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

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

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

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.﻿

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 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.

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

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 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

“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 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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

philosophy

Philosophy

religionandspirituality

Religion & Spirituality

books

Books

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

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.

Chögyam Trungpa

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

enveloped by lovebeing love

Being Embraced From All Around

nature of consciousness, oneness.what does love feel like?what love might not feel like is all one with the ebb and flow of our best and our whole.

Warmth. Cold. All that is around. Energy of the same nature.

gentle sense of humor - appreciating life with a light touch, cosmically, inclusivelyalways fun, always purposeful, for myself to choose and take

Fun. Care. Nurture. Nourishment. 

what I need and want is already with me here - you are always here with me - your mind and mine are one

Exactly what I need and want 

most little, most tender, most gentle, purest… my equal, my self, my part

Exactly how I would treat my most beloved,

Comfort

physically, emotionally, intellectually, morally.

Feeling Good

highest interest, highest good - which encompasses all dualities

pleasure, satisfaction, contentment

held, understood

Play, Care, Explore, Learn, Be - With

Yearn for… Missing… As One

my everything - your everything - our … my … my love

Everything -

All that is here with me, right here and right now.

my one and only - world

to love all of you is to grow for you

to love all of me is to love all of you

desires drive - to carry the world and be with the world that is all of you

to love all of you is all I want 

my ultimate desire which does not need any effort nor achievement

I want Union with You

coexisting, being one - already one

continuous Separation and Union both at once,

already loved - have always been

You were here long before I was here. You saw, even when I didn’t see.

“I love you long before you love me…”

“I love you, even if there isn’t any me, or any love, or even…

to love all of me to love all of you

Sadness. Pain. Death. 

eternal peace eternal harmonyultimate joy and happiness

Peace. Harmony. Joy. Life. 

Loved - by the cosmic mirror

“The vajrayana tells you how to be yourself﻿, but at the same time, it tells you how not to be yourself.”

Introduction | The Gorilla (10)

“ In the vajrayana, there is an emphasis on upaya, or skillful means. In fact, one of the definitions of vajrayana is that it is composed of teachings based on a particular state of mind or mental approach, in which shunyata and prajna are put together and are regarded as upaya. So the combination of the emptiness nature of the phenomenal world and clear seeing is regarded as great compassion, which is considered to be a skillful means.”

2. The Transition to Vajrayana| Great Equilibrium (29)

“ By equilibrium, we mean comprehensive evenness. If there is black, that is not particularly great, nor is white particularly great, nor yellow, nor green. Everything is seen as equal. In terms of the sense perceptions, what you are perceiving is never regarded as being on a higher level or a lower level. Everything is on just the basic phenomenal level that takes place constantly.”

“ Although at this level the vajrayana could be called a journey, it does not go anywhere and it does not come from anywhere. So the vajrayana is a vehicle that seems to have neither beginning nor end. You can neither reverse it nor proceed further along. The vajrayana is self-existent, by its own nature. Therefore, the vajrayana path could be said to be a nonjourney.”

2. The Transition to Vajrayana| A Natural Ripening Process (42)

“﻿The vajrayana, or diamond vehicle, is powerful because it is derived from the tranquility and readiness of the hinayana, and the purity and soft heart of the mahayana. When students have developed those qualities, the vajrayana becomes ready to launch its diamond ship into the oceans of those who are ready for it.”

3. Entering the Diamond Path on a Solid Foundation | The View of Reality in the Three Yanas (49)

The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Chögyam Trungpa’s greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students. The third volume, The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness, presents the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or "diamond vehicle," also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow. There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngöndro, to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas. The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance. The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas, or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, and more.

