"Tom"
comcast.net> wrote in message
news:RfCdnRHOwPhtUzPVnZ2dnUVZ_rfinZ2d@comcast.com...>
> In Chapter 8, on renunciation and daring, Trungpa explains that the
> renunciation of the warrior is not asceticism, but the casting aside of
> any
> sort of armor. The spiritual warrior encounters the world naked,
> unprotected. This is possible because the warrior has nothing inside to
> defend.
I am a bit unclear about the relationship between ascetism and meeting the
world head on.
> That which needs protecting is the illusion of ego.
Nah, it is other people's ego's that need protection.
I love it when mine gets bruised.
> Thus armor is any behavior we have that arises from selfishness.
I am selfish, thus i am unselfish ?
> It is what blocks us from accepting the world as it is. We are insulated
> from reality by our
> fantasies. We hide from inconvenient facts, from uncomfortable emotional
> risks, from humiliation. Our armor cuts us off from the world we're
> trying
> to avoid. It keeps us alone and in the dark. It desensitizes and
> anesthetizes us.
ie ; fear is the mindkiller.
> Lots of our behaviors are armoring. Racism, drug addiction, religious
> intolerance, avarice, hostility... all sorts of things.
>
> Trungpa says that the key thing a warrior must renounce is privacy. We
> must
> put aside anything that cuts us off from others.
The main thing that cuts us off from others is being incarnate.
Are you sure he did not mean something else ?
Or is this just for a specific audience or so ?
> It is only when we are in touch with our basic goodness that we can even
> conceive of shedding our armor and opening ourselves up to the people and
> things around us.
Opening up is easy if you do it straight from the start.
If you experience problems acting as you really are, take a trip somewhere
(anywhere), and act like you are all the way.
(it is easier with strangers)
> Even then, basic goodness is not enough. Trungpa likens
> our situation to standing on a diving board. It's obvious what one must
> do
> when standing there.
Enjoy the view ?
> One must jump, of course.
Ah, a determinationalist. (wow, nice word)
> Ah, but that first step is a doozy. All sorts of bad things might happen.
> However, it's no use
> standing there and *not* jumping, so if one steps up to the edge, one must
> take the risk. One must be daring.
As always if pushed far enough any metaphor brakes down into sillieness.
> Otherwise, you might as well not have come to the edge in the first place.
> You're just wasting your time.
Replace diving board with cliff-edge, and we'll talk.
(diving boards suck in comparison to cliffs, both for jumping off and the
view)
