Chogyam Trungpa:His Life and Vision

By Fabrice Midal

Hardcover / Shambhala Publications / 576 pages / 6 x 9
ISBN 978-1-59030-098-5 / December 2004

List Price: $26.95

Reviews of Chogyam Trungpa

"This is precisely the book about Trungpa Rinpoche that has been needed for a long time. I feel that it is absolutely what Rinpoche would have wanted written about his major accomplishments and teachings. My husband was so brilliant in being able to use many different media to express his teachings. Rinpoche demonstrated that the awakened mind can be expressed in many ways, through various art forms, as well as in all the forms and details of everyday life. His approach made the buddhadharma available to all kinds of people who have different interests in their lives. As well, it is a hallmark of the vajrayana teachings that you fully engage everything in your world. My husband was a master of this, and Fabrice Midal has beautifully captured this quality in his book."—from the Foreword by Diana J. Mukpo


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Description of Chogyam Trungpa

Master of meditation, artist, poet, social visionary—Chögyam Trungpa was all these and more. Yet "Who was Chögyam Trungpa?" is a slippery question, for who can nail down the personality of a man who by all accounts seemed to be a different person to different people at different times and on different occasions? Fabrice Midal, by steering his way between conventional Western biography and traditional Tibetan hagiography, has succeeded in painting a detailed portrait of this unconventional Tibetan lama, who is regarded as one of the most influential forces in transporting Buddhism to the West.

From his first years of teaching in Britain and the United States, Trungpa began making friends with and teaching his students in a completely free style, with few Buddhist references, adapted to the language and understanding of young Westerners. Yet his radical emphasis was on the traditional source of Buddhism: the root practice of sitting meditation.

In his oral teachings, Trungpa surprised his audiences by making no concession to their expectations, speaking directly from his heart to their hearts, without alluding to techniques and philosophy.

His work was unique in its emphasis on a secular rather than religious approach to spirituality. Among the practices that he encouraged his students to undertake were calligraphy, flower arranging, Japanese archery, tea ceremony, dance, theater, health care, psychotherapy, poetry, elocution, and translation. His founding of centers, communities, and innovative educational institutions was also part of the flowering of a new culture of Buddhism in the West. He founded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado; Shambhala Training; and Vajradhatu, an international association of meditation centers (now called Shambhala International).

This biography presents a wealth of anecdotes from Trungpa's life, excerpts from unpublished talks, reminiscences by those closest to him, and facts from the archive that preserves his legacy—all making the book a treasure chest of insights and teachings not found in any other book published so far.

Table of Contents for Chogyam Trungpa
Foreword by Diana J. Mukpo xvii
Preface xix
Introduction xxi

Chapter One
PORTRAIT OF CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA IN 1970 1
1. Encounter with Hippie America 3
Chögyam Trungpa meets the hippie generation
True communication beyond hypocrisy
A challenge to inauthenticity
2. His Following Increases 10
Tail of the Tiger
Colorado and the lack of a private life
Rocky Mountain Dharma Center
A rapid expansion
3. Teaching Buddhism: From a Seminar on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation to "Work, Sex, and Money" 16
4. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism 18
The retreat in Bhutan and the realization of the universality of spiritual materialism
The Three Lords of Materialism
The persistence of spiritual materialism
5. From Cynicism to Gentleness 24
No more "trips"
Meditation
The second phase: open your heart

Chapter Two
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION 29
1. Finding the Eleventh Trungpa and the Notion of Tülku 32
2. The Tradition of Surmang and the History of the Lineage 35
The union of the Nyingma and Kagyü lineages
The union of politics and spirituality
Künga Gyaltsen, the first Trungpa
From the second to the ninth Trungpa
The tenth Trungpa
3. Recognition of the Eleventh Trungpa and His Training 41
4. Jamgön Kongtrül of Sechen and the Student-Teacher Relationship 43
The importance of the teacher
Devotion as the heart of an authentic spiritual attitude
Jamgön Kongtrül the Great, the Ri-me movement, and the denunciation of corruption
With Jamgön Kongtrül of Sechen
5. Leaving Tibet 53
The extension of the seminary and Khenpo Gangshar
The Chinese invasion
To return to Surmang or leave for India?
Escape to India

Chapter Three
MEDIATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SITTING 61
1. The Need to Return to Simple Practice 63
2. The Basis of the Path 65
3. Description of the Practice 67
The posture
Breathing
The mind
4. The Practice of Shamatha and Vipashyana 70
5. No Promises 72
6. From the Simplicity of Shamatha to the Primordial Nature of Mahamudra and Maha Ati 74
The perspective of mahamudra
7. Nyinthün, Dathün, and Meditation Instructors 76

Chapter Four
EXPERIENCE, MODERNITY, AND TRADITION 81
1. Thinking Takes a Modern Turn 83
A traditional master
Modernity
Chögyam Trungpa the revolutionary
Chögyam Trungpa and Paul Cézanne
2. Translation 94
Teaching in English
What is translation?

