[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: A Staircase to Enlightenment

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

[Ocean of Dharma: The Everyday Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa is now available. See information below.]

May 1, 2008

A STAIRCASE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

In one of the sutras, or discourses by the Buddha, he says that those who practice shamatha meditation, or dwelling in peace, are building a staircase toward enlightenment. To construct such a staircase to enlightenment requires precise measurement and carpentry. The boards have to be completely measured and properly built. The steps must be built properly, the angles must be looked at, and then finally we have to choose certain particular nails that can bear the pressure of people walking on them, and then we hammer them in. So when we talk about shamatha practice, the sitting practice of meditation, we are talking about building a staircase very deliberately, according to the instructions of Buddha. We might ask," A staircase to what? What's it like at the top of the stairs?" It doesn't really matter. It's just a staircase. We are just building a staircase. No promise. No blame. Let us simplify the whole situation. Let us build this particular staircase very simply and directly.

From OCEAN OF DHARMA: The Everyday Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa. 365 Teachings on Living Life with Courage and Compassion. Number 133. [Unpublished excerpt from Talk Two of Meditation: the Way of the Buddha, July, 1974, Naropa Institute, Boulder, Colorado.]

*** This new book of short teachings by Chogyam Trungpa contains many new quotes, as well as some previously published on the Ocean of Dharma list serv. Order your copy now at shambhala.com.

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

OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES OF THE WEEK now has 5,702 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Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications,  the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.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