The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume One (75 page)

sutra
(Skt.): A book of the canonical scriptures; also a theoretical treatise not directly concerned with methodic realization, accessible to all the faithful without restriction.

Tai Situ
: Chinese title conferred by one of the Ming emperors on the abbots of Palpung.

takpa
(Tib.): An elementary form of divination.

tantra
(Skt.): A treatise relating to methods of spiritual concentration; a book of instruction concerning particular forms of yoga. As compared with sutras, tantras remain relatively “secret” documents, for the use of initiates only; a kalung is required in order to qualify a person to study one of these, while a wang (empowerment) is required in order to practice the method in question.

thangka
(Tib.): A sacred painting, usually carried out on cotton cloth primed with plaster and mounted on silk so as to form a scroll that can, if necessary, be rolled up. Patchwork thangkas occur, but more rarely; a few have been embroidered, mostly by Mongol artists.

togden
(Tib.): A term used in the Kagyü school indicating one who has actually experienced reality in a high degree.

torma
(Tib.; Skt.
bhalinta
): A symbolic cake, usually conical in shape, used in rituals.

tulku
(Tib.; also tülku): See appendix 2 of Born in Tibet

upasaka
(Skt.):
See
genyen.

vajra
(Skt.; Tib.
dorje
, “noble stone”): A symbol of indestructibility and of the nature of reality, indicating its eternal or “adamantine” quality; a ritual scepter shaped like the thunderbolt of Jupiter. It can destroy that which seemingly cannot be destroyed.
Vajra
is also referred to as penetrating wisdom that cuts through solidified ignorance.

vajra posture
: The cross-legged meditation position associated with the Buddha and with yogins generally.

vajrayana
(Skt.): The highest of the three vehicles or ways. The way from which there is no turning back until enlightenment is reached.

VAM
: The seed syllable of the indestructible vajra nature, also representing great joy. It is the principle of son or youthful prince, the active force of clear light.

Varshka Vihara
: A place for the traditional “summer retreat” carried out by monks ever since the time of the Buddha.

vihara
(Skt.): Originally “a dwelling.” In Buddhism the term is used for a religious building, usually a monastery.

virya
(Skt.): Energy or exertion. Whoever practices virya finds delight in it, because it is not based on painfully going on and on and on, but it is a way of seeing the joyous element, of seeing that energy does not have to be forced but that it develops spontaneously. This happens by not regarding things as a duty in the puritanical or religious sense but doing them because one has already established the connection between the action and one’s being.

wangkur
(Tib.): Literally “empowerment”; an “initiation,” conferred privately or sometimes to groups, enabling those receiving it to practice a particular meditation or yogic method under a qualified spiritual master. In Tibet (as elsewhere) all teachings aiming at a supra-individual realization follow this pattern, though forms and rites will vary considerably as to detail.

yoga
(Skt.): Literally “union,” with the same root as the English word
yoke
. It denotes any specific method (including its theoretical premises) of which the aim is to release the unitive knowledge latent in the heart of man by bringing under control the various dispersive tendencies of mind and body. A yogi (or yogin) is one who practices such a method and, more especially, one who in virtue of the knowledge thus awakened has qualified as a master of this spiritual art.

F
OR A DETAILED
account of the publication history of the writings listed below, see the introduction to this volume of
The Collected Works
.

“The Age of Milarepa: A sequel to the article on ‘Early Tibetan Buddhism’ published in our last issue.”
The Middle Way
43 (May 1968): 4–7. Reprinted by permission of The Buddhist Society, London. © 1968 by Diana J. Mukpo.

Born in Tibet
. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2000. © 1966 by Diana J. Mukpo. 1971 Epilogue © 1971 by Diana J. Mukpo. 1977 Epilogue © 1977 by Diana J. Mukpo. Foreword to the 1995 Edition © 1995 by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

“Early Tibetan Buddhism: An Excerpt from a Talk Given at the 1967 Summer School.”
The Middle Way
42 (February 1968): 154–157. Reprinted by permission of The Buddhist Society, London. © 1968 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“The Mahasattva Avalokitesvara.”
The Middle Way
43 (August 1968): 64–67. Reprinted by permission of The Buddhist Society, London. © 1968 by Diana J. Mukpo.