Chapter Five
HOW CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA TAUGHT 101
1. To Speak From the Heart 103
An uncompromising teaching
2. Three Styles of Transmission 109
3. Commitment to a Specific School 112
4. Advice for Students about to Teach 113
Seminary

Chapter Six
TEACHING THE THREE YANAS 119
1. The Progressive Approach of the Three Yanas 121
2. Hinayana: The Narrow Path 125
3. Mahayana: The Open Way 126
4. Vajrayana: The Abrupt Way 132
5. Restoring the Sense of Initiation 133
6. The Dzogchen Teacher: Presenting Everything from the Ultimate Point of View 138
Gradual way / sudden way

Chapter Seven
THE TANTRIC TEACHER 145
1. Tantra as Ground 148
Appreciating relative truth
Passion, pleasure, art, and sensory perceptions
2. Crazy Wisdom Teacher 152
Crazy wisdom
3. Inviting Chaos and Confusion 155

Chapter Eight
MAITRI: OPENING OUT TO THE
MANIFESTATIONS OF SPACE 167
1. From an Experimental Therapeutic Community to the Development of Contemplative Psychology 170
The creation of Maitri rooms
2. The Practice of Space Therapy 173
Maitri
The tantric perspective: the five Buddha families
3. The Maitri Center 176
4. The Development of Maitri 180

Chapter Nine
MUDRA: SPACE AWARENESS 185
1. The Birth of Full Mudra Space Awareness 188
The creation of Mudra, the sound and perception cycles
2. The Mudra Theatre Meeting 191
3. The Intensification Exercises 193
4. Mudra, Dzogchen, and Mahamudra 196
5. The Mudra Group 197
6. The Second Meeting: Being and Projecting in Space 198
7. The Plays 199

Chapter 10
PRESENTING THE SHAMBHALA TEACHINGS 201
1. The vision of the Kingdom of Shambhala 204
2. Discovering in Our Hearts a Sense of Genuine Initiation 207
Basic goodness
Fear
The warrior
3. The Shambhala Teachings: A Complete Cycle of Termas 216
Receiving the termas
The king joins heaven and earth
4. How to Enter into Relationship with the Dralas 228

Chapter Eleven
FROM SHAMBHALA TEACHINGS TO
SHAMBHALA TRAINING 233
1. A Weekend of Shambhala Training 235
2. The Creation of Shambhala Training 237
3. The Five Levels of Shambhala Training 241
4. Presenting the Shambhala Teachings beyond the First Cycle 243
5. Buddhism and Shambhala 244
Affirming the independence of the Shambhala teachings
A vaster vision

Chapter Twelve
RETHINKING EDUCATION 249
1. The Naropa Institute 251
The project
The Nalanda heritage
The importance of meditation
A contemplative education
A brief history of Naropa Institute
Official recognition
2. The Schools 259
Alaya, a preschool for children between two and five
Vidya, an elementary school

Chapter Thirteen
PORTRAIT OF CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA AS AN ARTIST 265
1. The Theatre 268
2. Photography and Cinema 271
3. Poetry 275
Dohas and haikus
Encounters with Allen Ginsberg
Improvisation
Poetry as personal experience
4. Painting and Calligraphy 284
5. Ikebana 286
6. A Complete Artist 287

Chapter Fourteen
THE KARMAPA'S VISIT AND THE INTRODUCTION OF FORMALITIES MANIFESTING ENLIGHTENMENT 289
1. Establishing a Set of Formalities 291
Why formalities?
2. The Karmapa's Visit: A Turning Point 295
How formalities allowed a "sacred vision" to be manifested
A moving meeting
The sacred vision

Chapter Fifteen
A BUDDHISM FOR THE WEST: FOUNDING A NEW CULTURE 305
1. The Sources of a New Culture: England, Japan, and Tibet 308
England and the West
Ties, suits, and uniforms
Savoir-vivre and table manners
Japan
Ikebana
Kobun Chino Roshi and Kanjuro Shibata Sensei
Oryoki
Rituals
Tibet
2. The World of Shambhala 325
The meditation room
Publications and posters
Pins and flags
Symbolism and the magic of colors
Ceremonies
Midsummer's Day
Shambhala Day
Chögyam Trungpa's birthday
Marriages

Chapter Sixteen
FORMS ASSOCIATED WITH SPEECH 337
1. Teaching Elocution: Recognizing the Importance of Speech 339
The threefold logic of elocution
2. The Qualities Game 344
3. The Shambhala Anthem and Other Songs 345

