August 5, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

An Insufferably Good Time
The person that desires to have only pleasure and refuses pain expends
an enormous amount of energy resisting life--and at the same time
misses out enormously. He or she is on a self-defeating mission in any
case, for just as we evade certain forms of suffering we inevitably
fall victim to others. Underlying our glitzy modern consumer culture
there is a deep spiritual undernourishment and malaise that manifests
all kinds of symptoms: nervous disorders, loneliness, alienation,
purposelessness. . . So blanking out, running away, burying our heads
in sand or videotape will take us nowhere in the long run. If we
really want to solve our problems--and the world's problems, for they
stem from the same roots--we must open up and accept the reality of
suffering with full awareness, as it strikes us, physically,
emotionally, mentally, spiritually, in the here-now. Then, strange as
it may seem, we reap vast rewards. For suffering has its positive
side. From it we derive the experience of depth, of the fullness of
our humanity. This puts us fully in touch with other people and the
rest of the Universe.


--John Snelling, in Elements of Buddhism
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Wisdom replaces ignorance in our minds when we realize that happiness
does not lie in the accumulation of more and more pleasant feelings,
that gratifying craving does not bring us a feeling of wholeness or
completeness. It simply leads to more craving and more aversion.

When we realize in our own experience that happiness comes not from
reaching out but from letting go, not from seeking pleasurable
experience but from opening in the moment to what is true, this
transformation of understanding then frees the energy of compassion
within us. Our minds are no longer bound up in pushing away pain or
holding on to pleasure.

Compassion becomes the natural response of an open heart.


--Joseph Goldstein, in Seeking the Heart of Wisdom

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

August 11, 2008

THE MAGICAL ELEMENT OF MEDITATION

Even in the early stages of meditation, there is a magical element of
meditation practice. You might ask where this magical aspect comes
from, how it comes to be. It is because there is a sense of tuning
oneself into an entirely different way of thinking, as opposed to our
ordinary, samsaric or confused way of thinking. We have decided to
relate with the truth, the dharma, and decided to tune into it. And
that tuning oneself into, committing oneself into that stream, that
flow, means that one is automatically entered into some kind of
spiritual power. It is nothing particularly exciting or extraordinary,
but there is a sense of power and there is a sense of mystical energy,
so to speak, that one is involved with....So let us not regard
practice as a purely mechanical process, which leads you to
enlightenment. Tuning oneself into that higher truth is the essence
behind it.

From "The First Foundation: Mindfulness of Body," in the 1973
Hinayana-Mahayana Transcripts, pages 37 to 38.

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

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

August 7, 2008

BLISS AND VAJRA PRIDE

On the level of tantra, the mahamudra level, pleasure does not take
place through the pores of your skin, but pleasure takes place on your
very flesh without skin. You become the bliss rather than enjoying the
bliss. You are the embodiment of bliss, and this contains a quality of
your being very powerful. You have conquered pleasure and pleasure is
yours. One doesn't even have to go so far as to try to enjoy pleasure,
but pleasure becomes self-existing bliss. In this way every experience
that might occur in our life -- communication, visual experience,
auditory experience, consciousness: anything that we relate to --
becomes completely workable, highly workable. In fact, even the notion
of workability does not apply. It's yours. It is you, in fact. So
things become very immediate.
         This is what is often called vajra pride, indestructible
pride. Pride in this case is not arrogance, but is nondualistically
self-contained. You are not threatened by your projections or
projectors, but you are there, and at the same time, everything around
you is you and yours.

From "Mahamudra," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa.
Page 121.

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

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 6,058 subscribers.

When a person sits and meditates, it is a special situation; it is
a sacred act of some kind.

It has been said by Petrul Rinpoche, a great teacher about 100 years
ago, that even if you have impure thoughts in the meditation hall,
those thoughts are regarded as sacred thoughts. The most impure, most
crude or confused thoughts, even those are regarded as sacred thoughts.

Along with that, a sense of appreciating the discipline is in itself
important, whether you have accomplished the discipline over all or
not. If you fall asleep on your cushion, or feel that you haven't
actually sat and meditated at all -- as soon as you sit on your
cushion, you begin to mentally venture out all over the world, and the
only thing that reminds you is when the ending gong sounds and you
realize you are meditating, supposedly, physically -- even then, even
such daydreams and things like that are important. Meditation is a
sacred activity.

