Read Online The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume One by Chögyam Trungpa - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chögyam Trungpa
Tags: Tibetan Buddhism
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come to receive various teachings from him and particularly instruction in devotion, compassion, and the way of behavior in everyday life. He also said that without knowing the other side of the mountain one could not risk taking to a mountain pass. I should have knowledge of both absolute and relative truths, and should realize why it is necessary for one to know more about suffering and impermanence before renouncing the world; he added that there was great meaning when the Lord Buddha turned the wheel of the doctrine, showing the three stages of the path.
Soon after this Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche said he wished to leave; he explained that though he was sorry that he could not continue the wangkur, his purpose for being at Surmang had been fulfilled. All, and I in particular, were very sad that he could not remain with us; his visit had meant so much. He was always so full of the joy of living and was a delightful storyteller, telling tales of different gurus and lamas, but his jokes always could be interpreted as having a second and deeper meaning, so that even while he entertained he taught. I well remember one of the stories he told us.
“Once,” he said, “there was a great teacher called Paltrül Rinpoche. He did not belong to any monastery, but traveled everywhere about the country, without any attendants or baggage. One day he went to visit a certain hermit who had been living alone in a hut for many years: In fact he had become quite famous and many people came to see him there. Some came for advice and some to test how advanced he was in spiritual knowledge. Paltrül Rinpoche entered the hut unknown and unannounced.
“‘Where have you come from,’ said the hermit, ‘and where are you going?’
“‘I came from behind my back and am going in the direction I am facing.’
‘The hermit was taken aback, but he asked, ‘Where were you born?’
“‘On earth’ was the reply.
“‘Which school do you follow?’
“‘The Buddha.’
“The hermit was now feeling rather put out, and seeing that his visitor was wearing a white lambskin hat, he asked him, ‘If you are a monk, why are you wearing that hat?’
“‘Now I see your sort,’ said Paltrül Rinpoche. ‘Look here. If I wear a red hat, the Gelukpas will be looking down their noses, and if I wear a yellow one, the others will be at me. So I have a white one; it saves trouble.’ He was referring jocularly to the fact that the Geluk order of monks wear a yellow hat and all the remaining orders a red one. This was a little joke about intermonastic rivalries!
“The hermit did not understand what he was saying, so Paltrül Rinpoche began asking him why on earth he had come to live in such a remote and wild part of the country. He knew the answer to that one, and explained that he had been there for twenty years meditating. ‘At the moment,’ he said, ‘I am meditating on the perfection of patience.’
“‘That’s a good one,” said his visitor, and leaned forward as if confiding something to him. ‘A couple of frauds like us could never manage anything like that.’
“The hermit rose from his seat—‘You’re the liar,’ he said. ‘What made you come here? Why couldn’t you leave a poor hermit like me to practice meditation in peace?’
“‘And now,’ said Paltrül Rinpoche, ‘where is your perfection of patience?’”
When Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche left us we all felt that something very lovely was missing; he had given the whole place such a wonderful atmosphere. We continued to receive the teaching of the Treasury of Spiritual Instructions under Rölpa Dorje Rinpoche, and when it was finished I went back to my lessons with Apho Karma.
In Tibet, the greatest respect has always been felt for spiritually endowed lamas, who act as priests or teachers without being monks. Such people would have promised to keep to the upasaka discipline and practice the fundamental rules of virtue as well as to observe the bodhisattva’s
Soon after this Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche said he wished to leave; he explained that though he was sorry that he could not continue the wangkur, his purpose for being at Surmang had been fulfilled. All, and I in particular, were very sad that he could not remain with us; his visit had meant so much. He was always so full of the joy of living and was a delightful storyteller, telling tales of different gurus and lamas, but his jokes always could be interpreted as having a second and deeper meaning, so that even while he entertained he taught. I well remember one of the stories he told us.
“Once,” he said, “there was a great teacher called Paltrül Rinpoche. He did not belong to any monastery, but traveled everywhere about the country, without any attendants or baggage. One day he went to visit a certain hermit who had been living alone in a hut for many years: In fact he had become quite famous and many people came to see him there. Some came for advice and some to test how advanced he was in spiritual knowledge. Paltrül Rinpoche entered the hut unknown and unannounced.
“‘Where have you come from,’ said the hermit, ‘and where are you going?’
“‘I came from behind my back and am going in the direction I am facing.’
‘The hermit was taken aback, but he asked, ‘Where were you born?’
“‘On earth’ was the reply.
“‘Which school do you follow?’
“‘The Buddha.’
“The hermit was now feeling rather put out, and seeing that his visitor was wearing a white lambskin hat, he asked him, ‘If you are a monk, why are you wearing that hat?’
“‘Now I see your sort,’ said Paltrül Rinpoche. ‘Look here. If I wear a red hat, the Gelukpas will be looking down their noses, and if I wear a yellow one, the others will be at me. So I have a white one; it saves trouble.’ He was referring jocularly to the fact that the Geluk order of monks wear a yellow hat and all the remaining orders a red one. This was a little joke about intermonastic rivalries!
“The hermit did not understand what he was saying, so Paltrül Rinpoche began asking him why on earth he had come to live in such a remote and wild part of the country. He knew the answer to that one, and explained that he had been there for twenty years meditating. ‘At the moment,’ he said, ‘I am meditating on the perfection of patience.’
“‘That’s a good one,” said his visitor, and leaned forward as if confiding something to him. ‘A couple of frauds like us could never manage anything like that.’
“The hermit rose from his seat—‘You’re the liar,’ he said. ‘What made you come here? Why couldn’t you leave a poor hermit like me to practice meditation in peace?’
“‘And now,’ said Paltrül Rinpoche, ‘where is your perfection of patience?’”
When Jamgön Kongtrül Rinpoche left us we all felt that something very lovely was missing; he had given the whole place such a wonderful atmosphere. We continued to receive the teaching of the Treasury of Spiritual Instructions under Rölpa Dorje Rinpoche, and when it was finished I went back to my lessons with Apho Karma.
In Tibet, the greatest respect has always been felt for spiritually endowed lamas, who act as priests or teachers without being monks. Such people would have promised to keep to the upasaka discipline and practice the fundamental rules of virtue as well as to observe the bodhisattva’s
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