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Chogyam Trungpa

Chogyam Trungpa Quotes

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Famous Chogyam Trungpa Quotes

“Meditation is another dimension of natural beauty. People talk about appreciating natural beauty-climbing mountains, seeing giraffes and tigers in Africa, and all sorts of things. But nobody seems to appreciate this kind of natural beauty of ourselves. This is actually far more beautiful than flora and fauna, far more fantastic, far more painful and colorful and delightful.”

PeopleKindSeemsBeautifulNaturalPracticeMeditationSeeingMountainAppreciatePainfulFantasticDimensionsClimbingTigersDelightfulColorfulClimbing MountainGiraffeFloraFlora And Fauna
Book:Glimpses of Abhidharma: From a Seminar on Buddhist Psychology
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“One day passes and another day comes along, and everything happens the same. But basically, we are so afraid of the brilliance coming at us, and the sharp experience of our life, that we can't even focus our eyes.”

HappensEyeFocusGraceOur LivesOne DayThings HappenBrillianceAnother Day
Book:The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume Seven: The Art of Calligraphy (Excerpts); Dharma Art; Visual Dharma (Excerpts); Selecte d Poems; Selected Writings
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“When we hide from the world in this way, we feel secure. We may think we have quieted our fear, but we are actually making ourselves numb with fear. We surround ourselves with our own familiar thoughts, so that nothing sharp or painful can touch us.”

ThinkingWorldWayFeelsMayChangePainfulFamiliarSecureSurroundNumb
Book:The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume Eight: Great Eastern Sun; Shambhala; Selected Writings
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“When we are constantly recreating our basic patterns of behavior and thought, we never have to leap into fresh air or onto fresh grass. Instead, we wrap ourselves in our own dark environment, where our only companion is the smell of our own sweat. In the cocoon, there is no dance, no walking or breathing. It is comfortable and sleepy, an intense and very familiar home.”

HomeChangeDarkEnvironmentAirWalkingBehaviorComfortablePatternsSmellIntenseFamiliarBreathingGrassCompanionLeapSweatWrapsFresh AirSleepyCocoons
Author:Chogyam Trungpa
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“In the cocoon, there is no idea of light at all, until we experience some longing for openness, some longing for something other than the smell of our own sweat. When we examine that comfortable darkness - look at it, smell it, feel it - we find it is claustrophobic.”

FeelsLooksIdeasLightChangeDarknessComfortableLongingSmellNo IdeaOpennessSweatCocoons
Book:The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume Eight: Great Eastern Sun; Shambhala; Selected Writings
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“Then, we realize that the degraded cocoon we have been hiding in is revolting, and we want to turn up the lights as far as we can. In fact, we are not turning up the lights, but we are simply opening our eyes wider. We catch a certain kind of fever.”

WantKindHas BeensFactsLightEyeCertainTurnsChangeRealizingOpeningHidingFeverCocoons
Book:The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume Eight: Great Eastern Sun; Shambhala; Selected Writings
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“The main point of any spiritual practice is to step out of the bureaucracy of ego. This means stepping out of ego's constant desire for a higher, more spiritual, more transcendental version of knowledge, religion, virtue, judgment, comfort, or whatever it is that the particular ego is seeking. One must step out of spiritual materialism.”

MeanSpiritualDesireStepsPracticeVirtueParticularHigherComfortEgoJudgmentConstantSeekingVersionsMaterialismBureaucracyTranscendentalSpiritual Practice
Book:The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume Three: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism; The Myth of Freedom; The Heart of the Bud dha; Selected Writings
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