Chögyam TrungpaWho killed my only father? Who killed my only mother?
Who caused the rain of blood? Who gathered the black clouds of the thunderbolts?
Who caused the earthquake that shook the whole world?
I asked these questions in the middle of a crowd
But no one was able to answer.
So I asked a second time and a third,
Shouting at the top of my voice.
My mind was blank and I didn’t know what to think.
Suddenly the great red wind of karma arose.
The king of death appeared on the face of the earth and raised a fearful hailstorm.
The flag of no-retreat, emblazoned with the knot of eternity, unfurls before the storm.
Even the wind of karma takes delight in blowing it.
The truth of the pattern emerges
And unshakable confidence is aroused.
Now I am certain, I am fearless,
There is no retreat:
The voice of truth is heard throughout the world.
Falling in love with the universe ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaYou can almost fall in love with the universe, with the general situation. At that point, there is no reference point to anyone or anything. It is just being in love, just appreciating your world. You don’t have to crank anything up. The main point is developing some kind of appetite for the universe, that everything is workable and lovable.
Relating to our hang-ups ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaMeditation is a way of permitting hang-ups of mind to churn themselves up. If we try to focus on our neurosis as a practice, that is an escape; and if we try to suppress it, that is also an escape. So the process is to relate with the neurosis as it is, in its true nature, the actual simplicity of it. Then we begin to make some progress. As this process of relating to our hang-ups develops, at some point we at last begin to trust ourselves. We begin to develop some kind of faith and trust that what we have and what we are is, after all, not all that bad. It is workable, usable.
Enjoy your goodness ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaOne of the problems we have is feeling poverty-stricken. To overcome that, we have to be direct, and we have to trust ourselves. We are not poverty-stricken. If we are capable of smiling, we have goodness in us, always. Whether young or old, very old or very young, still, there are always possibilities of a smile. So keep smiling. Enjoy your goodness.
The heart of goodness in you ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaYou don’t need to rely on anybody else’s goodness. You have a resource already, which is your own goodness. Your are already good, and you can actually transmit that goodness to others. In buddhism, we call this buddha-nature. Examine yourself and your state of being. You will find that you have the heart of goodness in you.
The enlightened expression of yourself ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaWe try to avoid our individuality, but that is a big problem. Individuality sometimes comes out of ego, like wanting to be an emperor, a king, or a millionaire. But individuality can also come from personal inspiration. It depends on the level of one’s journey, on how far you have been able to shed your ego. We all have our own style and our own particular nature. We can’t avoid it. The enlightened expression of yourself is in accord with your inherent nature.
Vajra nature ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaWhen we fly in an airplane above the clouds, we realize that the sun is always shining even when it is cloudy and rainy below. In the same way, when we cease to hold on to our identity, our ego, we begin to see that the nonexistence of ego is a powerful, real, and indestructible state of being. We realize that, like the sun, it is a continuous situation which does not wax or wane. That state of being is called vajra nature.
Constant unmasking ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe attainment of enlightenment from ego’s point of view is extreme death, the death of self, the death of me and mine, the death of the watcher. It is the ultimate and final disappointment. Treading the spiritual path is painful. It is a constant unmasking, peeling off of layer after layer of masks. It involves insult after insult.
The common enemy of all religious disciplines ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaThe common enemy of all religious disciplines is selfishness of mind. For it is just this which causes ignorance, anger and passion, which are at the root of all the troubles of the world.
Beyond habitual patterns ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaHow on earth, how in the name of heaven and earth can we actually become decent human beings without trying to entertain ourselves from here to the next corner?…
It boils down to taking interest in what you see. I have a very frustrated feeling, actually, that when I talk about appreciating red, white, blue, and green, I’m not sure whether you actually appreciate those colors or not. Maybe you think I’m trying to tell you that you should be artists or something. And when I say that you should listen to the sounds that go on in the world, maybe you think I’m trying to tell you to be musicians. And when I talk about the textures of your body — sense perceptions and feelings — maybe you think I’m trying to tell you to become salesmen in the garment industry. I’m beginning to wonder.
We are not talking about becoming experts in marketing things, but we are talking about our own situation: how we can actually stop habitual patterns and appreciate the nitty-gritty of the real world on the spot. We can appreciate the bright, beautiful, fantastic world around us; we don’t have to feel all that resentful… Once we put a stop to habitual patterns, the vividness, the magic, will begin to descend, and we will begin to become masters of our world – individually, personally, of course. We will begin to appreciate our world.
Discovering magic ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaWhether you care to communicate with it or not, the magical strength and wisdom of reality are always there….By relaxing the mind, you can reconnect with that primordial, original ground, which is completely pure and simple. Out of that, through the medium of your perceptions, you can discover magic, (which in the Shambhala tradition is called ) drala. You actually can connect your own intrinsic wisdom with a sense of greater wisdom or vision beyond you.
You might think that something extraordinary will happen to you when you discover magic. Something extra-ordinary does happen. You simply find yourself in the realm of utter reality, complete and thorough reality.
Powerful present ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaAt this point, we are in a powerful spot: being in the present, we can reshape the whole future. Therefore, shouldn’t we be more careful, shouldn’t we be more awake in what we are doing this very moment?
Self-confidence ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaWith the realization of ones own potential and self-confidence in ones ability, one can build a better world. According to my own experience, self-confidence is very important. That sort of confidence is not a blind one; it is an awareness of ones own potential. On that basis, human beings can transform themselves by increasing the good qualities and reducing the negative qualities.
Illuminating life ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaEnlightenment is referred to as en-lighten-ment. It is further luminosity; it illuminates life. Up to this point, we had a very bad lighting system; but now we are getting a better lighting system, so we begin to see every curve of skin, every inch of our world, properly. We might get irritated by such sharpness and precision, but this seems to be part of the perspective that Buddha is everywhere.
A curious mind ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaIt is vital for us to obtain genuine confidence in the nature of mind and reality, grounded in understanding and reason. What we need is a skeptical curiosity and constant inquiry, a curious mind, drawn toward all possibilities; and when we cultivate that, the desire to deeply investigate naturally arises.
Buddha mind ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaThe idea of buddha mind is not purely a concept or a theoretical, metaphysical idea. It is something extremely real that we can experience ourselves. In fact, it is the ego that feels that we have an ego. It is ego that tells us, “My ego is bothering me. I feel very self-conscious about having to be me. I feel that I have a tremendous burden in me, and I wonder what the best way to get rid of it is.” Yet all those expressions of restlessness that keep coming out of us are the expression of buddha nature: the expression of our unborn, unobstructed, and nondwelling nature.
Connecting to reality ~ Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam TrungpaAny perception can connect us to reality, properly and fully. What we see doesn’t have to be pretty, particulary; we can appreciate anything that exists. There is some prinicple of magic in everything, some living quality. Something living, something real, is taking place in everything.
Freedom in the heart ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat HanhThe amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart.
The whole purpose of teachings ~ 14th Dalai Lama
14th Dalai LamaYou should understand the whole purpose of listening to teachings, taking teachings and studying them is to put them into practice. What you know should be put into practice immediately; you can thus derive the benefit of having some transformation within your mind. Even though it might be a very minor effort, a very small practice just leaving imprints within your mind, still you must think that it is worthwhile to do. Otherwise your knowledge of dharma will be quite fruitless.
Looking directly ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Mingyur RinpocheJust look at the thoughts themselves, rather than the causes and conditions from which they emerge.