[OceanofDharma] Following the Example of the Buddha

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 31, 2008

(Sent from the road. Apologies for formatting problems.)

FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF THE BUDDHA

O 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, [the perfectly enlightened one,]
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, Chogyam, emulate you.
O Buddha,
Namo buddhaya
Buddham sharanam gacchami.
[Homage to the Buddha,
I take refuge in the Buddha.]

>From "How Typical Student Poetry Should Be," in THE ESSENTIAL CHOGYAM TRUNGPA.

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

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[OceanofDharma] How Much I Love You Buddha!

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 29, 2008

(This quote is being sent from the road. Apologies for any problems with formatting.)

HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU BUDDHA!

O how much I love you Buddha!
The way you do things properly,
The way you feel the world around you,
You have no aggression --
O 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 Buddha
Who need not clarify or validate that
You are buddha as Buddha.
O how gorgeous to be Buddha!

>From "How Typical Student Poetry Should Be," from THE ESSENTIAL CHOGYAM TRUNGPA.

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[OceanofDharma] Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: Fresh Dharma

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 25, 2008

(This is sent from the road. Apologies for any problems with formatting.)

FRESH DHARMA

The teachings are an individual personal experience, right down to the present
holder of the lineage. They have the quality of warm, fresh baked bread; the
bread is still warm and hot and fresh. Each baker must apply the general
knowledge of how to make bread to his particular dough and oven. Then he must
personally experience the freshness of his bread and must cut it fresh and eat
it warm. It is a very living process. There is no deception in terms of viewing
the teachings as collecting knowledge. We must work with our individual
experiences. When we become confused, we cannot turn back to our collection of
knowledge and try to find some confirmation or consolation: "The teacher and
the whole teaching are on my side." The spiritual path does not go that way. It
is a lonely individual path.

>From OCEAN OF DHARMA: THE EVERYDAY WISDOM OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA. Number 58.

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[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Obviousness Becomes Sacredness

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 21, 2008

Of interest to readers: Yesterday, July 20, there was a ceremony to install 3,000 gold CDs of Chogyam Trungpa's teachings in the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado. This was the Speech Empowerment of the Stupa, which also contains the body relics of Chogyam Trungpa. For photos and more information on this event, go to http://chronicleproject.com/speech_empowerment/speech_empowerment.html

OBVIOUSNESS BECOMES SACREDNESS

The approach of vajrayana Buddhism to sacredness is not so much a matter of things being big and enormous and beyond the measure of one's thought; rather it has to do with things being so true, so real, so direct. We know a fire burns. We know the earth carries us. We know that space accommodates us. All these are REAL facts, and so obvious. Obviousness becomes sacredness from the point of view of vajrayana. It is not that things are sacred because they are beyond our imagination, but because they are so obvious. The magic is simplicity. Winter gets cold, summer gets warm. Everything in every situation has a little magic. If we forget to eat, we get hungry. There is a causal aspect, which is the truth. So in this case, the sacredness is a matter of truth, of the obviousness of the whole thing.

From "The Levels of Mahamudra," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa. Page 133.
 
All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

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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.
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[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Consort of All the Buddhas

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 16, 2008

Of interest to readers: This coming Sunday, July 20, there will be a ceremony to install 3,000 gold CDs of Chogyam Trungpa's teachings in the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado. This is the Speech Empowerment of the Stupa, which also contains the body relics of Chogyam Trungpa. A procession of 100 people will carry boxes containing the CDs up to the Stupa where a blessing will be conducted by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. The assembled students will do a practice that Chogyam Trungpa wrote in 1978, The Sadhana of Mahamudra. For my blog about the event, and eventually photos, go to: http://chronicleproject.com/speech_empowerment/speech_empowerment.html

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.

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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

[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: The Dignity of Real Emotions

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 13, 2008

Of interest to readers: To see the trailer for a documentary on the life of Chogyam Trungpa, go to http://grittv.blip.tv/ and click on "Got Docs" on the right hand menu. The trailer will be available until approximately July 16. The film is being directed, written and edited by Johanna Demetrakas and hopefully will be finished within the next six months or so.

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.

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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.
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[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: What Happened to Ego?

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 10, 2008

WHAT 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.

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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.
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[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Protecting the Mind

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 7, 2008

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.

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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

[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Freedom from Imprisonment

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 4, 2008 (Independence Day in the United States)

FREEDOM 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.

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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

[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Buddhism in the Canadian Rockies

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

July 1, 2008

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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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