This is a talk given at Karme Choling, January first nineteen seventy six. His Life and Example given by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. This is talk number one. Good morning. Welcome to this particular seminar.
That we’re trying to understand in this particular ideas about the teachings of Milarepa and application to our life. Principle that never dies in our experience as long as they practice. He’s not particularly regarded as a ghostly figure. or homeless in a realm. On the other hand, he’s not particularly regarded as principal figure of immense achievement and therefore he hangs around like a Christ principle either.
But what he’s done, his practice of development, how he developed himself as he continued his life, as a great accomplishment to practitioner, that we have a same admiration to him at the same time continuously. We are able to find a person. It was very traumatic experience like a lot of us at some point. Deprived situation and bad childhood. Traumatic tortured teenage process and a painful adulthood in practicing meditation.
That we can’t actually expect. We are gonna get something out of what we discussed tonight. The first flash of enlightenment. An example of Milarepa, particularly, but we have identified with him completely thoroughly and fully. In Milarepa’s perfect example of his life, his teaching that is presented to us.
According to the tradition that he was supposed to be some high incarnation of some kind, a great being, but those were just further glorification on his part, on our part, in laying trust on him. That if he had able to attain enlightenment in one lifetime, that he must have been a greater being in the past. And quite precisely, as we know the story, that one of his disciples was saying that you must be great being in the past. And was very angry in that response. He said I thought I’m doing everything by myself rather than any help from their side.
So quite possibly so that he wasn’t particularly any big deal in the past. He’s just purely Mila, which is his family name, which means the family of ghosts. It’s a family of the ghost and innocent person who would plunge straight into the practice very simply. His autobiography is very painful, extremely painful. Much more painful than someone who live in New York City.
I think you’re having a bad time. This life is very torturous, treacherous. Very little sympathy from anybody. At the same time, fundamentally extraordinarily powerful person who has ability to accomplish anything that he put he begin to put his effort on. Better accomplished whatever you are trying, you are doing.
But not fool around, not necessarily of preconceptions or dreams. So he wasn’t particularly keen on getting off on any particular dramatic achievement of psychic powers or enlightenment as such particularly. Although he wasn’t particularly interested in making himself a famous person in the world, but he would like to achieve whatever he should achieve. He should have become a good family man, and when an interruption took place, his mother decided to send him to study black magic, accomplished that successfully, and he then decided to set his journey to search for Buddhist teacher and he found it and that teacher asked him to build these houses, these little castles. He was also able to achieve that too.
As far as Milarepa’s life continued until to the end, he said that he had achieved everything that he would want to achieve once he set his mind to it and we could figure out why such person will achieve anything what they want with the immense difficulties and problems of all kinds. Because of his honesty that he’s not trying to make a dollar out of fifty cents in every situation. He wasn’t trying to train with the situation, but he would like to do everything straightforward and properly. And I think that particular early part of Milarepa’s life particularly is very important for us, this point. A lot of us here trying to find a meaningful life and how he actually did it are more concerned with how we actually can play the trick to get it at get it get that get it properly.
If you are more trickier to the situation, then the situation becomes much more tricky to us. Finally we end up ourselves actually committing suicide, trick after trick, trick after trick, lie after lie, chisel after chisel, we try to maintain ourselves. It wouldn’t get very far. It comes closer rather than be far. And that’s the basic suicidal process.
We end up with a bundle of muscles who are tight and uptight and angry and the potential of a cosmic monster, and the potential of destroying the rest of the world, at some point. If you’re powerful enough, you have that. At least, potentially destroying ourselves. Such a genuine existence when the robots approach is a very interesting point, such honesty is remarkable. Rather than his expression is the power of one-pointedness of mind and so forth we can admire those things too of course.
Nevertheless we are not particularly impressed by that. In this particular twentieth century we are more interested in his ability to be honest person on earth. Some people would say that Milarepa was Milarepa’s heroism, and it made him famous because he was able to be patient all the time. I don’t think that’s the case. And in the case Malarepa became famous personally because he wouldn’t lie to himself, fundamentally speaking.
In terms of practice, depth becomes a very important point in every step. As long as there is no kidding of ourselves, then we can accomplish something. As long as we are kidding ourselves, we create spiritual materialism. That’s where it in a nutshell stands, basically. And it’s a very important point, actually, and it’s to the dot.
You say we could say that what on earth you think you’re doing here. Whether the choices are being do you want to get something out of this, or do you want something with this experience? Somebody following, please. If you wanna get something out of this, then you don’t make good amount of effort. If you wanna do something with this properly, genuine fashion, then you have every one of you have a great potential of becoming a future Milarepa.
Isn’t that nice? That’s actually the truth. I’m not falling asleep at this point. It won’t last very long, only ten minutes. Milarepa’s approach to life is very genuine, which is somewhat difficult these days when people are completely urbanized and they began learning tricks and gadgets of street fighting.
Whether you do it in the office, whether you do it in in in middle of Broadway, same thing. The basic philosophy that people derive around here in this country, broadly speaking, that in order to keep up to to keep up to the situation, on top of the situation is to be smart. In order to be smart, that you have to learn to be street fighter tit for tat each time. Except when you’re in the post office, You completely gullibly pay for your particular money for a particular postage stamp — set institution — two cents worth or fifty cents worth. Apart from that there is no room to be an exception.
Trying to bargain everything you could, you know, like. That’s too bad. And then we have a big problem there. But we don’t have to do the same thing as street fighter’s mentality in practicing enlightenment. And basic sanity can’t be bargained.
And basic sanity is not can’t be bought by dollars and cents. But basic sanity comes along with a barter exchange, giving yourself, gaining more, giving yourself, gaining more giving your body, giving your speech, giving your mind, you get more and more. Maybe that’s too difficult for you to understand somewhat, if I may say so. If I insulted somebody who’s highly enlightened, please forgive me. I respect.
As far as the rest of us are concerned, same problem. Somebody says so. The man Milarepa didn’t bargain. Just pure. His life is assigned to the vision, and he got what he want.
More than what he got, but he got what he want. He attained enlightenment in one lifetime, which is very difficult for people to do so. People still had to work things out. The next life, maybe a little leftovers, maybe so, that they are still working out. Worked out.
Important highlight of Milarepa’s life example is his honesty and genuineness. Once he sets his mind onto it he just does it, he just do it. That seems to be an important point. Without any questions, You’re welcome to ask questions if you like. The questions begin at this point on the second