We cannot change the way the world is, but by opening ourselves to the world as it is, we may find that gentleness, decency and bravery are available – not only to us, but to all human beings.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAWe cannot change the way the world is, but by opening ourselves to the world as it is, we may find that gentleness, decency and bravery are available – not only to us, but to all human beings.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAIt’s easier to put on a pair of shoes than to wrap the earth in leather.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAWarriorship is so tender, without skin, without tissue, naked and raw. It is soft and gentle. You have renounced putting on a new suit of armor. You have renounced growing a thick, hard skin. You are willing to expose naked flesh, bone and marrow to the world.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPALife is a straight drink – straight pleasure, straight pain, straightforward, one hundred percent.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAYou are feeding them energy because you are not seeing them as simple phenomena. If one tries to quiet them down, that is another way of feeding them.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPASit and do nothing. Every once in a while a golden fish swims by and lays her golden eggs. You’ll know.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAI am alone and my spiritual journey is my experience.’ This is the real experience of freedom and independence. Then we begin to see that being alone is a very beautiful thing. Nobody is obstructing our vision. We have complete panoramic vision.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPALuxury is experiencing reality
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAWhen you relate to thoughts obsessively, you are actually feeding them because thoughts need your attention to survive. Once you begin to pay attention to them and categorize them, then they become very powerful.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAChaos should be regarded as extremely good news!
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAWe say that the sun is behind the clouds, but actually it is not the sun but the city from which we view it that is behind the clouds. If we realized that the sun is never behind the clouds we might have a different attitude toward the whole thing.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAWe do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly enlightened or peaceful or intelligent. Nevertheless, we have soil good enough to cultivate; we can plant anything in it.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPADeveloping confidence is like watching the sun rise. First it seems very feeble and one wonders whether it will make it. Then it shines and shines.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAArtistic vision comes from a mind clear enough to fall in love with what we see.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAThe bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is, there’s no ground.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPAThere is very little distance between being a fool and being wise; they are extremely close. When we are really, truly fools, when we actually acknowledge our foolishness, then we are way ahead. We are not even in the process of becoming wise – we are already wise.
CHOGYAM TRUNGPA