, at other times it seems very real. Oscar Wilde said, "I can resist anything but temptation." When we are caught by wanting it is like an intoxicant and we are unable to see clearly.

*

Like desire, anger is an extremely powerful force. We can easily become caught up in it, or we can be so afraid of it that we act out its destruction in more unconscious ways. Unfortunately, too few of us have learned to work with it directly. Its force can grow from annoyance to something that is present with us now or that is far away in time or place. We sometimes experience great anger over past events that are long over and about which we can do nothing. We can even get furious about something that has not happened but that we only imagine might happen. When it is strong in the mind, anger colors our entire experience of life. When our mood is bad, no matter who walks in the room or where we go that day, something is wrong. Anger can be a source of tremendous suffering in our own minds, in our interactions with others, and in the world at large.

***

>From "Gates to Buddhist Practice" by Chagdud Tulku:

When you give in to aversion and anger, it's as though, having decided to kill someone by throwing him into a river, you wrap your arms around his neck, jump into the water with him, and you both drown. In destroying your enemy, you destroy yourself as well.

*

We often think the only way to create happiness is to try to control the outer circumstances of our lives, to try to fix what seems wrong or to get rid of everything that bothers us. But the real problem lies in our reaction to those circumstances. What we have to change is the mind and the way it experiences reality.

Our emotions propel us through extremes, from elation to depression, from good experiences to bad, from happiness to sadness – a constant swinging back and forth. Emotionality is the by-product of hope and fear, attachment and aversion. We have hope because we are attached to something we want. We have fear because we are averse to something we don't want. As we follow our emotions, reacting to our experiences, we create karma – a perpetual motion that inevitably determines our future. We need to stop the extreme swings of the emotional pendulum so that we can find a place of centeredness.

***

>From "Fearless Simplicity" by Tsoknyi Rinpoche:

Mind is fickle and objects are seductive, it is said. The Buddha told us not to be that way. Don't chase after one object, then another, then a third. That pursuit is not your real home, your real mother. This futile pursuit is steered by, influenced by, and affected by circumstances. Whenever something feels unpleasant, one gets disturbed by it; if it's pleasant, one gets caught up in it. Throughout this course of events, we are so unstable, so unsteady. Sometimes the obsession becomes so intense that one can lose one's own life. This way of being creates incredible anxiety. One experiences fear, worry, feeling lost, feeling uncared for: "Nobody loves me, nobody takes care of me, nobody worries about me." This lonely frame of mind is because of being unstable, being steered by objects, being oversensitive in a wrong way.

Instead of this relentless chasing about, we ought to take a break.

***

>From "The Hundred Verses of Advice" by Dilgo Khyentse and Padampa Sangye:

Generally speaking, we feel attachment to our family, to our belongings, and to our position, and aversion to anyone who hurts or threatens us. Try turning your attention away from such external objects and examine the mind that identifies them as desirable or hateful. Do your desire and anger have any form, color, substance, or location? If not, why is it that you fall so easily under the power of such feelings?

It is because you do not know how to set them free. If you allow your thoughts and feelings to arise and dissolve by themselves, they will pass through your mind in the same way as a bird flies through the sky, without leaving any trace. This applies not only to attachment and anger, but also to the experiences of meditation – bliss, clarity, and the absence of thought. These experiences result from perseverance in practice and are the expression of the inherent creativity of the mind. They appear like a rainbow, formed as the rays of the sun strike a curtain of rain; and to become attached to them is as futile as it would be to run after a rainbow in the hopes of wearing it as a coat. Simply allow your thoughts and experiences to come and go, without ever grasping at them.

***

SOURCES:

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. An edited excerpt from oral teachings given during Ligmincha's summer retreat, 2006.

Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. An edited excerpt from the transcript of oral teachings given during Ligmincha's summer retreat, 2000.

Jack Kornfield. "A Path With Heart." New York: Bantam Books, 1993.

Chagdud Tulku. "Gates to Buddhist Practice." Junction City, Calif.: Padma Publishing, 1993.