Chögyam Trungpa explores the the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path in this final volume of his masterpiece on Tibetan Buddhism   This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. Considered Chögyam Trungpa’s magnum opus, The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma will resonate with new and senior students of Buddhism.   In this third and final volume, Chögyam Trungpa’s examines the vajrayana teachings of the tantric path. The vajrayana, or "diamond vehicle," also referred to as tantra, draws upon and extends the teachings of the hinayana and mahayana. As with the hinayana and the mahayana, the formal acceptance into the vajrayana is marked by a vow, in this case the samaya vow. There is an emphasis at this stage on the student-teacher relationship and on the quality of devotion. Generally, students must complete preliminary practices, called ngöndro, to prepare themselves for initiation into the vajrayana path before going further. Having done so, they then receive the appropriate empowerments to begin tantric practices. There are empowerment ceremonies of many kinds, called abhishekas. The vajrayana includes both form practices, such as visualizations and sadhanas (ritual liturgies), and formless practices based on allowing the mind to rest naturally in its inherent clarity and emptiness. Although on the surface, there is much greater complexity in tantric practices, the principles of mindfulness and awareness and the cultivation of compassion and skillful action continue to be of central importance.  The tantric path requires complete engagement and fierce dedication. It is said to be a more rapid path, but it is also more dangerous. There is a quality of directness, abruptness, and wholeheartedness. Tantrikas, or vajrayana practitioners, recognize that the most challenging aspects of life, the energies and play of confused emotions and frightening obstacles, can be worked with as gateways to freedom and realization. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include the four reminders, the mandala principle, mahamudra, atiyoga, and more.

The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness

The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness (volume 3)

“By presenting the dharmic path as a natural progression that begins with the hinayana, expands into the mahayana, and reaches its fruition in the vajrayana, Trungpa Rinpoche provides the reader with a complete map of the spiritual journey from confusion to enlightenment.”

(ix) Editor’s Introduction

"In teaching about the three stages of the path, Trungpa Rinpoche presented each stage as having its own integrity and power, and taught his students to see each stage as complete in its own right. He especially cautioned students not to denigrate the hinayana or skip the mahayana in favor of what they might consider the more powerful and exotic vajrayana, but to see the three stages, or yanas, as an interconnected whole, and as one continuous journey."

"'[The hinayana] is to be understood as the life force that carries on whether you are going through the hinayana, mahayana, or vajrayana. . . . The hinayana should be regarded as life's strength.'Trungpa Rinpoche made it clear that hinayana teachings are not just introductory, but reverberate throughout the path; they are the foundation on which the entire path is built."

(x) Editor’s Introduction

"The mahayana is called the great vehicle. [...] As the second of the three vehicles, or yanas, the mahayana is known to be a great and powerful journey. Why is it so powerful? Its power comes from the realization of your own potential; it comes from the realization that you are a worthy person. You have the potential to be without aggression or passion, to be a person without problems. You could be thoroughly, utterly, completely good. You could be a person with basic sanity and goodness."

(3) A Glimpse of Wakefulness | The Great Vehicle

"In the Buddhist sense, the term yana is used in a more subtle way to refer to the path itself or to the practitioners.Once you step into the mahayana, you do not have much control. It goes by itself and there is no reverse, none whatsoever. Everything goes forward. Furthermore, there are no brakes and no steering wheels, and the vehicle does not need any fuel. In fact, the road moves rather than the vehicle. [...] There is no way of getting off or taking a break. The journey takes you over."

(4) A Glimpse of Wakefulness | The Great Vehicle

“The Mahayana begins with the discovery of bodhichitta, the heart or mind of awakening. Bodhi again means ‘awake,’ and chitta means ‘heart,’ or ‘mind’; so bodhichitta means ‘awakened heart.’ In Tibetan it is known as changchup kyi sem. Changchup means ‘awake,’ kyi means ‘of,’ and sem means ‘consciousness’ or ‘cognitive mind’; so changchup kyi sem means ‘mind of awakening,’ [...] You are waking from the three poisons: passion, aggression, and ignorance or delusion.”

(4) A Glimpse of Wakefulness| The Discovery of Bodhichitta

“However, passion, aggression, and ignorance are not regarded as deep-rooted problems; they are simply phases we go through, like any other phase. But although they are simply phases, they are obviously obstacles. The problem with such situations is that they occupy your time and space, so they prevent you from being in a state of wakefulness.”

“Kündzop means ‘relative,’ kün means ‘all,’ and dzop means an ‘effigy,’ or ‘outfit,’ and changchup-kyi-sem means the ‘mind of enlightenment,’ or ‘bodhichitta’; so kündzop changchup-kyi-sem is an ‘effigy of bodhichitta,’ or ‘relative bodhichitta.’”

(5) A Glimpse of Wakefulness | Relative and Ultimate Bodhichitta

”Kündzop is like a scarecrow; it is an outfit that fits the world. Kündzop is a kind of facade or medium. If you are a painter, you use paint as a medium, not the meaning. You could represent things much better if there were a greater medium, but since there is not, you use what exists around you. In any communication, you use whatever medium is available, so in a sense your presentation becomes a facade or superficial.”

