Ocean of Dharma: The Everyday Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa

by Chögyam Trungpa, Carolyn Rose Gimian (Editor)

Here is an inspiring collection of short teachings from the writings of the renowned Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa. Pithy and immediate, these teachings can be contemplated and practiced every day—or any day—of the year. Drawn from a wide variety of sources—including never-before-published writings— Ocean of Dharma addresses a range of topics, including fear and fearlessness, accepting our imperfections, developing confidence, helping others, appreciating our basic goodness, and everyday life as a spiritual path.

Genres: Buddhism, Reference

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2008

About the author

Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Tibetan: ཆོས་ རྒྱམ་ དྲུང་པ་ Wylie: Chos rgyam Drung pa; also known as Dorje Dradul of Mukpo, Surmang Trungpa, after his monastery, or Chökyi Gyatso, of which Chögyam is an abbreviation) was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar, teacher, poet, and artist. He was the 11th descendent in the line of Trungpa tulkus of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also trained in the Nyingma tradition, the oldest of the four schools, and was an adherent of the rimay or "non-sectarian" movement within Tibetan Buddhism, which aspired to bring together and make available all the valuable teachings of the different schools, free of sectarian rivalry.

Trungpa was a significant figure in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, founding Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method, a presentation of the Buddhadharma largely devoid of ethnic trappings. In 1963, he moved to England to study comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts at Oxford University. During this time, he also studied Japanese flower arranging and received an instructors degree from the Sogetsu school of ikebana. In 1967, he moved to Scotland, where he founded the Samye Ling meditation centre.

Shortly thereafter, a variety of experiences—including a car accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body—led him to give up his monastic vows and work as a lay teacher. In 1969, he published Meditation in Action , the first of fourteen books on the spiritual path published during his lifetime. The following year he married Diana Pybus and moved to the United States, where he established his first North American meditation centre, Tail of the Tiger (now known as Karmê-Chöling) in Barnet, Vermont.

In 1986, he moved to Nova Scotia, Canada, where hundreds of his students had settled. That Autumn, after years of heavy alcohol use, he had a cardiac arrest, and he died of heart failure the following Spring. His legacy is carried on by his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, under the banner of Shambhala International and the Nalanda Translation Committee.

Reviews

[Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trungpa was a con man who formed a cult, in some ways similar to Donald Trump. Contrary to the descriptions of his sexual relations with students provided by other reviewers, he was a predator who, for example, had his cult followers violently sexually assault poets W.S. Merwin and Dana Noane while he watched and taunted them with racist insults. Trungpa's Shambhala successors carried on his hateful legacy - one of them concealed his HIV infection and infected many students, at least one of whom died, and Trungpa's son has been accused of multiple accounts of rape. I attended a tradition Tibetan temple with my family for years and we were always treated with love consistent with the teachings of the buddha and when I asked about Shambhala, I was told that it had nothing to do with buddhism. I recommend reading Andrea Winn's Buddhist Project Sunshine.

[Joe]

Short little pieces to read and reflect on. Read many of them before but plan to read 1 a day for 2009

[Jampa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to begin each day.

[Mark David Vinzens · Rating 5 out of 5]

“THE CHALLENGE OF WARRIORSHIP is to live fully in the world as it is and to find within this world, with all its paradoxes, the essence of nowness. If we open our eyes, if we open our minds, if we open our hearts, we will find that this world is a magical place. It is not magical because it tricks us or changes unexpectedly into something else, but it is magical because it can be so vividly, so brilliantly. However, the discovery of that magic can happen only when we transcend our embarrassment about being alive, when we have the bravery to proclaim the goodness and dignity of human life, without either hesitation or arrogance.”

― Chögyam Trungpa, Ocean of Dharma: The Everyday Wisdom of Chogyam Trungpa

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the author's dharma teachings, in small slices grouped by theme. This would be a good start for anyone interested in reading more of Chogyam's teaching; for me, it was a good review.

A limitation of the work is its format, which takes teachings out of original, larger contexts. Still, the editors did well in grouping themes together, which remedied some remediation of this.

[Carole Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book that I read daily. I wouldn't start the day without reading the thought for the day.

[Mel]

DNF. Skimmed it mostly. A few I liked and revisited but mostly, not exactly what I needed.