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.
The Future Is Virgin Territory
The preservation of the past in the present is called memory. We have developed all those memories as possible ways of solidifying our existence. Whenever we experience a loss of feeling or a loss of inspiration, we constantly refer back to that habitual pattern, which brings us some kind of outdated information. We then try to adapt that outdated information to the up-to-date situation, which is a manipulation of the anxiety of the present state. That whole process is what’s called “karmic creation.” But this process doesn’t go on into the future at all. The future is a virgin situation, completely unoccupied territory. We can’t manipulate the future because nothing has happened in the future so far–so the future is a completely open situation.
















