Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior (Shambhala Classics)

by Chögyam Trungpa

If we are willing to take an unbiased look, we will find that in spite of all our problems and confusion, all our emotional and psychological ups and downs, there is something basically good about our existence as human beings. Unless we can discover that ground of goodness in our own lives, we cannot hope to improve the lives of others. If we are simply miserable and wretched beings, how can we possibly imagine, let alone realize, an enlightened society?

A fork is a fork, of course. It is a simple implement of eating. But at the same time, the extension of your sanity and your dignity may depend on how you use your fork. Very simply, Shambhala vision is trying to provoke you to understand how you live, your relationship with ordinary life.

You begin to see things as natural messages rather than as reference points for your existence. The difference between ordinary inquisitiveness and that of the warrior’s path of meek is that the warrior’s awareness is always joined with discipline.