May 7, 2010
- Chogyam Trungpa on No External Aid -
Q. If you are feeling very confused and trying to work your way out of the confusion, it would seem that you are trying too hard. But if you do not try at all, then are we to understand that we are fooling ourselves?
A. Yes, but that does not mean that one has to live by the extremes of trying too hard or not trying at all. One has to work with a kind of “middle way,” a complete state of “being as you are. ” We could describe this with a lot of words, but one really has to do it. If you really start living the middle way, then you will see it, you will find it. You must allow yourself to trust yourself, to trust in your own intelligence. We are tremendous people, we have tremendous things in us. We simply have to let ourselves be. External aid cannot help. If you are not willing to let yourself grow, then you fall into the self-destructive process of confusion.
Been reading an excerpt from Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Good stuff, hope to pick up the book soon…
Comment by Ian — May 7, 2010 @ 3:29 pm
If we can open, then we suddenly begin to see that our expectations are irrelevant compared with the reality of the situations we are facing. This automatically brings a feeling disappointment.
Comment by Ian — May 7, 2010 @ 3:50 pm
If we regard spirituality as a way of making ourselves comfortable, then whenever we experience something unpleasant, a disappointment, we try to rationalize it: “Of course this must be an act of wisdom the part of the guru, because I know, I’m quite certain the guru doesn’t do harmful things. Guruji is a perfect being and whatever Guruji does is right. Whatever Guruji does is for me, because he is on my side. So I can afford to open. I can safely surrender. I know that I am treading on the right path.”
Something is not quite right about such an attitude. It is, at best, simple-minded and naive. We are captivated by the awesome, inspiring, dignified and colorful aspect of “Guruji.” We dare not contemplate any other way. We develop the conviction that whatever we experience is part of our spiritual development. “I’ve made it, I have experienced it, I am a self-made person and I know
everything, roughly, because I’ve read books and they confirm my beliefs, my rightness, my ideas. Everything coincides.”
Very interesting, coming from Mr. Crazy Wisdom himself…
Comment by Ian — May 7, 2010 @ 3:53 pm
Thank you for the last 3 posts, they are very clear and direct :-)
Comment by Pavel — May 9, 2010 @ 7:16 am
You know Pavel, I hadn’t really realized how closely all these quotes seem to follow one another. I was just pulling the bits I liked from that book excerpt. Thanks for pointing it out! :)
Comment by Ian — May 10, 2010 @ 11:54 am