Tsoknyi Rinpoche. "Fearless Simplicity." Compiled and translated by Erik Pema Kunsang and Marcia Binder Schmidt. Edited with Kerry Moran. Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2003.

Dilgo Khyentse and Padampa Sangye. "The Hundred Verses of Advice." Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala Publishing, 2005.

NONTHEISTIC MAGIC

One's state of mind is very powerful. It can imagine destroying something, and it destroys it. It can imagine creating something, and it creates it. Whatever you intendin the realm of mind, it happens. Imagine your enemy. You want to destroy your enemy, and you have developed all kinds of tactics for doing so, You have infiniteimaginations about how to handle the destruction of that enemy. Imagine your friend. You have infinite inspirations about how to relate with your friend, how to makehim or her feel good or better or richer....Man does exist; his intelligence does exist. This is entirely nontheistic.The approach of Padmasambhava [who broughtBuddhism to Tibet] to magic was on this nontheistic level. Lightning happens because it does happen, rather than because there is any further why or who or whatinvolved. It does happen. Flowers blossom because it happens, it is so. We cannot argue that there are no flowers. We cannot argue that no snow falls. It is so. Ithappens.

From CRAZY WISDOM, pages 55 to 56.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

Kalu Rinpoche

In the current general cultural milieu of the Western world, expression of desire allows emotions to be actively encouraged, actively stimulated, and over-blown, all within the contextual appreciation of this as something healthy. If one has a desire, one is encouraged to fulfill it. If one has an emotion, one is encouraged to stimulate it, to bring it to development by expressing it. Generally, this is seen as a healthy thing to do, while actually, in terms of karmic development, this approach tends to create a disproportionate exaggeration of desire and attachment.
--Kalu Rinpoche, Gently Whispered

A SPIRITUAL ATOMIC BOMB

Padmasambhava [who brought Buddhism to Tibet] developed an approach for communicating with future generations. In relation to a lot of his writings, he thought,"These words may not be important at this point, but I am going to write them down and bury them in the mountains of Tibet." And he did so. He thought, "Someonewill discover them later and find them extraordinarily mind-blowing. Let them have a good time then." This was a unique approach. Gurus nowadays think purely interms of the effect they might have now. They do not consider trying to have a powerful effect on the future. But Padmasambhava thought, "If I leave an example ofmy teaching behind, even if people of future generations do not experience my example, just hearing my words alone could cause a spiritual atomic bomb to explodein a future time." Such an idea was unheard-of. It is a very powerful thing.

From CRAZY WISDOM, page 57.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

Life with self-awareness and compassion

We must each lead a way of life with self-awareness and compassion... Then, whatever happens, we will have no regrets. -- The XIV Dalai Lama, The Path to Tranquility

Disown your thoughts

In the practice of meditation, the way to be daring, the way to leap, is to disown your thoughts, to step beyond your hope and fear, the ups and downs of your thinking process. You can just be, just let yourself be, without holding onto the constant reference points your mind manufactures. --Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

When you feel completely desolate

When you feel completely desolate, you begin to help yourself, you make yourself at home.

You begin to realize all kinds of beauties around you.

--Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Illusion's Game

Perceptions are not governed by one statement alone

Perceptions are not governed by one statement alone, but by individuals reacting to the basic elements. When individuals react to air, water, fire, space, or earth, they have different responses. Individually, they have different perspectives on all that. Those differences do not become uniform at all -- they are ongoing. The magic lives in that individuality. We are relating individually to all kinds of basic things in life that we seemingly share. But we have no idea, exactly. None of us has had a chance to tell each other precisely what our perception of water is like. We could use all kinds of words and ideas and concepts and terms, but that still would not make it clear. That would be somebody else's concepts....There is a basic iconographic pattern in the universe, like the existence of the seasons and the elements, but how we react to that is individual. --Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, rom "Choiceless Magic" in DHARMA ART pages 91-92.

