CUTTING THROUGH SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM.

Chogyam Trungpa.

To the conventional way of thinking, compassion simply means being kind and warm. This sort of compassion is described as ‘grandmother’s’ love. You would expect the practitioner of this type of compassion to be extremely kind and gentle; he would not harm a flea.

 If you need another mask, another blanket to warm yourself, he will provide it. But true compassion is ruthless, from the ego’s point of view, because it does not consider ego’s drive to maintain itself.

 It is “crazy wisdom.” It is totally wise, but it is crazy as well, because it does not relate to ego’s literal and simple-minded attempts to secure its own comfort.

 The logical voice of ego advises us to be kind to other people, to be good boys and girls and lead innocent little lives. We work at our regular jobs and rent a cozy room or apartment for ourselves; we would like to continue in this way, but suddenly something happens which tears us out of our secure little nest.

 Either we become extremely depressed or something outrageously painful occurs. We begin to wonder why heaven has been so unkind. “Why should God punish me? I have been a good person,

I have never hurt a soul.” But there is something more to life than that.

 What are we trying to secure? Why are we so concerned to protect ourselves? The sudden energy of ruthless compassion severs us from our comfort and securities. If we were never to experience this kind of shock, we would not be able to grow. We have to be jarred out of our regular, repetitive and comfortable lifestyle.

 The point of meditation is not merely to be an honest or good person in the conventional sense, trying only to maintain our security. We must begin to become compassionate and wise in a fundamental sense, open and relating to the world as it is.

(This is what woke me up)

Tony