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On Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche is the quintessential spiritual guide. His teachings—steeped in ancient tradition and presented with relaxed fluency in western language and culture—are profound, accessible, and fresh. In addition to the buddhadharma, he offered the secular path of Shambhala, cultivating an appreciation of inherent bravery, dignity and goodness beyond cultural and religious bounds. Through his many books, Trungpa Rinpoche continues to be an incomparable source of wisdom and courage in the world. The Chronicles is an ongoing celebration of his profound teachings and life example.
Copyright Diana J. Mukpo. Used here by arrangement with Diana J. Mukpo and Shambhala Publications, Inc.
These teachings by Chögyam Trungpa are selected at random from Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: the email service that brings Trungpa Rinpoche’s dharma to your inbox several times each week. For more information, or to add your name to the list, visit OceanofDharma.com.
Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week is edited and produced by Carolyn Rose Gimian. Thank you to Lady Diana Mukpo, Mrs. Gimian, and Shambhala Publications for making these teachings available on the Chronicles.
Obstacles Make Us Smile
We try to rejoice whenever there is an obstacle, and we try to regard that as something that makes us smile. Each particular setback creates a further smile. We keep on going in that way, and we never give up or give in to any obstacles….For instance, I myself had a lot of hard times getting out of my country and being sick. And all sorts of things still happen to me personally. Although everybody is trying to be extremely helpful to me; nonetheless obstacles happen to me all the time. But I don’t regard those obstacles as a sign of anything at all; I keep on going, myself. I was terribly sick yesterday, and it was not very pleasant–however, it made me smile. So I’m here, smiling, right now.
Student: You have to go through the turbulence?
Chögyam Trungpa: Yes, yes. You always have ups and downs. It is like riding on a roller coaster: the more you go down and the more you go up, the more you smile each time. You smile, rather than just holding your breath and thinking that you should enjoy yourself because you paid for it, or thinking that since it was your choice, You’re supposed to enjoy it.
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Art In Everyday Life
Vancouver Meditation Seminar: 1975
Three talks on meditation practice from February 1975
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Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Children's Day address, 1978.
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A two-minute clip from Talk Five of the 1975 Seminary
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In the vajrayana Buddhist tradition, we talk about how we can discover wisdom behind our passions and delusions. If you simply cut out your passion or your desire, you...