Smile at fear

When you are frightened by something, you have to relate with fear, explore why you are frightened, and develop some sense of conviction. You can actually look at fear. Then fear ceases to be the dominant situation that is going to defeat you. Fear can be conquered. You can be free from fear if you realize that fear is not the ogre. You can step on fear, and therefore you can attain what is known as fearlessness. But that requires that, when you see fear, you smile. From "Mirrorlike Wisdom," in GREAT EASTERN SUN: THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA, page 75. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 4,901 subscribers. Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.

The general idea

The general idea is that, if you open yourself to what the given situation is, then you see its completely naked quality. You don't have to put up a defensive mechanism anymore, because you see through it and you know exactly what to do. You just deal with things, rather than defending yourself.

Is there a buildup of awarenss that happens by the practice

Question: Is there a buildup of awareness that happens by the practice of recognizing or looking for your own basic nature so that, over time, it dispels the fear of these emotions?

Rinpoche: Yes, awareness is developed through the discipline of meditation. Beginning with shamatha meditation, we develop lots of awareness and mindfulness on the path. Then, in Mahamudra and Dzogchen, we emphasize a different aspect of mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness and awareness come from the discipline of meditation, which continues in our everyday life. Therefore, formal sitting practice is very important for us. For that reason, many teachers tell us to sit at least 10-15 minutes every day. That helps us to generate this continuity of awareness in our everyday life. There is no easy solution for manifesting awareness or mindfulness in our everyday life without some discipline in practice. The only problem is that when a student hears a teacher say that they must sit every day, that's the time students usually begin to change their guru!

--from Penetrating Wisdom: The Aspiration of Samantabhadra by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, published by Snow Lion Publications

Confusion as a stepping stone

CONFUSION AS A STEPPING STONE

Student: How do you deal with confusion? How do you use it?

Chogyam Trungpa: Well, what else do you have? [Laughter.] The point is that we should find some working basis as soon as possible, and what else do we have? Confusion is the first ordinary thing; it's how to begin. It think it's very important and absolutely necessary for everyone to know that we should find a stepping stone rather than looking for an ideal situation. People may say, "When I retire from my job, I'll build my house on a beautiful coast, plant my garden, organize my house, and THEN I'm really going to sit and meditate!" That is not quite the way to go about it. We have to do something right away.

From "Bodhisattva and Paramita," Talk Nine of THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST PATH, a seminar at the Naropa Institute, Summer, 1974. Unpublished.

Of interest to readers: For continuing reports on the activities of the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project, see the blog at ChogyamTrungpa.com

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 4,878 subscribers.Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.

Carolyn Rose Gimian

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications, the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources. TO SUBSCRIBE click on the following link: http://OceanofDharma.com. The Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project is now at ChogyamTrungpa.com.

Rest assured

Rest assured that you [have] entered this life

and have the opportunity to continue in the stream of Buddhist teachings

as a result of the vows and practices you engaged in during previous lives.

-- Chögyam Trungpa, Crazy Wisdom

In the realm of matter

In the realm of matter, one and the same object can serve as a cause of happiness for some living beings, and a cause of suffering for others. Certain plants, for example, function as medicine for some creatures, but for other species they can be poisonous. rom the point of view of the object itself there is no difference, but because of the physical constitution and the material state of the particular living being, that single self-same object can affect them in different ways. Then, in the sphere of our own experiences, the same holds true. A certain individual may appear to some as very friendly, kind and gentle, and so gives them feelings of happiness and pleasure. Yet to others that same person can appear harmful and wicked, and so cause them discomfort and unhappiness. What this kind of example points to is that, although external matter may act as a cause for our experience of pain and pleasure, the principal cause that determines whether we experience happiness or suffering lies within. This is the reason why, when Buddha identified the origin of suffering, he pointed within and not outside, because he knew that the principal causes of our suffering are our own negative emotions and the actions they drive us to do. --from Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by the Dalai Lama, translated by Thupten Jinpa and Richard Barron, Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney, published by Snow Lion Publications

The Wind of Peace

THE WIND OF PEACE

May the great revolutionary bannerBlow in the wind of peace.
May it blow in the wind of karma.
May it blow in the wind of fearlessness.
One's own mind is revolutionized:
There is no need to conquer others.
Like the warriors of ancient times
Going to war by imperial command,
Like seasoned masters of the martial arts,
We will destroy the fortress of erroneous thinking.
We will no longer tolerate the confused way of life
Controlled by the impersonal forces of materialism,
Since these forces may snatch away
The freedom of human dignity.
One must first give up the ego
And enter the war with one's mind.
That is the first step to freedom.
But we will never be free
By following the voice of desire.
Liberation is only gained
By treading the path of what is.

