The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume Eight (68 page)

Vidyadhara:
We have to go further west.

Vajra Regent:
Los Angeles? Monterey? Big Sur?

Vidyadhara:
Big Sur, where everybody’s enjoying the best of the ocean, warmth, brilliant sunshine, good setting sun. It could be wonderful. We don’t have ego there, in the good western provinces of the United States. Things are free, relatively speaking, although expensive. You could relax enormously and watch the setting sun go down. We could say Hawaii as well.

Vajra Regent:
Hawaii would be better.

Vidyadhara:
In Hawaii we could forget about our ego problems altogether. We could hunch over, without being disciplined. We could let loose without being Canadians. You don’t have to be a Nova Scotian there. Even Nova Scotians might let loose there: They could forget about their home ground, the good place where they belong. That is pretty much the basic assumption of what is known as devaputra mara.

Devaputra mara is based on comfort. Your existence could be comfortable, upper middle class. Everything’s fine. Everything is shielded off. Nobody sees a real butcher shop; they just go to the supermarket and see little nice steaks prepared for them, sirloin or whatever. They have never seen an actual butcher shop. They have never seen actual reality of any kind. They have never seen real climate, real raindrops, and real wind blowing. You have been shielded off from any possibilities of seeing reality altogether. And you have been perpetuating that, which is very basic and very ordinary in some sense.

We are not geared to how to relate with the weather, how to relate with the earth, how to live with the ocean, how to relate with food, and what is happening with the ego-oriented situation. We are forgetting that altogether. We couldn’t care less whether heaven and earth could join together to provide a good society of human beings at all. We are concerned with our own little things. It is pettiness, and embarrassment of human society. That is devaputra mara.

V
ICTORY OVER THE
F
OUR
M
ARAS

The Buddha was known as the victorious one, or the king, because he had conquered the four maras. Buddha had also conquered beyond enlightenment—he conquered the six realms. Anybody who came close to the Buddha, even somebody who met him casually, was conquered and became humble in his presence. Because his ayatanas were controlled, properly synchronized, therefore he was the victorious one. He also had control over the notions of time and space. Those are the marks of good kings—if they are enlightened ones.

When you are in the presence of a king, you should find that the minute you walk inside the door of the king’s quarters, you find that your ordinary perceptions have changed. This takes the form of awe at first, being nervous maybe. When you step into the king’s quarters, your perceptions change, you hear things differently, you smell things differently, and you see things differently. That is the beginning of your ayatanas being somewhat entered into an enlightened society. Perceptions are changed; consciousness is changed.

But at the same time, entering into a king’s domain, you also sense that there are no thoughts. There is no subconscious gossip or mental contents functioning. Usually what happens in the presence of an enlightened king is that you forget what you are going to say. Your mind is completely cut, short-circuited. This is not because you are nervous. Usually when you are very nervous you have lots to say. But in this case you have nothing to say, which is the mark that the ayatanas are controlled in the presence of a king, an enlightened ruler. Sometimes the question is answered by itself. The question is the answer automatically. We are talking about that kind of sacred word.

When the four maras are conquered, either by practice or by being in the presence of sacred world, then you develop sacred outlook automatically and you discover what is known as nirvana, freedom, liberation.

Everything is back to square one, which is basic goodness.

The Seven Treasures of the Universal Monarch

W
HEN THE UNIVERSAL MONARCH
became so, karmically these treasures presented themselves. When he became the monarch of one continent, he received into his hand an iron wheel, which came flying from outer space. When he became monarch of two continents, he received a copper wheel; when of three, a silver. Four continents signifies the entire universe; this corresponds to the golden wheel. As the universal monarch receives this, palaces made from precious stones and an entire kingdom miraculously come into being. Then the Queen presents herself, then the Prime Minister, then the General, then a flying horse possessing the speed of light. This divine horse comes from a herd of nine hundred horses and is a unicorn. Its color is the iridescent green of a peacock’s neck. Then comes a six-tusked elephant. Finally, a wish-fulfilling jewel comes into being. It grants all desires and needs of the king, the kingdom, and all the subjects.

Realizing Enlightened Society

T
ALK
O
NE:
G
ROUND OF
B
ASIC
G
OODNESS

W
E ARE DEFINITELY
turning the wheel—sunward. And it is my greatest privilege to announce the inseparability of the Shambhala approach and the buddhadharma.

How are we going to incorporate two seemingly different approaches into one entity? We have Buddhists and we have Shambhalians. How are we going to mix them together?

I think it is very simple—in my way of thinking, anyway. The Shambhala approach could be regarded as the river or the trees, and the buddhadharma as the mountains on which the trees will grow and the river will flow. So buddhadharma is basic nature. In other words, white paper could be regarded as the buddhadharma, and what will occur or develop on that white paper, which is known as calligraphy, is Shambhala. In this approach, buddhadharma is regarded as the basic intrinsic nature, or background, and the Shambhala teachings will grow out of that, as the foreground. It is very basic.

We had a certain amount of difficulty in interior-decorating this particular building and this particular room [Karmê Chöling shrine room]. The architect argued with us, saying that we could not put up these columns. Finally he came to the conclusion that it was geographically and architecturally necessary to provide such columns, let alone the gold-leafing and other decorations that went along with it. It is a very interesting perspective. According to the architect, if you looked at it from the point of view of architectural possibilities you wouldn’t suggest such columns unless it became technically necessary—but apparently it is technically necessary. That is known as basic goodness strikes once more. Basic goodness is not just embellishment, but basic goodness is required in order for us to concentrate on such a situation. If you would care to ask any questions, you are more than welcome.

