But I agree, rewriting CTR’s poems seems a bit odd. It’s like taking Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, and just swapping in some words with a different meter and meaning, but publishing it as if it were the original.

When a warrior king presents a gift,
It should be naked flame
Which consumes the jungle of ego

With my own teacher, he often said that we were determined to change his message, so that we could turn him into a marketable product, instead of a fire. He said we were afraid to present him as he is to people, because we’re afraid people won’t be interested. We’re too concerned with being liked, and bargaining with people.

On the other hand, there is a need for editors to review things, and to consider how to present things to an audience.

It’s all a very artful matter, isn’t it?

It could be a naked flame
this revision seems not so good.

Fearlessness and Joy Are Truly Yours:
For the Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin

When a warrior king presents a gift,
It should be naked flame
Which consumes the jungle of ego,
Or ice cold mountain range
Which cools the heat of aggression.
On the other hand, it could be a parachute,
Which questionably will open or not.
There is a further choice – thunderbolt:
Whether you are capable of holding it with a bare hand is up to you.
So, my heartfelt son, take them and use them
In the way that the past warriors have done.
You have the strength and capability as well as careful training.
Please cherish this standard of mine, the Tiger Lion Garuda Dragon dignity flag.
So you will accomplish maitri, karuna, joy and greater vision.
With the work that you have performed and lots of sacrifice for the sake of greater sangha,
And bringing about Great Eastern Sun for the enlightened society,
You deserve to live a thousand years –
Whether you like it or not.
You have learned a lot, performed magnificently.
I the humble Vajracarya, along with my wife, would like to wish cheerful birthday to you, my lord.

[Kalapa Court, 21 August 1981]

[I was once told that because Rinpoche is no longer here to authorise changes, it is vital to edit as verbatim as possible, excepting pidgin English. That would be a sound theory, if only it were the practice.

The translators have a committee and arrive at some degree of consensus. The editors could benefit from having a similar style of committee to offer honest advice such as Mr. McLeod’s.

Otherwise the next-generation of editor/interns may be taught that the literary legacy is plastic to be molded at their discretion – when the only real discretion editors have is to faithful accuracy.

Why change a word if a footnote will do?]

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:21:56 -0300
> From: cgimian@suchns.com
> To: dharmaocean@lists.shambhala.com
> Subject: [OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Fearlessness and Joy Are Truly Yours
>
> Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week
October 15, 2010
>
> FEARLESSNESS AND JOY ARE TRULY YOURS
>
> When a warrior king presents a gift,
> It could be a naked flame, which consumes the jungle of ego,
> Or an ice cold mountain range, which cools the heat of aggression.
> On the other hand, it could be a parachute.
> One wonders whether it will open or not.
> There is a further choice—Thunderbolt:
> Whether you are capable of holding it with your bare hand is up to you.
> So, my heartfelt child, take these gifts and use them
> In the way that past warriors have done.
>
> From SMILE AT FEAR: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery.

*****

On September 26th, 2009 6:03 am John Castlebury wrote:

Ocean of Dharma “Quotes” of the Week
November 6, 2008

FEARLESSNESS AND JOY ARE TRULY YOURS

When a warrior king presents a gift,
It *{could} be *{a} naked flame, which consumes the jungle of ego,
Or an ice cold mountain range, which cools the heat of aggression.
On the other hand, it could be a parachute.
*{One wonders whether it will open or not.}
There is a further choice –Thunderbolt:
Whether you are capable of holding it with *{your} bare hand is up to you.
So, my heartfelt *{child}, take *{these gifts} and use them
In the way that past warriors have done.

Unpublished poem, from the manuscript of CONQUERING FEAR: THE HEART OF SHAMBHALA, forthcoming in 2009.

***
*{Innovations of the editor}

This is an excerpt, not a whole poem; it’s the first 11 lines of a poem with its dedication and final 9 lines missing. Why? To use a poem with the word “fearlessness” in its title to coordinate with the forthcoming book Conquering Fear?

But this sort of tinkering, expunging half the poem and inventing new language actually misrepresents the true occasion of the poem, it misappropriates the poem, and it can no longer be called Rinpoche’s poem at all; it is someone’s *version* of Rinpoche’s poem.
Compare and contrast…

First, re: the quote from the Vidyadhara about his reincarnation. I posted that as a point of information, certainly not as a conclusion.

Second, re: “it’s up to us”…We can complain, we can equivocate, we can storm off, we can position ourself on the “right side” of the argument, whatever. In the end, *regardless,* are we doing everything we can to preserve and propagate these wonderful teachings we have been entrusted with–never mind the obstacles–or are we using one of the “good excuses” that are out there (and there are many) to shy away from the challenge?