From "The First Foundation: Mindfulness of Body," in the 1973
Hinayana-Mahayana Transcripts, page 39.

It is helpful in learning to appreciate and develop your ability to
change to think about how you have changed over time. You are not the
same person you were ten years ago.

How are you different?

What were you like before?

Would your present self and past self be friends if they met?

What would they like and dislike about each other?

How did you come to be the person you are now?

Your ideals, thoughts, and opinions have changed; what has replaced
the old ones and why?

By reviewing the changes that have occurred, you can savor the growth
and progress you have made, and appreciate the benefits the process of
change has brought to your life.

When you notice how much you have changed and developed even without
consciously trying, you can see how much you could grow if you made a
real effort to change.


-- Tarthang Tulku in Skillful Means

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

August 20, 2008

A VERY VALID THING TO DO

One of the problems that meditators experience is that there is a
slight, almost subconscious, guilty feeling that you ought to be doing
something, rather than just experiencing what goes on there in your
practice. And when you begin to feel that you ought to be doing
something, then you are automatically presenting millions of obstacles
to yourself. So if you actually feel you are what you are, and this is
not particularly a project as such but just a way of being, then there
is also fundamentally a feeling that sitting there, meditating and
working on the breathing is valid and approved and it is okay and it's
done. It is normal practice. It's nothing extraordinary, particularly.
Sitting there and breathing is a very valid thing to do.

From "The First Foundation: Mindfulness of Body," in the 1973
Hinayana-Mahayana Transcripts, page 41.

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

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 6,109 subscribers.

Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF
THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@....

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

If you find that meditation does not come easily in your city room, be
inventive and go out into nature. Nature is always an unfailing
fountain of inspiration.

To calm your mind, go for a walk at dawn in the park, or watch the dew
on a rose in a garden. Lie on the ground and gaze up into the sky, and
let your mind expand into its spaciousness.

Let the sky outside awaken a sky inside your mind. Stand by a stream
and mingle your mind with its rushing; become one with its ceaseless
sound.

Sit by a waterfall and let its healing laughter purify your spirit.

Walk on a beach and take the sea wind full and sweet against your face.

Celebrate and use the beauty of moonlight to poise your mind.

Sit by a lake or in a garden and, breathing quietly, let your mind
fall silent as the moon comes up majestically and slowly in the
cloudless night.

Sogyal Rinpoche

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

August 24, 2008

A PENETRATING SENSE OF BEING

In the practice of meditation, mindfulness of the body is the sense of
being right there on your meditation cushion, which is partly
influenced by bodily sensation and partly influenced by audiovisual
sensations and consciousness. At this point, it is not so much
meditating on anything particular at all, but just being with one's
body fully and completely. As much as we can, we are right there,
sitting there. And that kind of sense of being there is also a very
penetrating experience. That sense of being transcends the ordinary
level of self-consciousness even. You might occasionally experience
that you feel that you are being there, you are watching yourself
being there, and the watcher watches itself. But that is another
little phase, another little project that wears out quickly, and then
comes back into the experience of being.

From "The First Foundation: Mindfulness of Body," in the 1973
Hinayana-Mahayana Transcripts, page 40.

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

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 6,120 subscribers.

Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF
THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn@....

August 25, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Becoming the Dharma
Devotion, scholarship, and meditation can all be empty rituals, and
whether these devotional acts or any other practices are in fact
Dharma depends solely upon one's motivation. . . . Our initial
attempts at spiritual practice tend to be very self-conscious. We want
to overcome the distortions of our minds and cultivate such wholesome
qualities as kindness, insight, mindfulness, and concentration; but as
we engage in practices designed to cultivate these, at first they
appear to be only mental exercises. Dharma seems separate, something
adopted from outside. But as we go deeper into the practice, this
sense of separation begins to disappear; our minds become the very
Dharma we seek to cultivate.


-B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up

August 26, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Mindfulness vs. Concentration
Some people do not know the difference between "mindfulness" and
"concentration." They concentrate on what they're doing, thinking that
is being mindful. . . . We can concentrate on what we are doing, but
if we are not mindful at the same time, with the ability to reflect on
the moment, then if somebody interferes with our concentration, we may
blow up, get carried away by anger at being frustrated. If we are
mindful, we are aware of the tendency to first concentrate and then to
feel anger when something interferes with that concentration. With
mindfulness we can concentrate when it is appropriate to do so and not
concentrate when it is appropriate not to do so.