Chapter Seventeen
THE CREATION OF THE COURT 349
1. Daily Life with Chögyam Trungpa 352
Four Mile Canyon
Aurora 7
550 Mapleton Avenue
Eleventh and Cascade Streets
2. The Creation of a Mandala, or Court 360
The mandala as a field of experience
The three mandalas
3. Serving Rinpoche 363
The three dimensions of reality and symbolic language
A sense of humor
Kasung, Kusung, and Shabdu
4. The Court and Mandala: A Teaching Situation 365

Chapter Eighteen
DHARMA ART 369
1. Deliberate Art and Art in Everyday Life 373
2. From the Creation of Padma Jong to the Large Installations in Los Angeles and San Francisco 374
Padma Jong: an artists' community
At the Naropa Institute
The study of Dharma Art
3. The Richness of Perception Transcends All Aggression 381
From ikebana to arranging objects
Polishing the mind

Chapter Nineteen
THE SOCIAL VISIONARY 387
1. The Need to Unite Spirituality and Politics to Help Others 391
Building a political and spiritual community
Founding an "enlightened society"
2. An Enlightened Society 396
Facing the distress in our world
Beyond individualism and subjectivity: what is a society?
3. The Political Project: Propagating Human Dignity 401
Enlightened society in the perspective of the Great Eastern Sun
4. Sacred Order 407
A hierarchical society: a way of taking care of each other and allowing for true transmission
A hierarchy with neither superiors or inferiors
Recognizing hierarchy provides the chance to cultivate excellence and authentic presence
5. Royalty, Democracy, and Socialism 412
Criticism of democracy
Monarchy, or the conception of a sacred power
The parliament and the role of the dekyongs

Chapter Twenty
THE MAIN FIGURES IN THE MANDALA OF
CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA 423
1. Students 425
Assigning responsibilities
Allowing everyone to find their place
2. Diana Mukpo, Sakyong Wangmo 431
3. Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo, Sawang and Future Sakyong 434
4. The Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin 437
The first encounter
The future Gampopa
Thomas Rich officially becomes the Vajra Regent
The Regent's activities
5. The Dorje Loppön, Responsible for the Three Yanas 444
6. David Rome 445
7. The Board of Directors, the Sangyum, and the Dapöns 447
The board of directors
The Sangyum
The Dapöns

Chapter Twenty-one
THE DORJE KASUNG: AN EXEMPLARY PATH 455
1. The Dorje Kasung, the Kasung Kyi Khyap, and the Dapöns 457
The creation of the Dorje Kasung
David Rome becomes the head of the Kasung
2. The Path of the Kasung 461
Learning to be Overcome aggression
Serving the teacher
3. Encampment 466
4. An Army Dedicated to Wakefulness and Helping Others 469

Chapter Twenty-two
DEPARTURE FOR NOVA SCOTIA 471
1. Integrating Practice into the Local Economy and Politics 474
2. Moving to Nova Scotia 475

Chapter Twenty-three
SPIRITUAL MASTER AND MONARCH 483
1. The Teacher Is One with the Nature of Each Being's Mind 485
2. Contact With All Aspects of Students' Lives 490
3. An Unconditional and Personal Love 492
4. A Man in Constant Transformation 493
Total abandonment
5. His Death and Continuing Presence 498

Afterword 507
Organizations Established by Chögyam Trungpa 509
Books by Chögyam Trungpa 513
Resources 515
Acknowledgements 519
Index 525

From Chapter 5

"I have been doing as much as I can in my presentation of the teachings so far to make sure you understand that each one of the dharmas I have presented to you is your personal experience. You can actually relate the dharma to what you experience on the spot."—Chögyam Trungpa


To Speak from the Heart

Chögyam Trungpa is one of the most widely read Buddhist authors among the various Western practitioners of the dharma. The quality and depth of his teachings remain as vibrant now as they were when he was physically among us. His many books form a genuine body of work, with its own unity. Rinpoche hoped eventually to see the publication of 108 volumes destined for the general public, to which would be added about 40 volumes intended for more advanced students.

For the most part, his works are based on transcripts of oral teachings. On each occasion, Chögyam Trungpa taught in relationship to the context in which he found himself and the expectations of the people who had come to hear him. But he also had in mind to present a unified group of teachings that could be edited into works that would be of use to people in the future. He explained that he was teaching not just his own students but also future generations.

What makes his books so different from those of other spiritual teachers?

One characteristic of his approach was that he did not cater to people's expectations, especially when it came to preconceptions about spirituality. Without adopting a mystical or subjective approach, Chögyam Trungpa broke with both theology and metaphysics—that is, with the theoretical approach to spirituality that has dominated the West since the days of scholasticism. He also broke with the normative, moralistic discourse in which religion often cloaks itself. He wore none of the conventional masks of the "sage." His rigor was unequaled, merciless, and yet never dogmatic.