Student:
Sir, with mountains as the background, as buddhadharma, and the Shambhala teachings as the trees and rivers, where do the world’s other religious traditions fit in?

Vidyadhara:
All of them.

S:
Just like that?

V:
Just like that!

S:
Specifically then, where does Christianity fit in?

V:
Sometimes it is a part of the foreground, and sometimes it is background.

S:
Judaism and Hinduism?

V:
Same thing.

S:
What part does the sky play in all of this?

V:
What?! [
Laughter
]

S:
What part does the sky play in this scheme of mountains and trees and rivers?

V:
Big rock.

S:
Is it a beginning?

V:
It’s a beginning, yes. You’ll be surprised how large it will be.

S:
Sir, in the past you’ve used another analogy in discussing the relationship between Shambhala and buddhadharma. You’ve said that Shambhala is the vessel that will contain buddhadharma. The analogy that you’re using tonight seems the opposite of that.

V:
I think it’s saying the same thing. Shambhala is more embellishment; buddhadharma is more what is being embellished.

T
ALK
T
WO:
P
ATH OF
S
IMPLICITY

Good evening. Tonight’s presentation should be very simple and very direct. It involves the basic nature of Shambhala and buddhadharma, with a strong emphasis on the Shambhala approach.

The Shambhala approach is the general application of cosmetics to reality. And buddhadharma is basic space, or the basic ground on which you put the cosmetics.

The general emphasis here is on how well defined your situation is, without just simply cracking jokes about reality. It involves some sense of solemnity—as far as realizing that basic goodness is not a laughing matter, but a solemn situation. Basic goodness is very genuine. It goes through your general perspective about how you feel about life.

[
Long pause
]

How to cheer up—or how not to cheer up—is the point.

[
Long pause
]

It seems that the key point is how to make oneself awake, how to make oneself available to awake.

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s pretty much it. I don’t want to make it too complicated or make further unnecessary conversation.

Stop conversing more than necessary and simplify your life as much as you can. Thank you.

[
Long pause
]

I don’t think there is too much conversation happening tonight—if there is, you’re welcome.

Student:
Sir, could you explain how we could achieve this sense of solemnity without becoming deadly serious?

Vidyadhara:
I think it’s a question of being in contact with reality, then we don’t have to crank up something else.

S:
Sir, would you say something more about putting cosmetics on reality, as opposed to cranking up something to do with reality?

V:
I think the point is to do it on the spot, rather than pretend to do it.

S:
Sir, you spoke about buddhadharma as relating with basic space and the Shambhala teachings as a kind of embellishment. Later you said to simplify and reduce conversation. To me conversation seems like a kind of embellishment. If we reduce our conversation, where is the embellishment of our social contact with each other?

V:
I think it’s just there. It happens by itself.

S:
So by being simple with each other, we are being Shambhalian.

V:
Yes.

T
ALK
T
HREE:
F
RUITION OF
E
NLIGHTENED
S
OCIETY

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It’s the third day of our study of Shambhala and buddhadharma, how buddhadharma and Shambhala could be put together.

In our first talk we discussed background and foreground. With that reference point, we are continuing to work on how to lead life properly. Leading life may be putting together some kind of dichotomy, but it’s workable. Basically speaking, it is creating enlightened society.

Society from this point of view is the general setup of putting people together within their own reference point. It doesn’t have to be particularly revolutionary. It is very simple and direct—what people need. And what people need is security, comfort—which we could relate with very simply—and moreover some sense of psychological environment.

If people would like to get involved with a discussion on that, that’s fine.

Student:
Sir, I’ve been living in Nova Scotia for two years now, and I find a tremendous sense of sadness there.

Vidyadhara:
I think that’s precisely the reference point of why we should go there.

S:
Thank you. I guess I’m in the right place.

S:
Sir, you said that living life involved a sense of resolving a dichotomy. What dichotomy did you mean?

V:
Cheerful, but strange.

S:
Are these in the environment—or are they things that we project onto it?

V:
In any case it’s slightly
ètrange
.

S:
How do we begin to relate with sadness?

V:
Being more sad: sadder and sadder.

S:
Forever sadder and sadder?

V:
Yes.

S:
Purely for its own sake?

V:
Just simply being sad. You wouldn’t understand how to be sad. Simply being sadder.

S:
Sir, you said that in working to realize an enlightened society, we can feel comfortable in giving people what they need if what they need is security and comfort. Is that one of the things we have to do, give people what we see they need?

V:
I think so, yes.

S:
To follow that a little further, sir—in order to do this and to try to realize an enlightened society in that way, are you suggesting more emphasis on the Shambhala approach?

V:
Yes.

S:
And in the way that we carry on conversations and reach out to people?

V:
That’s questionable.

S:
That’s questionable?

V:
Conversations we discussed—last night.

S:
But you said we create a psychological environment for people.

V:
You’d better watch out for that!

S:
Well, I know that in Shambhala Training a lot of attention is paid to the environment.

V:
We’d better watch out even for that!

S:
I don’t remember your words exactly but I think you said you would be talking about the inseparability of buddhadharma and Shambhala. If they’re inseparable, would it be right to say that basic goodness is inseparable from awareness?