Picture of Chögyam Trungpa

Chögyam Trungpa

CTR Quote of the Week

Cynical Letter

Licking honey from a razor blade,

Eyes of the learned gouged out by books,

The beauty of maidens worn by display,

The warrior dead from not knowing fear―

It is ironical to see the dharma of samsara:

Celebrities deafened by fame,

The hand of the artist crippled by rheumatism.

 

The moth flew into the oil lamp,

The blind man walks with a torch,

The cripple runs in his wheelchair,

A fool’s rhetoric is deep and learned,

The laughing poet

Has run out of breath and died.

The religious spin circles, in accordance with religion;

If they had not practiced their religion, they could not spin.

The sinner cannot spin according to religion;

He spins according to not knowing how to spin.

The yogis spin by practicing yoga;

If they don’t have chakras to spin, they are not yogis.

Chögyam is spinning, watching the spinning/samsara;

If there is no samsara/spinning, there is no Chögyam.

From Timely Rain: Selected Poetry of Chogyam Trungpa, page 48.

 

 

Share Quote

Subscribe to

Quote of the week

Our newsletter

Working with Our Resentment

Basically, the nature of samsara, or confusion altogether, is suffering. Samsara is a gigantic bag of confusion, lust, and aggression. We know that in America

Read More

Confidence Is There

If we want to present unconditional confidence to others, to help others appreciate this quality in themselves, we don’t have to be pedantic or heavy-handed.

Read More

Unconditionally Awake

The ordinary sense of confidence is confidence about something, which is conditional or qualified. But in this case, gentleness and softness give rise to an

Read More

The Spark within Us

Our opinions and attitudes about  ourselves are very important. We cannot ignore the slightest tendency to feel wretched, inadequate, or fundamentally distrustful of ourselves. Those

Read More

The Gaps in Confusion

Confusion cannot exist without the reinforcement of further confusion. So there is constant reinforcement of confusion, chain reactions being set up constantly. If you have

Read More

The Gaps within Karmic Situations

Understanding the psychological approach of karma is an essential thing. We might think that the karmic situation is entirely predestined, all the time. Dualistic fixation

Read More

Smile at Fear

Pain causes chaos, fear, and resentment, and we have to overcome that. It is an extremely simple logic. Once we can overcome pain, we discover

Read More

Don’t Jump the Gun

You have to develop yourself first; then you can begin to work with others. So don’t jump the gun. As a warrior, don’t put on

Read More

Making Friends with Fear

Fear is not necessarily problematic. It is like an attack of sneezing. It comes and goes. However, you have to study your fear. That is

Read More

First Thought

We have created layer after layer of security mechanisms in our lives. We are taught to consult authorities or experts about almost everything. If you

Read More

Four Season Haiku Tiger

SPRING Shifty fire Amber with coal I detect something in the jungle   SUMMER Tigers get good bath Fresh look of their coat Competes with

Read More

Self Hatred Falls Away

In meditation, the obstacle of self-hatred will fall away, by itself, when we have trust in ourselves. In that way, the experience of mindfulness can

Read More

An Unconditional Society

Here, we are not talking about meditative discipline as a revolutionary act, regarding our meditation group as a little fortress from which we can launch

Read More

Beyond Blah Blah Blah

Although we have established genuine friendship, camaraderie, and fellowship with our fellow meditators, we still might be looking for credentials and security. Belonging to certain

Read More