[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: In or Out?

[Carolyn Gimian]

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

[Ocean of Dharma: The Everyday Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa is now 
available. See information below.]

May 9, 2008

IN OR OUT?

Ideas are not solid, if they are not founded on aggression or dogma. 
We can have open ideas. There is no problem with that. Ideas are not 
really founded on solid ground at all. They are just...ideas, which 
is a very important point. If you completely buy into someone else's 
idea or version of spirituality, it's like being caught in the jaws 
of a crocodile. This is one of the problems with many approaches to 
spirituality: either you are in it or you are not in it. In or out. 
You can't actually experience the space between the two. That is a 
problem, and that seems to be a spiritual materialistic trick to use 
on people: trying to save them from their experience. That approach 
is based on a hesitation or inability to provide everything 
legitimately, step by step. If the leaders of a spiritual group feel 
somewhat inadequate, they may tell potential students, "Buy it or 
don't buy it." That seems to be too cheap. Spiritual discipline is 
not based on becoming somebody else. But you become you in your 
enlightened version. That is the whole point.

 From OCEAN OF DHARMA: The Everyday Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa. 365 
Teachings on Living Life with Courage and Compassion. Number 182. 
This new book of short teachings by Chogyam Trungpa contains many new 
quotes, as well as some previously published on the Ocean of Dharma 
list serv. Order your copy now at a 20% discount at 
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-536-2.cfm

[Originally from THE MISHAP LINEAGE: THE LINE OF THE TRUNGPAS. 
Forthcoming from Shambhala Publications.]

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used 
by permission.

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Please send comments on and contributions to OCEAN OF DHARMA QUOTES 
OF THE WEEK to the list moderator, Carolyn Gimian at: carolyn at shambhala.com.

Carolyn Rose Gimian

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications,  the Archive of 
his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.
TO SUBSCRIBE visit the Chogyam Trungpa website by clicking on the 
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