Meditation in Action
. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1996. © 1969, 1991 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“The Meditation of Guru Rinpoche.”
Chakra: A Journal of Tantra and Yoga
2 (1971). © 1971 by Diana J. Mukpo.

Mudra: Early Poems and Songs
. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2001. © 1972 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“The New Age.”
International Times
, 29 August–11 September 1969. © 1969 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“Om Mani Padme Hum Hrih.”
The Middle Way
38 (August 1963): 72–73. Originally published under the name “Lama Thongpa” (an alternative spelling of “Trungpa”). Reprinted by permission of The Buddhist Society, London. The
Middle Way
article has been expanded by incorporating some material from a previously unpublished version of the manuscript found in the Shambhala Archives. © 1963, 2003 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“Taking Refuge.”
The Middle Way
38 (November 1963): 106–107. Originally published under the name “Lama Thongpa” (an alternative spelling of “Trungpa”). Reprinted by permission of The Buddhist Society, London. © 1963 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“The Way of the Bodhisattva.”
The Middle Way
43 (November 1968): 104–109. Reprinted by permission of The Buddhist Society, London. © 1968 by Diana J. Mukpo.

“The Way of Maha Ati.” © 1968, 2003 by Diana J. Mukpo and Rigdzin Shikpo.

O
N BEHALF OF
all the readers, I would like to thank the editors who worked on the material presented in Volume One of
The Collected Works
. The efforts of Mrs. Esmé Cramer Roberts, Richard Arthure, and Rigdzin Shikpo (Michael Hookham) are discussed in the introduction; one could hardly overestimate the importance of their contributions to making Chögyam Trungpa’s earliest dharma teachings in the West available. I would especially like to thank Richard Arthure, Rigdzin Shikpo, and John Baker for providing so much helpful background information on the books and articles in Volume One. Richard Arthure, John Baker, Marvin Casper, and Sherab Chödzin Kohn all worked on
Mudra
. Many others in England and North America had a hand in the books and articles that make up Volume One. Thanks to them all.

I would like to thank the editorial staff of
The Middle Way
for providing copies of the articles by Chögyam Trungpa that appeared in the journal in the 1960s and for their kind permission to reprint these articles in
The Collected Works
. Francesca Fremantle was very helpful in providing information about early publications and events in England. Scott Wellenbach and Larry Mermelstein of the Nālandā Translation Committee both answered a number of questions about doctrinal points discussed in the introduction. If errors remain, they are entirely my fault. Thanks also to Larry Mermelstein for sharing his copies of “The Meditation of Guru Rinpoche” and “The New Age,” and for his help with changes needed in the dedication.

Samuel Bercholz, the editor-in-chief of Shambhala Publications, was generous in providing information about early publications and also contributed a foreword to Volume One of
The Collected Works
. Peter Turner, the president of Shambhala, and Jonathan Green, vice president of trade sales and marketing, both commented on the proposal for this series and helped to refine its scope and content. Emily Hilburn Sell, longtime editor of Chögyam Trungpa’s books at Shambhala, provided both the carrot and the stick at the beginning of this project: support and encouragement as well as a keen instinct for what needed further work. Eden Steinberg provided helpful attention to detail while keeping a cheerful overview in her role as the first in-house editor for the project. Kendra Crossen Burroughs, who has carried the project to completion, brought affection, dedication, and an uncompromising view of the quality and importance of the work to her role as the in-house series editor. Thanks to them all. Chögyam Trungpa’s editors are indeed fortunate to have had such excellent editorial support from Shambhala throughout the years. Thanks also to the indexer, Helen Berliner, who has indexed many of the books by Chögyam Trunpga and was his student for many years.

