The Path of Individual Liberation Quotes

“However, nobody is going to do it for you. You have to begin by yourself, so maybe you should be startled. You should be shocked when you realize that you have been trapped and imprisoned, because then you might do something about it. You have been too naive. You have enjoyed your samsaric life too much. You should have been shocked a long time ago!”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“Aloneness seems to be the heart of discipline [...] You cannot develop yourself properly unless you give up your need for companionship. Once you give up your search for companionship, you can make friends with your loneliness. At that point, you become a genuine practitioner.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation

“if somebody is waking for the first time from a deep sleep, she might see the midnight stars. But if she waits long enough without going back to sleep, she will begin to see not only stars, but the dawn, then the sunrise, and then the whole landscape being lit by a brilliant light coming from the sky. She will begin to see her hands, her palms, her toes, and she will also begin to see her tables, her chairs, and the world around her. And if she is clever enough to look at a mirror, she will see herself as well.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“But meditation is a life’s work. You cease to sit and meditate in this life when the last breath runs out of your body on your deathbed.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“A sense of knowing, or seeing, always happens. If you are willing to acknowledge its existence, there is the potential of being wakeful, open, and precisely there constantly. This is not based on being a sharp person, a smart person, or a very careful person. Rather, it is about being a person who can actually be—by yourself, very simply.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“The practice of meditation is not so much concerned with the hypothetical attainment of enlightenment, but with leading a good life. In order to learn how to lead a good life, a spotless life, you need continual awareness that relates with life constantly, directly, and very simply.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“The sitting practice of meditation is regarded as one of the most profound and fundamental disciplines you could ever achieve. By doing this practice, you find that you become less crazy. You begin to develop more humor, more relaxation, and ultimately, more mindfulness.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“Meditation, or samadhi, is connected with the idea of overcoming the constant search for entertainment.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“Peace is energetic; it has immense power and energy. Actually, that is the source of a sense of humor,”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“You might as well come back to the breath. It is more joyful, more wholesome, and you don’t have to be startled by anything.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“As a reasonable person who is perturbed by your relationship with the so-called bread-and-butter world and uninspired by the prospects presented by this ordinary version of reality, you may begin to think of the possibility of getting into a different and higher realm of discipline and experience.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“Discipline may seem complicated, but it is actually very simple—it is what binds your life together. Without discipline, life is made up of successive indulgences and confusions based on aggression, passion, and ignorance.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“However, the desire to be enlightened can be a problem. It is when it is not all that important to you that you will attain enlightenment.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“As a student who has no idea of dharma and no mind training, you decide to commit to the path and to train yourself. As you train your mind, you begin to see all kinds of things. What you see is not so much the inspiration of a glimpse of enlightenment, or buddha nature. Instead, the first thing you see is what is wrong with samsara.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“You have to meet yourself, to know who you are and what you are. Without vipashyana experience, you don’t have any idea of who you are, what you are, how you are, or why you are, at all!”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“So vipashyana experience and practice is absolutely necessary for a person who follows the Buddhist path and really wants to understand the dharma.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“Altogether, the idea of meditation is not to create states of ecstasy or absorption, but to experience being.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One

“The skandhas present a complete picture of ego. According to Buddhist psychology, the ego is simply a collection of skandhas or heaps—but actually there is no such thing as ego. It is a brilliant work of art, a product of the intellect, which says, “Let’s give all this a name. Let’s call it ‘I.”
― Chögyam Trungpa, The Path of Individual Liberation: The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma, Volume One