The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa Collected Works: Volume Two (71 page)

Rinpoche:
I think so, yes. But the whole point is not trying to solve the problem. It’s having a friendly, welcoming attitude to the problem.

Audience:
I’m amazed that so many of our so-called modern concepts—breathing, etc.—Buddhism has used for thousands of years. I had the pleasure of being with a Buddhist monk in Bali and found that all my “original” thinking was already contained within Buddhism.

Rinpoche:
Well, it’s something basic, the voice of basic sanity. I mean, you can find it anywhere, in any tradition if it faces reality. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Buddhist.

Audience:
Is meditation a continuous process of dynamic living?

Rinpoche:
Definitely. Without ambition, of course.

Audience:
When one is liberated, when one has practiced meditation in the proper way, without ambition, and one reaches the goal, how does one live? What is the nature of his being?

Rinpoche:
Well, the actual nature of that being is quite dangerous to talk about.

Audience:
Why is it dangerous?

Rinpoche:
Well, that could be a temptation.

Audience:
An attempt to go there artificially?

Rinpoche:
Or unwise.

Audience:
Can’t we discuss it?

Rinpoche:
I would say the continual process of living becomes more real. You are actually in touch with more real reality, the nakedness of reality where there is natural confidence without a framework of relativity. So I would imagine that that state of being, from a personal psychological point of view, is extremely free. But not being free about anything, but just being free, being true.

Audience:
Is there ecstasy and rapture?

Rinpoche:
I don’t think so, because then you have to maintain that ecstasy. It is a state which doesn’t involve any maintenance.

Audience:
What are the prerequisites before one begins to meditate?

Rinpoche:
That you are willing to meditate, willing to go into discipline or practice—a conviction which could be a false conviction at that time, but it doesn’t matter.

Audience:
How does one go about escaping from the belief in the analytical mind in order to begin?

Rinpoche:
Well, it seems that in terms of meditation the literal quality of the technique automatically brings you down, because there is no room for any sidetracks at all. It is quite an absurd, repetitive, ordinary technique, quite boring often; yet somehow you are put into a framework where an instinctive understanding of relating with the technique, rather than an intellectual one, begins to develop.

You see, the problem is that analytical mind cannot be freed by another aspect of analytical mind until the questions of analytical mind are dissolved. This is the same as the method of “Who am I?” in Ramana Maharshi’s teaching. If you regard “Who am I?” as a question, then you are still analyzing yourself, but when you begin to realize that “Who am I?” is a statement, the analytical mind becomes confused. One realizes there is something personal about it. Something instinctive which is freed by the actual living situation. The disciplined technique of practicing meditation amounts to putting yourself into an inconceivable situation in which the analytical mind doesn’t function anymore. So I would say that the disciplines of the Buddhist teachings are largely a way of freeing oneself from analytical mind. Which has a dream quality. Analytical mind is close to the clouds, while the instinctual level is much closer to the earth. So in order to come down to earth, you have to use the earth as a means of bringing you down.

Audience:
What is the relationship between being a vegetarian and the Buddhist practice?

Rinpoche:
Well, I think there again we’ve got a problem. If we regard the whole thing as introducing a foreign element into our system, then we get involved in a particular style of living and we have to maintain that style. And if we don’t maintain that style, we feel threatened by it; whereas the natural living situation might present being a vegetarian as a relevant subject for the individual. In other words, the first is dogma and the latter more of a direct situation.

You see, the problem is if you give up something, that automatically means that you take on something. Naturally. And you have to maintain that. And each time there is a congratulatory quality of viewing yourself that develops as well: I’m doing good today, I feel grateful and I’m going to be good tomorrow, and so on. That becomes a further self-deception. Unfortunately, no one can remove your self-deception by his magical powers. You have to work on yourself.

Audience:
Could you give us some examples of the meditation practices?

Rinpoche:
Generally in the Buddhist tradition the first step is working on the breathing—not concentrating, not contemplating, but identifying with the breath. You are the technique; there is no difference between you and the technique at all. By doing that, at a certain stage the technique just falls away, becomes irrelevant. At that point, your practice of meditation is much more open to meditation in action, everyday life situations.

But that doesn’t mean that the person should become absorbed in the state of meditation in the vague sense at all. You see, the basic meditation is being, I suppose we could say. But at the same time it is not being dazed by being. You can describe being in all sorts of ways. You could say being is a cow on a sunny afternoon in a meadow, dazed in its comfort. You could think in terms of an effort of being, trying to bring some effort to yourself to be being. That is to say, being with the watcher watching yourself doing. Then there is actual being—we could call it “actual”—which I suppose is just being right there with precision and openness. I call it panoramic awareness, aerial view. You see a very wide view of the whole area because you see the details of each area. You see the wide view, each area, each detail. Black is black and white is white; everything is being observed. And that kind of openness and being is the source of daily practice. Whether the person is a housewife or secretary or politician or lawyer, whatever it may be, his life could be viewed that way. In fact, his work could become an application of skillful means in seeing the panoramic view. Fundamentally, the idea of enlightenment—the notion or term
enlightenment
or
buddha
or
awakened one
—implies tremendous sharpness and precision along with a sense of spaciousness.

We can experience this; it is not myth at all. We experience a glimpse of it, and the point is to start from that glimpse and gradually as you become more familiar with that glimpse and the possibilities of reigniting it, it happens naturally. Faith is realizing that there is some open space and sharpness in our everyday life. There occurs a flash, maybe a fraction of a second. These flashes happen constantly, all the time.