-- Ajahn Sumedho, in Teachings of a Buddhist Monk
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week


September 6, 2008, the 40th Anniversary of the Sadhana of
Mahamudra


STRENGTH FOR THE DARKEST HOUR


This is the darkest hour of the dark ages. Disease, famine and warfare
are raging like the fierce north wind. The Buddha's teaching has waned
in
strength. The various schools of the sangha are fighting amongst
themselves with sectarian bitterness; and although the Buddha's teaching
was perfectly expounded and there have been many reliable teachings
since
then from other great gurus, yet they pursue intellectual speculations.
The sacred mantra has strayed into Bon and the yogis of tantra are
losing
the insight of meditation. They spend their whole time going through
villages and performing little ceremonies for material gain.

        On the
whole, no one acts according to the highest code of discipline,
meditation and wisdom. The jewel-like teaching of insight is fading day
by day. The Buddha's teaching is used merely for political purposes and
to draw people together socially. As a result, the blessings of
spiritual
energy are being lost. Even those with great devotion are beginning to
lose heart. If the buddhas of the three times and the great teachers
were
to comment, they would surely express their disappointment. So to enable
individuals to ask for their help and to renew spiritual strength, I
have
written this practice, the Sadhana of Mah
amudra.


  From THE SADHANA OF MAHAMUDRA.


OF INTEREST TO READERS: Today is the 40th Anniversary of the Sadhana of
Mahamudra, a very important text that Chogyam Trungpa discovered, so to
speak, at Tagstang in Tibet. For information about this text and to hear
a talk by Chogyam Trungpa, go to the Chronicles of CTR: 

http://www.chronicleproject.com/stories_110.html


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


OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 6,168 subscribers.


Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF
THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at:
carolyn@.... 



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


A book containing 365 short teachings based on the quotes of the
week is now available. To order Ocean of Dharma: The Everyday
Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa at a 20% discount, go to
shambhala.com.









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September 17, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

The Hallmark of the Enlightenment Process


The hallmark of the enlightenment process is in being "here" and not
"there." Indeed, the focal point of continuity is in being here at all
times. The famous message of Ram Dass to "Be here now" is what results
when one is adept in this practice. It is laborious in that it
requires great perseverance--we are up against lifelong patterns--but
it is a major enlightenment practice because it can break through our
basic conditioning.

The secret of success in continuity practice is to eliminate any sense
of failure. From the moment we begin, we are successful. The only
measure of success is this moment, right now. Are we here? If we are
here, our practice is perfect.

The fact that we have just returned from out yonder, or that we might
take off again in a few seconds, is not relevant. Without this
practice, we would always be spaced out. We would rarely experience
being here. Thus, each moment we are able to break the pattern, we
have succeeded.


--David A. Cooper, in Silence, Simplicity and Solitude
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

September 19, 2008

SPIRITUAL SUPERMARKET

The study of spiritual materialism is very important. Some people tell
you to hold your breath, and you'll feel blissful. Some people tell
you to breathe out, and you'll feel blissful.  Some people tell you to
eat a carrot right now! Some people say, "Stand on your head."  Some
people say "Sit, then stand on one foot, then lie down on your back
and have a good massage." Or swim in cold water and that will help
you.  Swim in hot water -- that will help you.  Reading this might
help you. Say these few words over and over to yourself.  Or shout
your words; project out.  Dive in. Dive out.  Wear certain clothes.
Get a certain hair cut. Do certain eye gazes. People suggest all sorts
of things, which is what's known as the "spiritual supermarket." All
these trips have been laid on the poor Americans. We could call this
spiritual democracy. It doesn't particularly help. However, America
remains a great field of spiritual fertility.  Fertile situations
occur constantly, all the time. Trying to work with this American
mentality and bring it together with the Buddhist tradition of
orthodoxy, at the same time, creates a good balance.

Edited from an unpublished transcript VIEWING AND WORKING WITH THE
PHENOMENAL WORLD, a seminar at Naropa Institute, Talk One, June 10, 1976.

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

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 6,217 subscribers.

Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF
THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at:
carolyn@....