Written in Bhutan, September 1968. During this visit to Bhutan, Chogyam Trungpa composed (or received) THE SADHANA OF MAHAMUDRA, a major text dedicated to overcoming spiritual materialism. Published in WARRIOR SONGS, Trident Publications, available at shambhalashop.com.

In order to get beyond ignorance

In order to get beyond ignorance, we have to see mind's empty nature without conceptualizing it; then we must accustom the mind to this experience and gradually stabilize it so that it remains free from distraction under all circumstances. -- Kalu Rinpoche, Luminous Mind

Complete Acceptance

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week November 6, 2006 COMPLETE ACCEPTANCE Maitri [or loving kindness] is not only maitri toward others, but it is also maitri toward ourselves. In fact, the first step of awakening buddha nature is friendship with ourselves. This tends to help a great deal. We don't have alternatives or side tracks anymore because we are satisfied with ourselves. We don't try to imitate anyone else because we hate ourselves and we would like to be like somebody else instead. We are on our own ground and we are our own resources. We might be fantasizing that there is a divine force or higher spiritual energy that might save us, but even that depends on our recognition that such a thing exists. Finally we end up just relating with ourselves. So friendship, or maitri, means the complete acceptance of ourselves. From "Awakening Buddha Nature," in GLIMPSES OF MAHAYANA, page 20, published by Vajradhatu Publications. For a copy go to shambhalashop.com.

Of interest to readers: Tonight Diana J. Mukpo reads from DRAGON THUNDER: MY LIFE WITH CHOGYAM TRUNGPA in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For continuing reports on the book tour and the activities of the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project, see the blog at ChogyamTrungpa.com All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 4,830 subscribers. Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com. Carolyn Rose Gimian

One's Conduct and one's dwelling

One's conduct and one's dwelling are one's own choice. Bound to none, one enjoys that happiness and contentment which even for a king is hard to find. --Shantideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva

Questioning the meaning of life

QUESTIONING THE MEANING OF LIFE Buddha nature is not regarded as a peaceful state of mind or, for that matter, as a disturbed one either. It is a state of intelligence that questions our life and the meaning of life. It is the foundation of a search. A lot of things haven't been answered in our life -- and we are still searching for the questions. That questioning is buddha nature. It is a state of potential. The more dissatisfaction, the more questions, and more doubts there are, the healthier it is, for we are no longer sucked into ego-oriented situations, but we are constantly woken up.
From "Awakening Buddha Nature," in GLIMPSES OF MAHAYANA, page 19, published by Vajradhatu Publications. For a copy go to shambhalashop.com. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 4,813 subscribers. Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.

Gampopa

Great wisdom awareness will not arise where there is little accumulation of merit,
but on the other hand,
great wisdom awareness will arise
where there is great accumulation from generosity, moral ethics, and so forth,
and it will burn all the obscurations.

--Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation.

Healthy Openness

HEALTHY OPENNESS

Student: Sometimes you can't be generous without harming either yourself or both yourself and the other person.

Chogyam Trungpa: The general idea is that, if you open yourself to what the given situation is, then you see its completely naked quality. You don't have to put up a defensive mechanism anymore, because you see through it and you know exactly what to do. You just deal with things, rather than defending yourself.

S: But then the feeling might be that you have to refuse somebody.

