Trust
Content
Trust
Trust is the absence of neurosis, and trust is the epitome of well-being. Trust is also the essence of ideal comfort. Once again, we are talking about something very basic--in this case, basic trust. When you trust in goodness, you are making a connection with reality: with the rocks and the trees, the greenery, the sky and the earth, the rivers and the fires, with everything that exists around you. )You can always trust that blue will be blue, red will be red, hot will be hot, and cold will be cold. Trust also exists on a larger scale: you trust in the law and order of human society, which is that way because of natural law and order. As your trust in natural order and law evolves, you find that you don't need extra entertainment to make yourself comfortable. You don't have to seek simple, trivial, and ordinary ways to keep yourself occupied. You can simply relax. So in that way, trust brings relaxation. When we take reality for granted, we are always seeking new entertainments, new ideas, and new ways to kill boredom. You get bored with an old trust, so you have to find a new trust. That is the essence of the setting-sun approach. You've had enough of whatever you possess, so you look for something new. You abandon old fiends, give away your old equipment, throw away old clothes, and come up with new clothes, new gadgets, new friends. There is no loyalty and no exertion involved with that approach. You might even get tired of the rocks and the trees, the rivers and the mountains, the sun and the moon. You might have to move to another planet. Even then, you might get tired of your new planet. What are you going to do then? Someone may eventually figure out how to completely change the four seasons. Maybe they'll do that at Disneyland some day. You would pay to see that, no doubt. They might build a big dome over that fantasy world. In the middle of summer, they would create an ideal winter for you. In the middle of winter, they would create ideal summer for you. Human beings can be very, tricky. The opposite of that approach is to develop patience. In the English language, patience ordinarily means "to wait and see," "to endure the wait." In the Shambhala context, patience means to be there. It is simply being there, always being there. There is no connotation of being so painfully there. Patience is simple continuity and predictability. When you trust the natural sense of predictability, then you are patient, willing to be there. It's very straightforward and natural. Just be there. Just be there. Out of patience comes joy. Realizing that you don't need any fresh, new, extraordinary things to entertain you, you can be there on the spot and celebrate what you have. You don't need new objects of appreciation. To witness and experience what you have is good enough. In fact, it's wonderful. It's already a handful, so you don't need anything extra. Actually, in that sense, it feels more like a sense of relief than joy. You also feel healthy. When you are not searching for a substitute or a better alternative to what you have, you feel quite satisfied. That brings natural health and wholesomeness. Unhealthiness comes from searching for alternatives. The satisifaction of basic health is appreciating ourselves and what we have already, naturally speaking. We accept the world of heaven, earth, and human beings. The Shambhala wisdom respects the sacredness and the beauty of the world. We don't try to change the color of the sky. There are all sorts of little tricks to make our world different. In- stead of blue, you might like a red sky, or you might like to paint your beige bedroom bright red. But you don't have to do that, and you don't have to change yourself for the sake of boredom. You never get tired of having two eyes. If you get bored with having one nose and two eyes, you might want to exchange an eye for a nose. Or you might want to have lips on your eyes. You don't have to do that. You can actually accept what you have, which is wonderful already. Therefore, joyful satisfaction comes with patience. When you feel satisfied, you become free frown laziness, which brings exertion. Being free from laziness is not cranking some- thing up. It is simply being meticulous, absolutely meticulous. You don't leave dirty dishes in the sink. That's the level of freedom from laziness we are talking about. You clean up after yourself. You appreciate all the details that are involved in cooking a meal, relating with your friends--your mate, your parents, your brothers and sisters--or relating with the bank, the garbage collector, your shoes that need to be shined, your clothes that need to be pressed. Great Eastern Sun The Wisdom of Shambhala Chogyam Trungpa
Trust is the absence of neurosis, and trust is the epitome of well-being. Trust is also the essence of ideal comfort. Once again, we are talking about something very basic--in this case, basic trust. When you trust in goodness, you are making a connection with reality: with the rocks and the trees, the greenery, the sky and the earth, the rivers and the fires, with everything that exists around you. )You can always trust that blue will be blue, red will be red, hot will be hot, and cold will be cold. Trust also exists on a larger scale: you trust in the law and order of human society, which is that way because of natural law and order. As your trust in natural order and law evolves, you find that you don't need extra entertainment to make yourself comfortable. You don't have to seek simple, trivial, and ordinary ways to keep yourself occupied. You can simply relax. So in that way, trust brings relaxation. When we take reality for granted, we are always seeking new entertainments, new ideas, and new ways to kill boredom. You get bored with an old trust, so you have to find a new trust. That is the essence of the setting-sun approach. You've had enough of whatever you possess, so you look for something new. You abandon old fiends, give away your old equipment, throw away old clothes, and come up with new clothes, new gadgets, new friends. There is no loyalty and no exertion involved with that approach. You might even get tired of the rocks and the trees, the rivers and the mountains, the sun and the moon. You might have to move to another planet. Even then, you might get tired of your new planet. What are you going to do then? Someone may eventually figure out how to completely change the four seasons. Maybe they'll do that at Disneyland some day. You would pay to see that, no doubt. They might build a big dome over that fantasy world. In the middle of summer, they would create an ideal winter for you. In the middle of winter, they would create ideal summer for you. Human beings can be very, tricky. The opposite of that approach is to develop patience. In the English language, patience ordinarily means "to wait and see," "to endure the wait." In the Shambhala context, patience means to be there. It is simply being there, always being there. There is no connotation of being so painfully there. Patience is simple continuity and predictability. When you trust the natural sense of predictability, then you are patient, willing to be there. It's very straightforward and natural. Just be there. Just be there. Out of patience comes joy. Realizing that you don't need any fresh, new, extraordinary things to entertain you, you can be there on the spot and celebrate what you have. You don't need new objects of appreciation. To witness and experience what you have is good enough. In fact, it's wonderful. It's already a handful, so you don't need anything extra. Actually, in that sense, it feels more like a sense of relief than joy. You also feel healthy. When you are not searching for a substitute or a better alternative to what you have, you feel quite satisfied. That brings natural health and wholesomeness. Unhealthiness comes from searching for alternatives. The satisifaction of basic health is appreciating ourselves and what we have already, naturally speaking. We accept the world of heaven, earth, and human beings. The Shambhala wisdom respects the sacredness and the beauty of the world. We don't try to change the color of the sky. There are all sorts of little tricks to make our world different. In- stead of blue, you might like a red sky, or you might like to paint your beige bedroom bright red. But you don't have to do that, and you don't have to change yourself for the sake of boredom. You never get tired of having two eyes. If you get bored with having one nose and two eyes, you might want to exchange an eye for a nose. Or you might want to have lips on your eyes. You don't have to do that. You can actually accept what you have, which is wonderful already. Therefore, joyful satisfaction comes with patience. When you feel satisfied, you become free frown laziness, which brings exertion. Being free from laziness is not cranking some- thing up. It is simply being meticulous, absolutely meticulous. You don't leave dirty dishes in the sink. That's the level of freedom from laziness we are talking about. You clean up after yourself. You appreciate all the details that are involved in cooking a meal, relating with your friends--your mate, your parents, your brothers and sisters--or relating with the bank, the garbage collector, your shoes that need to be shined, your clothes that need to be pressed. Great Eastern Sun The Wisdom of Shambhala Chogyam Trungpa