The holy secret of the practice of Tonglen is one that the mystic
masters and saints of every tradition know; and living it and
embodying it, with the abandon and fervor of true wisdom and true
compassion, is what fills their lives with joy. One modern figure who
has dedicated her life to serving the sick and dying and who radiates
this joy of giving and receiving is Mother Teresa. I know of no more
inspiring statement of the spiritual essence of Tonglen than these
words of hers:

We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be
in heaven with Him at this very moment. But being happy with Him now
means:

Loving as He loves,
Helping as He helps,
Giving as He gives,
Serving as He serves,
Rescuing as He rescues,
Being with Him twenty-four hours,
Touching Him in his distressing disguise.

Sogyal Rinpoche

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "Shambhala News Service" <sns@...>
To: "Shambhala News Service" <sns@...>
Subject: The Sakyong in Compassionate Leadership Dialogues with Queen Noor and Rabbi Irwin Kula
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:40:28 +0000

22 Sep 2008 - The Sakyong in Compassionate Leadership Dialogues with Queen Noor and Rabbi Irwin Kula The Sakyong will be participating in several dialogues this week with Queen Noor and Rabbi Irwin Kula discussing the role of compassionate leadership in the world. The first will take place on Wednesday 24 September in New York at Goldman Sachs for 250 of their partners and senior managers. A dialogue will take place at New York University that evening in front of a thousand NYU students, faculty and community. On Thursday 25 September the dialogue will be held at Tufts University in Boston in front of 700 students, faculty and staff. At both NYU and Tufts the greater Shambhala community is invited. Please check with those centers for more information. The events are all nearly full to capacity. This tour also inaugurates a new website which reflects the Sakyong's wish to engage a wider youth audience in the search for peace. The website provides links for students to send questions to the Sakyong, Queen Noor and Rabbi Kula for their appearances at NYU and Tufts. (This announcement was from the Shambhala News Service)

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

September 30, 2008

PREPRODUCTION FREEDOM

Restrictions and inadequacies usually come from feeling burdened, as
though we are carrying a heavy load. But if we develop the notion of
space fully and properly, we begin to find that there is no burden, no
load. That is a relief -- not just a petty relief, but a larger
version of mind altogether. We begin to realize that an extraordinary
openness takes place in our lives -- in the way we move, the way we
eat, the way we sleep, and the way we create a work of art. Tremendous
freedom takes place in that basic space. Such freedom is not a product
of the creation of art; it is preproduction freedom. That is very
important for you to know. Before we produce anything at all, we have
to have a sense of free and open space with no obstacles of any kind.

From "Heaven, Earth and Human," in TRUE PERCEPTION: THE PATH OF DHARMA
ART, page 129. This new edition of DHARMA ART, containing additional
material and a new introduction and preface, will be published by
Shambhala Publications in November 2008. To preorder your copy at a
20% discount, go to:
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-588-1.cfm

September 25, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Nothing and Everything
The great Indian teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj once said, "Wisdom tells
me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my
life flows." "I am nothing" does not mean that there is a bleak
wasteland within. It does mean that with awareness we open to a clear,
unimpeded space, without center or periphery--nothing separate. If we
are nothing, there is nothing at all to serve as a barrier to our
boundless expression of love. Being nothing in this way, we are also,
inevitably, everything. "Everything" does not mean
self-aggrandizement, but a decisive recognition of interconnection; we
are not separate. Both the clear, open space of "nothing" and the
interconnectedness of "everything" awaken us to our true nature.

This is the truth we contact when we meditate, a sense of unity beyond
suffering. It is always present; we merely need to be able to access it.


--Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

October 5, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Help Me, Help You
Those who seek liberation for themselves alone cannot become fully
enlightened. Though it may be said that one who is not already
liberated cannot liberate others, the very process of forgetting
oneself to help others is itself liberating. Therefore those who seek
to benefit themselves alone actually harm themselves by doing so,
while those who help others also help themselves by doing so.


--Muso Kokushi, in Dream Conversations
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

October 3, 2008

HOW THINGS ARE MADE

In North America, people graduate from college and leave home -- or
sometimes leave home even before that. There's no sense of home then.
They begin to live out of a suitcase and get a job -- secretarial,
management, depending on their capabilities. People develop an
interesting relationship with reality in that way. You don't see how
things are produced, what things are made out of, how things have been
done. You might see a silk-screened design and like it, so you buy it
without knowing anything about the process of silk-screening. Or you
might buy a carpet, not knowing the weavers or the carpetry world at
all. And when things go wrong, usually we call a specialist....From
the modern American point of view, you can just go to the store and
buy things and pick them up. That is not quite a good attitude, let
alone elegance. People have to realize how things are made and
produced, how they happen to be so beautiful, so lovely.

