[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Individual Liberation

[Carolyn Gimian]

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

January 15, 2009

INDIVIDUAL LIBERATION

It might be a somewhat depressing prospect to 
realize that you are so thoroughly soaked in this 
greasy, heavy, dark, and unpleasant thing called 
samsara, or confused existence, but that 
realization is tremendously helpful. That 
understanding alone is the source of realizing 
what we call buddha in the palm of your hand -­ 
the basic wakefulness already in your possession. 
Such vajrayana possibilities begin at this point, 
right here, in realizing your samsaric 
anxiousness. Understanding that anxiety, which is 
very frustrating and not so good, is the key to realizing where you are.
         The only way to work with this anxiety 
is the sitting practice of meditation, the taming 
of your mind, or shamatha practice. That is the 
basic idea of pratimoksha, or “individual 
liberation”: taming yourself. The way to tame 
yourself, or to talk yourself out of this 
particular anxiety, is through the concentrated practice of
shamatha or meditative discipline. The beginning 
of the beginning of the path...is about how you 
can actually save yourself from samsaric neurosis.

 From Chapter One, "Recognizing the Reality of 
Suffering," in THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING AND THE 
PATH OF LIBERATION, edited by Judith Lief, 
forthcoming this Spring from Shambhala 
Publications. To preorder your copy at a 20% discount, go to:
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-1-59030-668-0.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Publications,  the Archive of his unpublished 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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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Publications,  the Archive of his unpublished 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 website at http://oceanofdharma.com
For the Chogyam Trungpa Legacy Project and the 
blog of Carolyn Gimian go to: http://ChogyamTrungpa.com


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