The Hard Way

I can see why he calls it the hard way. Interesting read and it exposed many different ideas, fears and thoughts for me. The beginning was slightly confusing for me because it required me to think outside of what my mind normally thinks of in this instance. A few lines interested me in this piece. First was the following:

"We must give up our ambition to get something in return for our gift. That is really the hard way."

This idea really stands in the face of Western ideology because it says that the world doesn't operate in a way that favors the individual and therefore the individual shouldn't take pride in their strengths or weaknesses because it leads to expectations and desires that can corrupt the spirit. Another point that it brought up was the questioning of experience. Trungpa makes the point that "We must really surrender, give something up, really give something up in a very painful way." That pain, that uncomfortableness will allow one to be more open not only to themselves, but also to the universe itself.

Another concept that stuck out was the idea that we horde thoughts, ideas, beliefs, objects etc. in order to prove our worth to a particular aspect of the ten thousand things, or even just to show off. However, if we are told to let go, we refuse because we are afraid to lose ourselves. We are afraid to loose the distinctions and statuses that allow one to completely connect with counter realities.

The way that psychologists examine and treat their patients is probably the best example of the entire piece. Trungpa states that "…there are many kinds of psychotherapy and many psychotherapists involved with trying to prove themselves and their own theories rather than working with what is. In fact, they find it very frightening to work with what is."

A very interesting piece which makes you stop to think about one's own actions only to be reminded that it is the incorrect thing to do. Stay within the now and all will be well.