Unconditional confidence is not having confidence in something, but is remaining in the state of confidence, free from competition or one-upmanship. This unconditional state happens when you simply have an unwavering state of mind that needs no reference point. Unconditional confidence contains<ul><li>gentleness, because the notion of fear does not arise</li><li>sturdiness, because there is ever-present resourcefulness</li><li>joy, because trusting in the heart brings a greater sense of humor</li></ul>

Windhorse: Unconditional Confidence

Basic goodness is our basic, original nature that is undiluted and unconfused - an innate wakefulness experienced through the point of view of the cosmic mirror.You do not possess basic goodness - you are basic goodness itself.Basic goodness isn't an arbitrary idea; the world is good because we can experience its goodness. We can experience synchrony, harmony, and oneness with our world.

Basic Goodness

The warrior who experiences windhorse feels the joy and sorrow of love in everything he does. He feels hot and cold, sweet and sour, simultaneously. Whether things go well or things go badly, whether there is success or failure, he feels sad and delighted at once. In that way, the warrior begins to understand the meaning of unconditional confidence.

We are not talking here about an intellectual revelation; we are speaking of actual experience. We are talking about how we actually perceive reality.

The warrior of outrageous isn’t unreasonable. You are outrageous in the sense of possessing the strength and power of warriorship, having gone completely beyond fear and hope.The garuda symbolizes outrageousness. She hatches full-grown from her egg, spreading her wings beyond the limits, soaring into outer space. Nothing obstructs her vast mind. Vast mind has gone beyond the beyond.There is no intention to measure progress, no fear, no imperfection. The warrior is outrageous because she is trained in meek and perky. She has immense capabilities to work with others.

Outrageous Warrior

Windhorse provides an unending source of power because it is grounded in the experience of egolessness.Practitioners are connected to the energy of windhorse once they have developed an unshakable trust in basic goodness and the cosmic mirror.(The cosmic mirror is the unconditioned state of being that is without beginning or end. It allows reality to be perceived as it is, and for its sacredness and wisdom.)

Windhorse: Power & Wisdom

To raise windhorse is basically to rouse the energy of basic goodness into a wind of delight and power.Windhorse invokes and actualizes the living aspect of fearlessness and bravery as it casts out depression and doubt on the spot. Not in a sense of exorcising depression and doubt, however - because raising windhorse transcends hesitation and doubt, allowing tremendous wakefulness to take place and cheering us up in the process.

Windhorse: Basic Goodness & Wakefulness

Drala: the magical quality of existence, the natural wisdom, that recognizes both you and your reality as reflections of the cosmic mirror - your human wisdom is one with the power of things as they are.<ul><li>External drala: harmony in one’s environment that encourages awareness and attention to detail</li><li>Internal drala: harmony in one’s body and connection to phenomenal world</li><li>Secret drala: (aka. windhorse) result of external and internal dralas; tremendous wakefulness and nowness in one's state of mind</li></ul>

Windhorse: External, Internal, & Secret Dralas

“The expression of basic goodness is always connected with gentleness—not feeble, lukewarm, milk-and-honey gentleness, but wholehearted, perky gentleness with good head and shoulders."Gentleness comes naturally from experiencing the absence of doubt. Doubtlessness comes from trusting in the heart, from having experienced your body and mind synchronized together.

Basic Goodness: Gentleness & Trust

When you are at ease, you find a state of true healthy mind. The cultivation of inscrutability is to learn to be. It has been said that everyone possesses the potentiality to be confident. When we speak of confidence here we refer to enlightened confidence—not to confidence in something, but just to being confident. This confidence is unconditional. Inscrutability is a spark that is free from any analytical scheme.