Audience:
If being is being in everyday life as present in the moment, then what is the tradition of monasteries in Buddhism? Are monasteries just for people who can’t cope with very much stress so they have to withdraw to what can be handled? What is the role?

Rinpoche:
Well, I would say that monasteries are the training ground. It is the same as putting yourself in a certain discipline when you sit and meditate. You are a monk for that whole time, if you like to put it that way.

Audience:
But the goal and object would be finally to leave the monastery and—

Rinpoche:
Teach people, work with them. Obviously, yes. That’s one of the differences, I would say, between Catholic contemporary enclosure orders and Buddhist ones, that monasteries are training grounds for potential teachers.

Audience:
I have a question about one’s actual needs in meditation. From books that I’ve read on meditation and the spiritual way, it seems that the people begin to leave their sexual lives, heterosexual or homosexual, in a way. I’d like your feeling on this—sex, meditation, the spiritual way.

Rinpoche:
Well, there again it’s entirely relative to the situation where the person is. The brahmacharya idea—which prohibits sex—sees it as something which destroys your completeness. On the other hand, in some traditions of Buddhism, sexuality is regarded as the highest way of living in the world, as the last answer and development. But I don’t think the two are contradictory to each other at all. Sex can be a destruction of completion if the person’s style of living is demanding, in other words, if there is no space in the relationship at all. Then it is purely a battlefield. But if the relationship becomes dance, the essence of exchange or communication, then the whole pattern of how to perceive that develops. I would say that the situation is very much dependent on the individual person, and sex generally is supposed to be the essence of communication. Communication can be demanding, which could be destructive and even a way of dissociating oneself from people. Or communication could be inviting people.

Audience:
Do you feel it is necessary to have a guru?

Rinpoche:
I think so, yes, but at the same time, there are all sorts of dangers involved with shopping for a guru.

Audience:
Can the willingness to meditate be differentiated from the awareness of the advantages to be gained from meditating?

Rinpoche:
That seems to be an evolutionary pattern. You begin to see the need for it and you put your effort into it. It’s like taking medicine.

Audience:
What is your opinion about dealing with the chakra system?

Rinpoche:
The chakra system is part of the teachings of India, both Hindu and Buddhist. However, it fits differently into the pattern of spiritual evolution of the two traditions. In Hinduism, working with the chakras is familiarizing yourself with spirituality. In Buddhism, having familiarized yourself already, it becomes dancing with spiritual knowledge. And it seems in the latter case that chakra and all those concepts come from that dancing quality which is a using of the energy you have already developed. You have prepared your ground already and you are using the energy around it. I will say that for beginners it is extremely dangerous to play with energy, but for advanced students such work becomes relevant naturally.

Audience:
It is said that when one is ready one recognizes his guru. Is it true also that the guru recognizes his disciple?

Rinpoche:
I think so, yes. Otherwise he wouldn’t be guru.

Audience:
Does this recognition take form on the physical plane or only on the subtle?

Rinpoche:
Well, the physical plane is also a psychological state. So it’s the same thing.

Taming the Horse, Riding the Mind

L
EARNING, FROM A
non-ego point of view, is based on opening one’s heart and discovering a natural sense of discipline. Discipline in this case means attuning ourselves to our inherent purity. We don’t have to borrow anything from outside ourselves or mimic anybody. We are naturally pure and intelligent. We may already have some idea or experience of that, but we also need to go further in opening ourselves.

When we begin to open, learning isn’t a struggle anymore. It becomes like a thirsty person drinking cool water. It is refreshing and natural. And the more we learn, the more we appreciate. It is quite different from a military academy approach or learning based on struggle of any kind.

Our path is sometimes rough and sometimes smooth; nonetheless, life is a constant journey. Whether we sleep, eat, dress, study, meditate, attend class . . . whatever we do is regarded as our journey, our path. That path consists of opening oneself to the road, opening oneself to the steps we are about to take. The energy which allows us to go on such a journey is known as discipline. It is the discipline of educating oneself without ego, and it is also known as training one’s mind.

Educating oneself is said to be like taming a wild horse, a horse which has never been touched by anyone. First you try putting a saddle on its back. The horse kicks, bites, bucks; you try again and again. Finally you succeed. And then you manage to put the rein over its head and the bit into its mouth. Maybe you have difficulty making the horse open its mouth, but at last the bit goes in.

That is a great success. You feel good; you feel that you have accomplished something. Nonetheless, you still have to ride the horse. And that is another process, another struggle. It is quite possible that the horse will throw you off. If you are able to hold on to the reins, that might help you to control the horse; but it is still questionable. Maybe that would give you 40 percent control. For the rest, you are taking a chance.

Our state of mind is like a wild horse. It contains memories of the past, dreams of the future, and the fickleness of the present. We find that to be a problematic situation, and so we practice what is known as meditation.

The word
meditation
has various meanings, as it is referred to in different traditions. According to
The Oxford Dictionary
, meditation means that you meditate
on
something. For example, when you are in love, you meditate on your lover. Your lover is so beautiful. He or she is extraordinary in lovemaking—moves beautifully, kisses beautifully, and quite possibly smells fantastic! Meditating on those kinds of perceptions just means that you are dwelling on something, occupying yourself with something.

In the fundamental sense, Buddhist meditation does not involve meditating on anything. You simply arouse your sense of wakefulness and hold an excellent posture. You hold up your head and shoulders and sit cross-legged. Then very simply, you relate to the basic notion of body, speech, and mind, and you focus your awareness in some way, usually using the breath. You are breathing out and in, and you just experience that breathing very naturally. Your breath is not considered either holy or evil; it is just breath.