[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Individual Salvation

[Carolyn Gimian]

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

September 13, 2008

INDIVIDUAL SALVATION

Individual salvation is the first step in the Buddhist tradition. We 
have to be willing to save ourselves independently and personally. 
Nobody else is going to save you.  That's the first footing you begin 
with.  The Buddhist teachings will provide a lot of help and 
suggestions of all kinds, of course, but at the same time, those 
suggestions can only be helpful to us if we actually get to the point 
where we are able to cooperate. You have to do it for 
yourself.  There are no external authorities who will make you feel 
good or save you from anything.  So the Buddhist approach, from that 
point of view,  is a non-theistic tradition. This does not mean to 
say that it's anti-God, or anti-theism particularly.  But the 
Buddhist tradition begins with the importance of working on oneself 
and for oneself.  By doing so, slowly we begin to expand our vision, 
and our sense of sanity progresses. Then we are able to help others 
like we helped ourselves.

Edited from an unpublished transcript of Talk One of VIEWING AND 
WORKING WITH THE PHENOMENAL WORLD, a seminar at Naropa Institute, 
June 10, 1976.

OF INTEREST TO READERS: A new edition of DHARMA ART, containing 
additional material and a new introduction and preface, will be 
published by Shambhala Publications in November 2008. The book will 
appear under a new title: TRUE PERCEPTION: THE PATH OF DHARMA ART. To 
preorder your copy at a 20% discount, go to:
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-588-1.cfm

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

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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his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.
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