No doubt, Chogyam Trungpa was one crazy Rinpoche. For me, he is best known as Pema Chodron's teacher, and the reason she is the Director of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. But serious Dharma students know him for his prolific, amazing writing and for creating Shambhala for Westerners who found Vajrayana too esoteric. I was primarily posting the link below, from Shambhala to my blog (rather than sending it to FB) because other than a handful of folks, I don't think the FB crowd really "gets" my incessant interest in Buddhism. I would really LOVE to get a small group of like-minded folks to either share and read our blogs (and of course, we can still use FB to share links, too) and create a Virtual Sangha. I was going to tweet this link to Zatheos, when he emailed in with his own thoughts about life in "the Cave." I don't think he'll mind my sharing this one line with my limited followers:
Most days I'm really ok with it--having no one in my life who really understands this thing I'm so invested in. But some days you just don't want to feel alone in the things that matter most to you. . . I wonder if there were days in that cave that Milarepa wished that Marpa was there.The irony is I started posting this hours ago, in response to an email exchange Z and I were having about deity worship. When I finally came back to finish this and post it, he sent the cave comment. So, Zatheos, this is mostly for you!! The next time you feel isolated, PLEASE post a comment here and include a link to your Amazing blog!! Vajra fan Ryan would love it, I'm sure!!
Here's that Trunpa link Crazy Wisdom / Choiceless Transmutation
I do have a Pema "fan group" on FB that I moderate, so perhaps a few of them (VERY eclectic folks) would ride this wave length-- Crazy Cave folk ;) OR, the title of another Trungpa book "the Mishap Lineage." Really!!
3 comments:
There is a fairly active Facebook Group entitled "Buddhism: Ogyen Trinley Dorje, HH 17th Karmapa" which started out as a sort of fan page for H.H. the Karmapa, but has turned into a posting place for all sorts of links, videos and short discussions mostly concerning Kagyu, but there are a lot of links for H.H. the Dalai Lama and others.
I absolutely love Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. I wish I connected more to the Shambhala centers here in Colorado, it would make it so much easier to get teachings. It has been all Kagyu for me. Such as finding your blog. You had nothing in it which said Kagyu, or Shambhala, yet here we are. The Universe is a mysterious and wonderful thing.
Thanks Ryan... hopefully Zatheos will poke his head out of the cave soon and post ;) I'll check out that FB group, but one word of caution: a really big mess ensued about a year ago in our "Pema Place" when an argument got really heated over the Shugden spirit thing. I could never really understand it UNTIL recently when I heard that one clip of HHDL explaining about the Tibetan Oracles. Anyway, I bring it up again now, because in any online group -- especially one dealing with "religion" -- it doesn't take much for people to get agitated and defensive about their brand.
Don't you think that's why there are as many Buddhist sects as Christian churches? Really sad when you think about it -- Karma Kagyu, Kamstang Kagyu, Dagpo and Shangpa are also Kagyu. And that's just a few Kagyu... think of all the other Tibetan flavors and then the nearly infinite other versions of Buddhism.
No wonder there is so much tension when you consider the really BIG differences in Islam and other major religions. Why I posted a peace sign on FB. Time to focus on areas of agreement rather than constant fighting over differences.
Ryan, and A - Z, I actually posted another comment two days ago, but seems it vanished into the Ether. A - Z (as I'll call him... his real name begins with A, his online name with Z ) sent another lengthy email and in it said: "Your blog posting was great- it made me smile. And I'm not really into making people build towers, so I think we're good. =)
The "towers" comment because in our discussion about life in the Cave (retreat) we discussed how the famous Tibetan Buddhist teacher Marpa made his student Milarepa build complex towers and then tear them down. An analogy, I believe, for the formations and structures of our mind. But, I think Milarepa actually had to build them and tear them down to come to terms with impermanence.
This made me think of Emptiness, too, and how for many Westerners the Buddhist concept seems depressing. But it's NOT. As quantum physics now demonstrates, there is really nothing. Solid forms are made of molecules and particles. But, even when you examine the tiniest particle under the most extreme microscope, there is nothing solid. It's all motion! Said another way: All there is, IS movement, Experience. (I think I said this better in the lost post), but you get the idea. This was part of the lesson in Beyond the GodForce (from 20 years ago.)
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