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July 31 Gotama!
While wandering on I went to hell; went again & again to the world of the hungry shades; stayed countless times, long, in the pain of the animal womb; enjoyed the human state; went to heaven from time to time; settled in the elements of form, the elements of formlessness, neither-perception, perception-less. Ways of taking birth are now known: devoid of essence, unstable, conditioned, always driven along. Knowing them as born from my self, mindful I went right to peace. July 17 I Dig A Pony!I dig a pony Well you can celebrate anything you want Well you can celebrate anything you want Ooh. I do a road hog Well you can penetrate any place you go Yes you can penetrate any place you go I told you, all I want is you. Everything has got to be just like you want it to Because I pick a moon dog Well you can radiate everything you are Yes you can radiate everything you are Ooh I roll a stoney Well you can imitate everyone you know Yes you can imitate everyone you know I told you, all I want is you. Everything has got to be just like you want it to Because I feel the wind blow Well you can indicate everything you see Yes you can indicate everything you see Ooh I dug a pony Well you can syndicate any boat you row Yes you can syndicate any boat you row I told you, all I want is you Everything has got to bejust like you want it to Because Wengu Too!CONSORT OF ALL THE BUDDHAS Shunyata, which is emptiness or openness, is also described in terms of the feminine principle -- as the consort of all the buddhas. Prajna, or discriminating awareness, is described in terms of the feminine principle too -- as the mother of all the buddhas, she who gives birth to the very idea of enlightenment. This very notion of enlightenment was started by her, by prajna. But she who made the buddhas speak, communicate, is shunyata. This is because with shunyata there is a lot of room, openness, groundlessness. Therefore there is no fear of communicating with students, just as Buddha communicated with his disciples. In the situation of groundlessness, no one is standing on any ground, so communication can take place quite freely. From "Choiceless Awareness," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa. Page 89. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. July 15 Hello!If jade is not polished, it cannot become a thing of use. If a man does not learn, he cannot know his duty towards his neighbour. He who is the son of a man, when he is young, should attach himself to his teachers and friends; and practise ceremonial usages. July 14 Hi!THE DIGNITY OF REAL EMOTIONS Student: Is resentment an emotion? What are real emotions? Chogyam Trungpa: Emotion is supposed to be a fundamental, organic process. Resentment may be the vanguard of the emotions, but it is not a real emotion, because it relates with the fringe or the edge of things. Real emotions are expressions of being and different ways of relating with being. For example, if you feel your being is lacking something, you create passion. If you feel your being is threatened, you create aggression -- and so on. Emotion is connected with a total sense of being. The total sense of being feels not quite complete enough, so you try to balance that. Real emotions are much more dignified than things like resentment, which are at the level of the outskirts. The emotions are the real capital rather than the profit. From "Giving Birth to Intellect," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa. Page 85. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. July 11 I Me MineWHAT HAPPENED TO EGO? Student: How can you distinguish between ego-based self-confidence and trust in oneself? Chogyam Trungpa: Ego doesn't cut its own ground. Ego nurses its ground. An egoless experience like prajna, or discriminating awareness, cuts its own ground. That's where the irritation and resentment come from. Within the realm of resentment, a soft heart begins to develop, softness toward oneself. The softer you become toward yourself, the more you want to cut your ground. Somehow the question of ego doesn't apply at that point. Ego is already dissipating and has given up its hold on you. This is an organic thing that happens slowly in your practice. Somebody might ask you later, "What happened to your ego?" And you might say, "Oh, I never thought about that." From "Giving Birth to Intellect," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa. Page 83. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. July 09 Great Day in the Morning!PROTECTING THE MIND You might say that it is very easy to understand or experience pain. Oh no. It takes a lot of understanding to realize pain....The method used in tantra to enable us to realize pain is called mantra. In this case, mantra has nothing to do with some verbal gibberish that you repeat over and over. Mantra here is an upaya, a skillful means. The derivation of the word mantra is the Sanskrit mantraya, which is a combination of two words. Manas means "mind," and traya means "protection." So mantra protects the mind, the fundamental intelligence or wakefulness. It does not protect it by using guards or putting it under a glass dome. Protection here is clearing away obstacles, clearing away threats. All threats to that intelligence are cleared away. This is the style of protection here. From "Pain and Hopelessness," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa. Pages 56 to 57. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. July 04 INDY!!! 4-evaFREEDOM FROM IMPRISONMENT The experience of mahamudra is the pinnacle of the tradition of tantra. Maha means "great," and mudra means "sign" or "gesture." To experience mahamudra is to realize that the literal truth, the symbolic truth, and the absolute truth are actually one thing, that they take place on one dot, one spot. One experiences reality as the great symbol that stands for itself. The bliss of mahamudra is not so much great pleasure , but it is the experience of tremendous spaciousness, freedom from imprisonment, which comes from seeing through the duality of existence and realizing that the essence of truth, the essence of space, is available on this very spot. The freedom of mahamudra is measureless, unspeakable, fathomless. Such fathomless space and complete freedom produce tremendous joy. This type of joy is not conditioned by even the experience of freedom itself; it is self-born, innate. From "Sacred Outlook," in THE HEART OF THE BUDDHA, pages 168 to 169. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. July 01 Get Out Of Town!BUDDHISM IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES -- for Canada Day Chogyam Trungpa lived and taught at Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, for several months in 1979 and again in 1980, where he conducted several seminaries for his senior students. This is excerpted from a poem composed there: Thick and grey clouds of rain and storm, Desolate mountains which roar with avalanches, Solitary hotel stands in the midst of nowhere, Swarmed with holiday-makers with their multicolored outfits and seeming limps, armed with cameras, uniformed with sunshades, Complaining, "Where is the Lake Louise?" ... Canadian Rockies, extraordinary and blunt, Decorated with snow caps and mist, Proclaiming their dubious status range after range, As if there were many weddings, but the couples never ate the cake; As if there were many birthday celebrations, but the party is never finished. Ironic sensationalism of the Canadian Rockies, Young and blunt, treacherous but keen.... Sun and moon shone simultaneously in the Canadian Rockies, But I never saw them cheering up; In fact, they usually cry along with the mist and clouds, Wiping their tears with the local dust?. How splendid the Canadian Rockies: godless, without worshippers. One wonders how we found ourselves in these Canadian Rockies, Practicing meditation according to the example of the great teacher Milarepa and our lineage?. How amazing that we could accommodate the Vajrayana world in the midst of this agitated poverty and business world.... Aren't we too brave? Sometimes I wonder. Aren't we too cowardly? Sometimes I wonder. Between the warrior and the coward, we find our path, As lilies and frogs who never quarreled. I take pride in the six smiles of the tiger In this cuckooless world of North American atmosphere. Spring never comes here, but autumn might be good; In spite of the summer, we still take pleasure in the overwhelming winter: It is a good time to practice. Excerpted from "Buddhism in the Canadian Rockies," in FIRST THOUGHT BEST THOUGHT: 108 Poems, pages 158-160. Composed at Chateau Lake Louise, 24 May 1979. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission. |
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