“Relative bodhichitta is the common practice of involving yourself in the world with benevolence, fearlessness, and kindness. It is the manifestation of your friendliness and deliberate training, and it is helped a great deal by the experience of vipashyana, or awareness, which brings reminders of all kinds.”

“Dam means ‘ultimate,’ and tön means ‘meaning’; so töndam means 'ultimate purpose,' 'ultimate meaning,' or 'ultimate goal.' Changchup-kyi-sem, again, means 'bodhitchitta'; 'so töndam changchup-kyi-sem means 'ultimate bodhichitta,' or 'absolute bodhichitta.' This type of bodhichitta is based on an enlarged sense of egolessness. It is based on emptiness, or the shunyata experience."

"In basic egolessness, you have a sense of nonexistence, but it is still a conceptualized notion of nonexistence. You still have a nonexistent but changing world around you. But with ultimate bodhichitta there is no world outside, no world separate from yourself. From the point of view of ego, there is a total nonexistence of personality. That ultimate understanding of egolessness comes from your vipashyana experience becoming more outrageous."

"True bodhichitta combines spaciousness, sympathy, and intelligence; or shunyata, compassion (karuna), and knowledge (prajna). In order to be exposed to intelligence, or prajna, you have to understand that it is not worth struggling, that you have to give up ego fixation. In order to be exposed to sympathy, or compassion, you have to give up territoriality, possessiveness, and aggression."

"And in order to relate with spaciousness, or emptiness, you have to realize that there is no point trying to use metaphysical anologies or the language of nonreference point as another reference point; you just need to relate with yourself.Bodhichitta is fundamental to the teachings of the Buddha. It is the basis of being awake and open. Without bodhichitta we cannot survive, we cannot function. In the mahayana we are acknowledging that such a quality exists in us."

(5-6) A Glimpse of Wakefulness | Relative and Ultimate Bodhichitta

"With bodhichitta, the heart or chitta comes first, and bodhi comes later: the heart awakens. So we begin by developing a particular kind of heart, one that is not connected with personal longevity, personal entertainment, or egotism. First we develop heart, and then we develop what heart is all about, or enlightened heart."

(6) A Glimpse of Wakefulness | A Taste of Enlightenment

"Enlightened heart is expansive and awake. It is not territorial, and it does not demand that we gather our own flock of egotistic companions. When we look into that quality of basic wakefulness beyond our own territoriality, we find ourselves having a taste of enlightenment for the very first time."

"In the hinayana, we may have had a glimpse of gentleness, goodness, and precision, but we never had a taste of the mind clicking in and awakening on the spot, as it should. That has not yet happened. But in the mahayana, it is actually happening. That is why it is very important for us to join mindfulness and awareness, or shamatha and vipashyana."

Compilation of Ch'ogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Vajradhatu Seminary teachings in three volumes.

The second volume in this landmark series presents the bodhisattva teachings of the mahayana. At this point, having trained and seen the benefits of looking within, the student begins to shift their focus outward to the broader world. Formal entry into the mahayana occurs with taking the bodhisattva vow. Mahayana practitioners dedicate themselves to the service of all sentient beings, aspiring to save them from sorrow and confusion, and vowing to bring them to perfect liberation. This stage of the path emphasizes the cultivation of wisdom through the view and experience of emptiness, or shunyata, in which all phenomena are seen to be unbounded, completely open, ungraspable, and profound. From the ground of shunyata, compassionate activity is said to arise naturally and spontaneously. In addition to mindfulness and awareness, the mahayanist practices lojong, or "mind training," based on the cultivation of the paramitas, or "transcendent virtues": generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajna, or "knowledge." As a component of lojong, tonglen, or "sending and taking," is practiced in order to increase maitri, or loving-kindness. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include bodhichitta, skillful means, Buddha nature and basic goodness, Madhyamaka, the ten bhumis, the three kayas, and more. The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma represents meditation master Ch�gyam Trungpa's greatest contribution to Western Buddhism. This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. This work will resonate with new students of Buddhism as well as the most senior students.

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Loved - by the cosmic mirror

The Tantric Path of Indestructible Wakefulness (volume 3)

The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion

V Nhu Yen