Thanks to Diana J. Mukpo for her foreword to
The Collected Works
and her support of this project as a whole, and additionally for comments on the introduction as well as for permission to quote from her own unpublished memoirs and an unpublished diary of Chögyam Trungpa.

It is impossible to offer adequate thanks to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche himself for his prodigious efforts in bringing the buddhadharma to the West. May his magnificent buddha activity pervade all directions.

C
AROLYN
R
OSE
G
IMIAN

A BIOGRAPHY OF CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA

T
HE
V
ENERABLE
C
HÖGYAM
T
RUNGPA
was born in the province of Kham in eastern Tibet in 1939. When he was just thirteen months old, Chögyam Trungpa was recognized as a major tulku, or incarnate teacher. According to Tibetan tradition, an enlightened teacher is capable, based on his or her vow of compassion, of reincarnating in human form over a succession of generations. Before dying, such a teacher may leave a letter or other clues to the whereabouts of the next incarnation. Later, students and other realized teachers look through these clues and, based on those plus a careful examination of dreams and visions, conduct searches to discover and recognize the successor. Thus, particular lines of teaching are formed, in some cases extending over many centuries. Chögyam Trungpa was the eleventh in the teaching lineage known as the Trungpa Tulkus.

Once young tulkus are recognized, they enter a period of intensive training in the theory and practice of the Buddhist teachings. Trungpa Rinpoche, after being enthroned as supreme abbot of Surmang Monastery and governor of Surmang District, began a period of training that would last eighteen years, until his departure from Tibet in 1959. As a Kagyü tulku, his training was based on the systematic practice of meditation and on refined theoretical understanding of Buddhist philosophy. One of the four great lineages of Tibet, the Kagyü is known as the practicing (or practice) lineage.

At the age of eight, Trungpa Rinpoche received ordination as a novice monk. Following this, he engaged in intensive study and practice of the traditional monastic disciplines, including traditional Tibetan poetry and monastic dance. His primary teachers were Jamgön Kongtrül of Sechen and Khenpo Gangshar—leading teachers in the Nyingma and Kagyü lineages. In 1958, at the age of eighteen, Trungpa Rinpoche completed his studies, receiving the degrees of kyorpön (doctor of divinity) and khenpo (master of studies). He also received full monastic ordination.

The late 1950s were a time of great upheaval in Tibet. As it became clear that the Chinese communists intended to take over the country by force, many people, both monastic and lay, fled the country. Trungpa Rinpoche spent many harrowing months trekking over the Himalayas (described later in his book
Born in Tibet
). After narrowly escaping capture by the Chinese, he at last reached India in 1959. While in India, Trungpa Rinpoche was appointed to serve as spiritual adviser to the Young Lamas Home School in Delhi, India. He served in this capacity from 1959 to 1963.

Trungpa Rinpoche’s opportunity to emigrate to the West came when he received a Spalding sponsorship to attend Oxford University. At Oxford he studied comparative religion, philosophy, history, and fine arts. He also studied Japanese flower arranging, receiving a degree from the Sogetsu School. While in England, Trungpa Rinpoche began to instruct Western students in the dharma, and in 1967 he founded the Samye Ling Meditation Center in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. During this period, he also published his first two books, both in English:
Born in Tibet
(1966) and
Meditation in Action
(1969).

In 1968 Trungpa Rinpoche traveled to Bhutan, where he entered into a solitary meditation retreat. While on retreat, Rinpoche received
¹
a pivotal text for all of his teaching in the West, “The Sadhana of Mahamudra,” a text that documents the spiritual degeneration of modern times and its antidote, genuine spirituality that leads to the experience of naked and luminous mind. This retreat marked a pivotal change in his approach to teaching. Soon after returning to England, he became a layperson, putting aside his monastic robes and dressing in ordinary Western attire. In 1970 he married a young Englishwoman, Diana Pybus, and together they left Scotland and moved to North America. Many of his early students and his Tibetan colleagues found these changes shocking and upsetting. However, he expressed a conviction that in order for the dharma to take root in the West, it needed to be taught free from cultural trappings and religious fascination.