From "Discovering Elegance," in TRUE PERCEPTION: THE PATH OF DHARMA
ART, pages 5 to 6.

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

October 8, 2008

THE WARRIOR'S WEAPONS

If victory is the notion of no enemy, then the whole world is a
friend. That seems to be the warrior's philosophy. The true warrior is
not like somebody carrying a sword and looking behind his own shadow,
in case somebody is lurking there. That is the setting-sun warrior's
point of view, which is an expression of cowardice. The true warrior
always has a weapon, in any case....The definition of warriorship is
fearlessness and gentleness. Those are your weapons. The genuine
warrior becomes truly gentle because there is no enemy at all.

From the manuscript of CONQUERING FEAR: THE HEART OF SHAMBHALA.
Forthcoming from Shambhala Publications in 2009.

Eating Mindfully

When I was four years old, my mother used to bring me a cookie every
time she came home from the market. I always went to the front yard
and took my time eating it, sometimes half an hour or forty-five
minutes for one cookie. I would take a small bite and look up at the
sky. Then I would touch the dog with my feet and take another small
bite. I just enjoyed being there, with the sky, the earth, the bamboo
thickets, the cat, the dog, the flowers. I was able to do that because
I did not have much to worry about. I did not think of the future, I
did not regret the past. I was entirely in the present moment, with my
cookie, the dog, the bamboo thickets, the cat, and everything. It is
possible to eat our meals as slowly and joyfully as I ate the cookie
of my childhood. Maybe you have the impression that you have lost the
cookie of your childhood, but I am sure it is still there, somewhere
in your heart. Everything is still there, and if you really want it,
you can find it. Eating mindfully is a most important practice of
meditation.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

October 14, 2008

A GENERAL SENSE OF BEING

The sense of being can't be one solid thing. It moves constantly. It
projects out and in, and it is very fickle. Nevertheless, there should
be some attempt to relate to the overall situation, to a sense of the
whole. It is like looking at a string of beads or an animal's tail.
When a lot of little beads are strung together, you have a mala or a
necklace; hundreds of small hairs put together become a tail. So there
is a general sense of being, made out of lots of little things put
together.

From "Being and Projecting," in TRUE PERCEPTION: THE PATH OF DHARMA
ART, p.77.

October 21, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

World Peace, Inner Peace

We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect the inner world
and don't make peace with ourselves. World peace must develop out of
inner peace. Without inner peace it is impossible to achieve world
peace, external peace. Weapons themselves do not act. They have not
come out of the blue. Man has made them. But even given those weapons,
those terrible weapons, they cannot act by themselves. As long as they
are left alone in storage they cannot do any harm. A human being must
use them. Someone must push the button. Satan, the evil powers, cannot
push that button. Human beings must do it.

--The Dalai Lama, in The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness, edited by
Sidney Piburn

from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: "Shambhala News Service" <sns@...>
To: "Shambhala News Service" <sns@...>
Subject: The Sakyong's Message on the Golden Path of Shambhala on Shambhala Web Site
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:38:01 +0000

21 Oct 2008 - The Sakyong's Message on the Golden Path of Shambhala on Shambhala Web Site Two weeks ago the Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, sent a message to everyone in the Shambhala Mandala about the challenge we face at this difficult time in the world. "The upheavals in the financial world are causing widespread distress," he wrote, "as are fears about climate change, intensified political polarization, and rising aggression. It is what the Shambhala teachings call a dark age. We experience the darkness as confusion, unhappiness, and lack of purpose." This message was earlier sent as text, but has now been added to the Shambhala web site in a more accessible format. As well, a link to this timely communication appears on the Shambhala home page under the heading: Read the Sakyong's Message to the Shambhala Community, listed under Community News . (This announcement was from the Shambhala News Service)

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

October 29, 2008

SIT AND DO NOTHING

The world can be explored; it is workable, wherever you go, whatever
you do. But I would like to plant one basic seed in your mind: I feel
that it is absolutely important to make the practice of meditation
your source of strength, your source of basic intelligence. Please
think about that. You could sit down and do nothing, just sit and do
nothing. Stop acting, stop speeding. Sit and do nothing. You should
take pride in the fact that you have learned a very valuable message:
You actually can survive beautifully by doing nothing.

