2.4
October 24, 2008

Enlightenment in your Inbox II: Chogyam Trungpa’s ‘Ocean of Dharma’ via Carolyn Gimian.

Our inboxes are ground zero of our workaholic, ADHD-inducing, overwhelmed, communication-happy modern lifestyles. We all talk about taking vacations, but find ourselves incessantly checking our iPhones when we do.

So try injecting space—via Buddhist guru Chogyam Trungpa’s accessible, weekly email quotes—directly into your busyness. And don’t worry: they’re free, and the service won’t send you spam.

As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

Read these brief quotes, from time to time, and you just might find yourself slowing down, smelling the roses—becoming kinder to yourself and others, more efficient, less stressed all the time—and get busy living life fully.

Subscribe to it. ‘Nuff said.

Not convinced? Take this sample quote!

BEYOND HABITUAL PATTERNS

How on earth, how in the name of heaven and earth can we actually become decent human beings without trying to entertain ourselves from here to the next corner?…It boils down to taking interest in what you see.

I have a very frustrated feeling, actually, that when I talk about appreciating red, white, blue, and green, I’m not sure whether you actually appreciate those colors or not. Maybe you think I’m trying to tell you that you should be artists or something. And when I say that you should listen to the sounds that go on in the world, maybe you think I’m trying to tell you to be musicians. And when I talk about the textures of your body—sense perceptions and feelings—maybe you think I’m trying to tell you to become salesmen in the garment industry. I’m beginning to wonder. We are not talking about becoming experts in marketing things, but we are talking about our own situation: how we can actually stop habitual patterns and appreciate the nitty-gritty of
the real world on the spot. We can appreciate the bright, beautiful, fantastic world around us; we don’t have to feel all that
resentful….Once we put a stop to habitual patterns, the vividness, the magic, will begin to descend, and we will begin to become masters
of our world — individually, personally, of course. We will begin to appreciate our world.

From “Overcoming Habitual Patterns,” in COLLECTED KALAPA ASSEMBLIES, pages 266 to 267. All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

Or…

TO EXPERIENCE FEARLESSNESS, IT IS NECESSARY TO EXPERIENCE FEAR.

The essence of cowardice is to not acknowledge the reality of fear. Fear takes many forms. We are afraid of death, we are afraid that we can’t handle the demands of our life, and there is abrupt fear, or panic, when new situations occur. Fear is expressed as restlessness: how we move, how we talk, how we chew our nails, how we sometimes put our hands in our pockets uselessly. We have to realize our fear and reconcile ourselves with fear. However, acknowledging fear is not a cause for depression. Because we possess such fear, we can potentially experience fearlessness.

Bonus, a video:

Chogyam Trungpa teaches about Spiritual Materialism, or the use of faux spirituality to build one’s ego up.

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