CT: Sure, yes. Openness doesn't necessarily mean that you have to make yourself available to the other person all the time. Openness is knowing the situation -- if it's healthy and helpful to the other person to involve yourself with them or if it is more healthy not to involve yourself, if showing this kind of commitment is not healthy for the other person. It works both ways. Openness doesn't mean you have to take everything in at all; you have a right to reject or accept -- but when you reject you don't close your self; you reject the situation. Whether you accept or reject it depends on whether it's a healthy situation for the other person or not; it's not purely what they want. Openness doesn't mean that you are doing purely what the other person wants. Their wantingness may not be particularly accurate....So you just work along with what's valuable there.

From TRANSCENDING MADNESS: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SIX BARDOS edited by Judith Lief, pages 89-90

Be Friendly Towards Problems

BE FRIENDLY TOWARD PROBLEMS

To develop ahimsa, or the nonviolent approach, first of all you have to see that your problems are not really trying to destroy you. Usually, we immediately try to get rid of our problems. We think that there are forces operating against us and that we have to get rid of them. The important thing is to learn to be friendly toward our problems, by developing what is called metta in Pali, maitri in Sanskrit, or loving-kindness in English translation. All of these problems and difficulties are fundamentally generated from the concept of duality, or separateness. On the one hand, you are very aware of other and also very aware of yourself, and you want to do something to work with and make use of others. But you are unable to do this, because there is such a big gap between other and yourself. So a sense of threat or separation develops. That is the root of the problem.

From "The Martial Arts and the Art of War," in Volume Eight of THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, page 414.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 4,802 subscribers.Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@shambhala.com.

Teaching Concerns Actual Experience

TEACHING CONCERNS ACTUAL EXPERIENCE

I decided to give up the robe, which I feel stood as a subtle obstacle to the formulation of my teaching in the West. The monk's robe confused many as a glorious image of spirituality. However, my teaching concerns actual experience. I don't feel that I need to hide behind something, though some people are critical of me for coming out and showing myself as a human being....But my role is a far deeper one than a mere cultural mission, a representative of the East to the West. I am not Tibetan but Human and my mission is to teach others as effectively as I can in this world in which I find myself.

>From a letter by Chogyam Trungpa written in 1970. The excerpts appear in DRAGON THUNDER: MY LIFE WITH CHOGYAM TRUNGPA. This excerpt was read by Diana J. Mukpo in her keynote address at the OCEAN OF DHARMA conference at Naropa University, now ongoing. To hear the speech, go to www.chroniclesproject.com. For a blog about the DRAGON THUNDER tour and Naropa conference by Carolyn Gimian, go to ChogyamTrungpa.com

There are many types of meditative stabilization

There are many types of meditative stabilisation, but let us explain calm abiding (samatha) here. The nature of calm abiding is the one-pointed abiding on any object without distraction of a mind conjoined with a bliss of physical and mental pliancy. If it is supplemented with taking refuge, it is a Buddhist practice; and if it is supplemented with an aspiration to highest enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, it is a Mahayana practice. Its merits are that, if one has achieved calm abiding, one's mind and body are pervaded by joy and bliss; one can--through the power of its mental and physical pliancy--set the mind on any virtuous object one chooses; and many special qualities such as clairvoyance and emanations are attained.

--from The Buddhism of Tibet by the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, published by Snow Lion Publications

Perceptions

...perception cannot be packed down to form a solid foundation. Perceptions shift and float very much with the experience of life. -- Chogyam Trungpa. Orderly Chaos

The Mishap Lineage

Why does the contemplative tradition and tradition that I come from, the Practicing Lineage, or the Kagyü, exist? It is not just an accident or a matter of chance. Rather the whole thing is somewhat planned or programmed, to the extent that there is an intelligent awareness or a vision at work, of how a practitioners' lineage can exist and continue. As far as that vision is concerned, it is a prolonged sense of commitment to humanity and to working with the neurosis of humanity. The Practicing Lineage is not based on practitioners locking themselves up in their meditation cells so that they become social nuisances. But practitioners in our lineage also work with their commitment to their teacher and with surrendering, openness and devotion -- as well as with commitment to the rest of the world: all sentient beings.

