Growth through Meditation
The book, Chogyam Trungpa,
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior (Boulder, 2007), contains many of Trungpa’s talks and writings about the power of meditation. For Trungpa, “meditation” is virtually indistinguishable from zazen, differing only in the position of the hands while sitting. In Trungpa’s description, the hands are placed palms down on the thighs, while in zazen the hands are cupped together in the mudra.
For Trungpa, a meditator on a genuine spiritual path develops certain qualities and abilities. While sitting, when thinking is set aside, he or she experiences tastes of egolessness. In daily life, thereafter, even if unconsciously, he seeks to function in an egoless fashion. Various capacities spring from this.
For one thing, the meditator’s sense of his own worth gradually develops. Trungpa calls this worth “basic goodness.” For him, the fruition of spiritual practice is “the complete primordial realization of basic goodness” (p. 181).
En route to this fruition, the meditator learns to put self-doubt aside and trust in himself. His heart opens. He learns to open and extend himself to others. He is deeply joyful, even in trying circumstances, and full of energy. He blossoms into a life of selflessness and service.