[OceanofDharma] Ocean of Dharma: Thoughts Are Not VIPs

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

September 23, 2009

THOUGHTS ARE NOT VIPS

Usually, if you have mental chatter, you call it your thoughts. But if you have deeply involved emotional chatter, you give it special prestige. You think those thoughts deserve the special privilege of being called emotion. Somehow, in the realm of actual mind, things don't work that way. Whatever arises is just thinking: thinking you're horny, thinking you're angry. As far as meditation practice is concerned, your thoughts are no longer regarded as VIPs, while you meditate. You think, you sit; you think, you sit; you think, you sit. You have thoughts, you have thoughts about thoughts. Let it happen that way. Call them thoughts.

From "Meditation: Touch and Go," in SMILE AT FEAR: AWAKENING THE TRUE HEART OF BRAVERY. Coming in October from Shambhala Publications.

"Chogyam Trungpa's vision of fearlessness as honesty, joyfulness, sadness, and openness is inspiring and particularly relevant to our historical moment."-- Norman Fischer

Pre-Order your copy at:
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-696-3.cfm

Of interest to readers:
Join the Shambhala Sun magazine in San Francisco, October 2-4, for an "Urban Retreat"  exploring the theme, Wisdom for Difficult Times: What the Buddhists Teach. The Shambhala Sun will be joined by eminent teachers Sylvia Boorstein, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, and Zoketsu Norman Fischer -? three great teachers from three major Buddhist traditions, teaching together for the first time. This special weekend will include talks, meditation sessions, questions, and discussion. For more, visit www.shambhalasun.com/urbanretreat

Ocean of Dharma now has 7,755 subscribers.
Please send comments to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian, at carolyn@shambhala.com.
Teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, taken from works published by Shambhala Publications,  the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.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, unsubscribe, see the quotes online or read the Ocean of Dharma blog, visit the website at http://oceanofdharma.com