In THE POCKET CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, page 177. Originally from "Maha Ati,"
in JOURNEY WITHOUT GOAL, page 142.

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

October 26, 2008

WARRIOR VERSUS SEER

The warrior is a practitioner like the bodhisattvas, great Mahayana
practitioners dedicated to helping others. The seer is a man of wisdom
like the buddhas, who see the situation as it is but don't have to
enter into manipulative actions of any kind at all. In the case of the
warrior, there's still duality. Even though it may not be the duality
of awareness of oneself as ego, there is still the duality of action
and the object of action. That's where bravery comes in -- not to
hesitate because you see action as it is; not to interpret in terms of
concepts, but try to work with action itself and go along and along.
Somehow that doesn't mean struggle. Absolute warriors, ideal warriors,
don't struggle. They just proceed along because they know their work,
they know their abilities. They don't question it. Their actual
inspiration comes from the situation as it is. If the situation
becomes more and more overwhelming and powerful, that much more energy
goes along with it. It's like judo: you use the situation as your
power rather than trying to fight with it.

From "The Bardo of Dreams," in TRANSCENDING MADNESS: THE EXPERIENCE OF
THE SIX BARDOS, pages 114 to 115.


Of interest to readers:

FEARLESSNESS AND JOY ARE TRULY YOURS

When a warrior king presents a gift,
It could be a naked flame, which consumes the jungle of ego,
Or an ice cold mountain range, which cools the heat of aggression.
On the other hand, it could be a parachute.
One wonders whether it will open or not.
There is a further choice --Thunderbolt:
Whether you are capable of holding it with your bare hand is up to you.
So, my heartfelt child, take these gifts and use them
In the way that past warriors have done.

Unpublished poem, from the manuscript of CONQUERING FEAR: THE HEART OF
SHAMBHALA, forthcoming in 2009.


Of interest to readers:

  Just out! THE POCKET CHOGYAM TRUNGPA. A treasury of 108 short
teachings by Chogyam Trungpa, one of the most influential Buddhist
teachers of our time. Pithy and immediate, these teachings address a
range of topics, including fear and fearlessness, accepting our
imperfections, developing confidence, helping others, appreciating our
basic goodness, and everyday life as a spiritual path.  With the
Shambhala discount, this little book costs less than six dollars.
Available at
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-643-7.cfm

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

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

November 9, 2008

OPENNESS TO WHERE YOU ARE

In human life, if you feel you have made a mistake, you don't try to
undo the past or the present, but you just accept where you are and
work from there. Tremendous openness as to where you are is necessary.
This also applies to the practice of meditation, for instance. A
person should learn to meditate on the spot, in the given moment,
rather than thinking, "...When I reach pension age, I'm going to
retire and receive a pension, and I'm going to build my house in
Hawaii or the middle of India, or maybe the Gobi Desert, and THEN I'm
going to enjoy myself. I'll live a life of solitude and then I'll
really meditate." Things never happen that way.

From "The Bardo of Illusory Body," in TRANSCENDING MADNESS: THE
EXPERIENCE OF THE SIX BARDOS, page 96.

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

November 16, 2008

SADNESS FOR OTHERS

[For Baird Bryant, a student of Chogyam Trungpa's who passed away this
week]

I personally feel sadness, always. You feel sad, but you don't want to
burst into tears. You feel embryonic sadness. There are hundreds of
thousands of people who need your help, which makes you feel sad, so
sad. It's not that you need someone to keep you company, but it is sad
because you feel the sense of aloneness, and others do not. Many
people have this experience. For example, I have a friend and student
named Baird Bryant whom I've worked with for many years. He is a
filmmaker, and we worked together on several films. I can see that he
has that kind of sadness. He wishes that something could be done for
others, that something could be made right. He has that sadness,
aloneness, and loneliness, which I appreciate very much. In fact, I
have learned from witnessing my friend's experience.

From "Helping Others," in GREAT EASTERN SUN: THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA,
page 175.

Great Eastern Sun

"As a loving and grateful student of Chögyam Trungpa, the Dorje Dradul
of Mukpo, I am delighted that these wonderful teachings -­which have
so profoundly influenced and shaped my life ­- are now available to
benefit others. May countless people have the good fortune to read
this book."­Pema Chodrön, author of When Things Fall Apart

Available from Shambhala Publications on line at:
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-57062-818-4.cfm

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

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