The warrior of perky resembles a youthful snow lion, is unconditionally cheerful, constantly disciplined and enjoying discipline. The two stages of perky are the experience of an uplifted, joyful mind and the resting in the trust that comes from meekness.Uplifted, joyful mind helps the warrior develop artfulness. Trust and doubtlessness help the warrior stay aware, clear, precise, never confused as to what to accept or reject. Perky results in a wholesome, synchronized body and mind. The warrior is humble, uplifted, fundamentally youthful, who has attained a wholesome life.

Perky Warrior

Raising windhorse is the abrupt and spontaneous magical process of letting go of fixed mind.This instantaneous process, combined with the gradual, developmental process of letting go of ego fixation, brings the experience of authentic presence.(To manifest authentic presence fully, these two abrupt and gradual processes work hand-in-hand within the further practice of the four dignities: meek, perky, outrageous, and inscrutable.)

Raising Windhorse - Authentic Presence

When we draw down the power and depth of vastness into a single perception, then we are discovering and invoking magic. By magic we do not mean unnatural power over the phenomenal world, but rather the discovery of innate or primordial wisdom in the world as it is. The wisdom we are discovering is wisdom without beginning, something naturally wise, the wisdom of the cosmic mirror.﻿

The warrior of meek is modest, unconditionally confident, with a vast mind. Modest in the sense that you feel true and genuine. Confident like a tiger who is walking in the jungle, not searching for prey, but is self-satisfied and modest, who appreciates his own body and rhythm. Vast mind that is uplifted and beyond the limits, appreciative of the “now.”“Like the tiger in the jungle, you are both relaxed and energized.”

Meek Warrior

…because you respect yourself, you do not have to depend on gain and victory. And because you trust yourself, it is unnecessary to be fearful of others. […]So meekness provides vast vision and confidence. The four dignities begin from this humble and dutiful but vast vision, which at the same time sees the details with a sense of meticulousness.

“Synchronizing mind and body is looking and seeing directly beyond language.” Not because you disrespect language, but because internal dialogue hinders your experience of the cosmic mirror.By means of sense perceptions and mind, you are accurate and absolutely direct in relating with the world. This ability is synonymous with fearlessness. Your fearless vision allows you to see your perfect right to be, and to see how the universe provides you its basic hospitality.Visual perception helps you develop mind-body synchronization. You see properly and you genuinely appreciate the world.

Mind-Body Synchronization

The warrior of inscrutable is represented by the dragon, an energetic, powerful, and unwavering being. The dragon stands with the meek tiger, the perky lion, and the outrageous garuda.The state of inscrutable is gentleness developed from fearlessness, which allows you to be noncommittal with a sense of humor, resembling a dragon who enjoys resting in the sky. You are settled, solid, relaxed, open, and fearless. You are self-contained. Noncommittal as in uninterested in confirmation. Inscrutable expresses through fearlessness, warmth, genuineness. You proceed playfully, unhurriedly.

Inscrutable Warrior

There is a basic human wisdom that can help solve the world’s problems. It doesn’t belong to any one culture or region or religious tradition—though it can be found in many of them throughout history. It’s what Chögyam Trungpa called the sacred path of the warrior. The sacred warrior conquers the world not through violence or aggression, but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge. The warrior discovers the basic goodness of human life and radiates that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others. That’s what the Shambhala teachings are all about, and this is the book that has been presenting them to a wide and appreciative audience for more than twenty years.

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The classic guide to enlightened living that first presented the Buddhist path of the warrior to a Western audience There is a basic human wisdom that can help solve the world’s problems. It doesn’t belong to any one culture or region or religious tradition—though it can be found in many of them throughout history. It’s what Chögyam Trungpa called the sacred path of the warrior. The sacred warrior conquers the world not through violence or aggression, but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge. The warrior discovers the basic goodness of human life and radiates that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others.   Interpreting the warrior's journey in contemporary terms, Trungpa shows that, in discovering the basic goodness of human life, the warrior learns to radiate that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others. That’s what the Shambhala teachings are all about—and this is the book that has been presenting them to a wide and appreciative audience for more than twenty years.