His teaching style was very different from what he had seen at Oxford. Nor did he adopt the traditional Tibetan style, which generally consists of the line-by-line explanation of a classic text and commentaries by a great teacher of the past.

During the first few years, he taught in an extremely direct and free manner, aiming at the heart of everyone's experience: "We are going back to the original style of how Buddhism was practiced in the time of the Buddha, so that people live the dharma, they live impermanence on the spot. They actually live the whole thing, properly and fully. That seems to be the only way to make everything real."

Despite the deep comprehension and realization of other teachers, many of them are stuck in a web of concepts embedded in their traditions. This makes them hard to understand for those who were brought up outside those traditions. This is why Chögyam Trungpa decided to speak so directly. If Buddhism is to be a description of how we can free ourselves from conceptual thought—or, more precisely, our set of beliefs concerning reality—Chögyam Trungpa showed the way. He constantly cut through abstractions in order to reveal our most concrete experiences of their ultimate depth. He invented a new language that allowed him to provide simple explanations for complicated, advanced teachings.

Apart from the brilliance of his teaching, there was another, even more touching factor: Chögyam Trungpa spoke directly about his own experience, sharing his heart with his entire audience. He thus removed the distance that Tibetan tradition maintains between teacher and disciple. In this way, as explained in the preceding chapter, Chögyam Trungpa leaped into modernity: "So I thought I shouldn't be too methodical or scholarly in expounding the vajrayana to you, and that I should speak from my heart." He did not mean "from my heart" in the sentimental sense, but in a spirit of complete openness and involvement. Over and above being a guru, he was a human being entering into a relationship of friendship with another human being.

This quality is particularly noticeable in the inimitable way he answered questions. The typical Tibetan teacher gives a scholarly, often very long, precise, and technical answer to each question, taking the opportunity to reiterate some doctrinal point. Chögyam Trungpa answered the person directly. When you read these answers later, they often seem to be off the point. But if you watch the videotape of the question-and-answer session, then everything becomes clear. The visual image reveals the special atmosphere of an encounter between two people. Chögyam Trungpa replied not just to the meaning of the words in the question, but to what the person was really trying to ask and had concealed behind the words. He did not try to give the "right" answer according to Buddhist doctrine; instead, he pointed to the space out of which the question came, in order to open his student's mind further.

His teaching had nothing technical or philosophical about it. Chögyam Trungpa liked to surprise and touch his audience. When listening to him, or when reading his words today, there is always a moment when a flash of his intense brilliance suddenly hooks you. To take one example, while he was presenting a seminar on the life of Naropa, one of the greatest teachers of the Kagyu lineage, he began by explaining: "It seems that in relation to the whole thing we are talking about, Naropa's attainment of enlightenment is not that important. It is Naropa's confusion that is important for us as ordinary people." Thanks to this turnabout, he cut through the usual logic in order to show what had previously been hidden but which is of vital importance: while everyone was expecting to find in Naropa a primary example of spiritual accomplishment, Chögyam Trungpa emphasized that it was the way Naropa coped with his confusion that is truly edifying. Thus we follow the path not by imitating an external model but by establishing authentic contact with who we really are. It is while we are listening that we are suddenly disarmed and opened out to an even vaster dimension than the one we had perceived initially—and there is nothing conceptual about such an experience.

He never appeared to teach out of a sense of duty. This was surely the secret of the freedom he manifested. He wanted to enter into a relationship with students that was as direct as possible. At the end of a talk, he often would devote some time to meeting those who had come to listen to him. A line of people formed, everyone waiting to exchange a few words with him personally. Even though it was just for a few minutes, he was so available and concerned about who you were that people were profoundly moved by just a short contact. He thus radically changed the lives of those he encountered. Susan G., one of his students, remembers the moment when she was introduced to him: "I was stunned, as if I had received an electric shock. He held out his hand to me, and when I took it I felt the most unbelievable feeling of gentleness I had ever known. In contrast, my own energy felt painfully aggressive. Then I looked into his eyes. There was a softness and kindness exuding from him which I had never experienced before and, beyond that, a depth I could not fathom. I couldn't find the person beyond those eyes. The effect on me was tremendously powerful. It was as if this man could see through to my deepest core, and yet he accepted me. I felt I had been penetrated by loving but X-ray eyes—my mask unraveled in the light of his being so real."

Most university professors, many scholars, and some religious personalities adopt a particular tone of voice and look when they speak, as if they are playing a part. So nothing was more moving than to listen to someone speak without this layer of protection distorting his humanity. Chögyam Trungpa, with his high voice, burning with love for all of us, was there before us, naked and cosmic