From "The Mishap Lineage," in THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume Five, page 340.

Thanks to Walter Fordham and the Chronicles of CTR Project for hosting and posting the audio excerpt from THE LINE OF THE TRUNGPAS, Talk Seven.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

When your hassled

Question: Do you have any suggestion as to how we can actually transmute when we are caught in the speed of a situation?....How is it possible to work at a rate of speed and still have any sanity about it?

Chogyam Trungpa: Well, it's overall view. When you are being hassled, you are reduced into a pinpoint, traditionally. You begin to become so small, that you are hassled by the giant situations that begin to close in on you. You are afraid about your timetable, scheduling, and everything. Whereas if you take a greater view at that point, then you are no longer that small. You can cover a lot of areas. You can extend your tentacles greater that way, so that you have some sort of stronghold, or at least some kind of clear vision of where you're coming from. You are not just being bounced back and forth like a ping-pong ball by the mercy of the situation on your ping-pong table. When you're hassled, there's a tendency to become small. So the opposite approach, in this case, is like taming and entering: when you're hassled, you have to become bigger, so you can't be bounced around.

From COLLECTED VAJRA ASSEMBLIES: VOLUME ONE, pages 240 to 241.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

This is my simple religon

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples, there is no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is the temple; the philosophy is kindness. --HH XIV Dalai Lama

The Main 4 Types of Giving

The 4 Main Kinds Of Giving:
1. Giving material things: giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to those who haven't any, and things to the poor and needy.
2. Giving protection: offering refuge to those who are frightened, medicine to the sick, and so forth.
3. Giving love: comforting the unhappy. With great love we can give away our things and even our body.
4. Giving Dharma: whispering into the ears of sentient beings the names of Buddha, holy syllables, and mantras, or giving Dharma teachings and instructions to those who desire them, and so on.
--H.E. Kalu Rinpoche Dorje Chang, from: Luminous Mind - The Way Of The Buddha, Wisdom Publishing

Dreams, Sleep and the Inner Landscape

An Interview with Dr. Yeshe Dhonden (circa 1985) on Dreams, Sleep, and the Inner Landscape From The Point of View of Tibetan Medicine
http://jcrows.com/drd.html

Saraha

To leave aside your own nature and search elsewhere is extremely deluded. --Saraha, Three Cycles of Dohas

Make Friends with fear

MAKE FRIENDS WITH FEAR

In order to understand the notion of fearlessness, one has to understand fear itself. Fear is a trembling, shaky feeling of being afraid of nonexistence....Such fear is not necessarily regarded as problematic. It is like an attack of sneezing. But you have to study your fear, definitely: how it arises, how it manifests, and how it is actualized. When you begin to understand such fear, then you begin to find that it is almost a big joke. But you shouldn't try to cast fear out. Fear should be regarded as the kindling you use to build a big fire of fearlessness. So you have to understand fear as the starting point of fearlessness. Fear is not regarded as black, and fearlessness is not regarded as white. You have to make friends with fear.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

Sacredness and Society

SACREDNESS AND SOCIETY Sacredness is like putting on a fur coat in the biting cold of winter. Sacredness fulfills its purposes, and it also brings cheerfulness and goodness into our system so that we don't pollute the world. Sacredness is what allows us to say that the Shambhala principles can create an enlightened society. For instance, before we came into this room and before the banners were put up, this room was quite different. Now the banners have been put up and we are here, and that changes the atmosphere, the general dignity of the space all together. That is the notion of sacredness, at least in a superficial sense. rom "The Warrior's Way," a sourcebook for Shambhala Training, page 11. [Monday's quote, Making Friends with Fear, was also from this sourcebook.] All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

SACREDNESS AND SUPERSTITION

SACREDNESS AND SUPERSTITION

There is a great deal of difference between sacredness and superstition. Superstition is believing something that you've been told, such as that, if somebody drops a rotten egg on your head, it is bad luck. Superstition has no foundation in basic practice. Sacredness, however, is like the experience when you look at pure gold: you get some transmission of pure goldness because gold IS pure and good. Similarly, when you converse with a person of great wisdom, the conversation doesn't necessarily have to be profound per se -- it could just be "hello" and "good-bye" -- but you experience the basic nature of goodness coming out of that person.

From "The Warrior's Way," a sourcebook for Shambhala Training, page 11.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo

Action Alert!->Proposed DEA Change in the regulation of Lugol's Solution of Iodine

There is a propsed DEA change in the regulation of products containing iodine and the corresponding thresholds that would be exempt and not exempt if the propsed Listing changes are put into effect.
It is neccessary to comment professionally and scientifically to the DEA and have them refrain from implementing the proposal as outlined.
There is a comment window open until Oct 10 2006. This may be done online. dea.diversion.policy@usdoj.gov or http://www.regulations.gov
The DEA's own statistics, in the proposal, show a decrease in seizures of iodine for illegal purposes.
The exisiting law, cited in the proposal, seems responsible and thorough as stated. I would like to see the industry and individuals defend the exisiting thresholds or suggest a slight modification to regulate only those thresholds above the original formulation for Lugol's Solution i.e.5% Iodine and 10% Potassium Iodide. The original Lugol's Solution of Iodine formula should remain available as the law now allows. It has been used for many worthwhile purposes for over 120 years. Please utilize whatever professional and legal channels may be available to you, for those of us interested in keeping the product and its legitimate use in science, education, and industry in continued use.
the proposal:
http://www.jcrows.com/iodinealert.html

Gently Whispered

One does not have to feel totally at the mercy of one's emotion. It is only when acquiescing to the emotion, or investing the emotion with the falsehood of reality, that one is forced to play out the consequences. --Kalu Rinpoche, Gently Whispered

Personally speaking I have never been put off

"Personally speaking I have never been put off. I never give up at all. I am not going to give up the cause of peace that might occur in this world. And I am looking forward to it in some sense. The more chaos happens, I feel more possibility of creating greater peace, and when I see more aggression, more chaos, I feel more encouraged. That is, my smile is never diminished. I always smile." -- Chogyam Trungpa (speaking to a Nova Scotia audience in 1982)

You can appreciate your life, even if it is an imperfect situation.

You can appreciate your life, even if it is an imperfect situation. Perhaps your apartment is run down and your furniture is old and inexpensive. You do not have to live in a palace. You can relax and let go wherever you are. Wherever you are, it is a palace. -- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

War, sadly, has remained a part of human history up to the present,

War, sadly, has remained a part of human history up to the present, but I think the time has come to change the concepts that lead to war. Some people consider war to be something glorious; they think that through war they can become heroes. This attitude toward war is very wrong. Recently an interviewer remarked to me, "Westerners have a great fear of death, but Easterners seem to have very little fear of death." To that I half-jokingly responded, "It seems to me that, to the Western mind, war and the military establishment are extremely important. War means death--by killing, not by natural causes. So it seems that, in fact, you are the ones who do not fear death, because you are so fond of war. We Easterners, particularly Tibetans, cannot even begin to consider war; we cannot conceive of fighting, because the inevitable result of war is disaster: death, injuries, and misery. Therefore, the concept of war, in our minds, is extremely negative. That would seem to mean we actually have more fear of death than you. Don't you think?" --from The Compassionate Life by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF YOUR ANCESTORS

APPRECIATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF YOUR ANCESTORS

We should not ignore the contributions of the past. The failure to appreciate the resourcefulness of human existence -- which we call basic goodness --has become one of the world's biggest problems. However, we need to find the link between tradition and the present experience of life. NOWNESS, or the magic of the present moment, is what joins the wisdom of the past with the present. When you appreciate a painting, a piece of music, or a work of literature, no matter when it was created, you appreciate it NOW. You experience the same nowness in which is was created. It is always NOW.

Slogan 34, in SHAMBHALA THE SACRED PATH OF THE WARRIOR BOOK AND CARD SET. Available at a 20% discount at Shambhala.com: http://shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/1-59030-177-3.cfm