Even if there is little to no support from within SI, are we still doing whatever we can? There’s a real charnel ground quality to this. Have we have been eaten up by the charnel groundness, or is it “otherwise”?

Vdh. Recordings was the first place where VCTR’s teachings were preserved and protected – in the original recordings from which all the transcripts and books of his seminars, talks and meetings were preserved. At Vdh. Recordings we believed we had a sacred duty to preserve, protect and disseminate his teachings for the benefit of future generations. I suppose that is where my own assumption came from, that all his “senior students” *should* understand that their samaya included the duty to protect and preserve and propagate VCTR’s teachings. But that assumption was reinforced in so many ways by the training programs he designed for us to become meditation instructors, teachers and directors of Shambhala Training. I never questioned my assumption that, as his students – and especially as MI’s, teachers, and directors of Shambhala Training – it was our duty to protect and propagate his teachings. Who else was going to do it? Why else would he have put so much blood, sweat and tears into training us???

Well, that was my assumption until my vajra brothers and sisters, people who had taken samaya with VCTR, began demonstrating that they did not believe it was their duty to protect and preserve VCTR’s legacy. I began to realize that many of my old sangha friends did not see things the same way I did when the basic meditation instruction was changed, and seasoned MI’s were told by Dale Asrael, the representative of Sakyong Mipham, that we now had to teach meditation according to SMR’s instruction. Well, that jettisoned my own 20-yr. ‘career’ as an MI. I literally felt I’d be damned if I went along with changing VCTR’s meditation instruction, which I still believe in whole-heartedly.

I was aghast that so many students of the Vidyadhara went along with the changes that SMR instituted. Each one made my blood boil: the name change from Vdh. to SI, and of dharmadhatus to Shambhala Centers, the removal of Vajradhara and lineage photos from shrines, the transformation of RMDC from a genuine practice retreat center soaked in lineage blessings and drala, to the new-age corporate resort called SMC, the merging of Shambhala Training with a Buddhist curriculum, etc., etc., etc. But many of my old friends rationalized these changes, which also made my blood boil. I wasn’t silent, I had arguments with my peers, but I seemed to have few allies. Even some former Vdh. directors went along with the changes. Nobody who had any influence within SI had any interest whatsoever in my objections, and some people insulted me and warned me that I was breaking samaya!

This story is not over! When will “senior students” who now have oaths of loyalty to SMR wake up and confess?

Thank you for your clarification on your last post.

I will print it off and think about it for a while.

I dont think lineage is debateable up to CTR – its after that that I have questions about the way things are progressing. I think I am prepared to live with that confusion for a while -perhaps older students can work with other Kagyu Lamas to manifest CTR’s teachings in the world -there might be a possibility in that area.

Yes Ray is interesting I await further developments with him and perhaps others.

So this is probably one of my last comments on the whole thing and I will think/practice around these questions for the near future.

Best

Rita Ashworth

Senior students , disciples protecting the purity of the teachings. their precious lineage, that they have a responsibility to continue. When you no longer see lineage as important, or you decide to make lineage expedient to the whims of a usurper, you have lost the view, the blessings dont come through and there is nothing but confusion. If you stay in a situation, and bystand lineage being destroyed, and your teachers stream of teachings tweaked and twisted, to the whims of a son , , , , and you stay in because of livelihood, or some mixed up view that you are still protecting the teachings, even though the lineage has been dismissed, and you stand by and let that happen, you are very confused and should not , I believe ,be continuously congratulated…It is how this whole mandala has been turned around .
So the lineage questions and revealed confusion about lineage , and the lack of protecting the teachings of CTR, is really about the same thing. These are not separate issues. Protecting the teachings so that they remain pure in their transmission, i.e. clear and not confusing so that people can wake up not stay confused. is what lineage is. Anything else, is something else.. We have short memories, but it is when the lineage of CTR was dismissed , the pictures of CTR’s lineage taken off the shrine, that the real confusion in this mandala occurred, lest you think lineage is debatable. Even in the most radical Dzogchen teachings,lineage still matters..

Just the way SMR has made lineage expedient, is the thing that should have placed all the senior students of CTR on alert. When even that was o.k. I, for one knew that all was lost in terms of finding the Genuine Trungpa Rinpoche in this mandala of expediency.

The journalist in me is asking me what you mean concisely about the above quote. Are you saying specifically that the senior students were asked by Trungpa himself to protect the teachings – if they were who were they specifically or was it just a group audience that met with Trungpa. Or are you referring to something in writing that Trungpa wrote and his students interpreted in a certain manner.

Re lineage and this is probably one of the last questions I ask on it for awhile what do you make of Rays statement that he is not self-proclaimed -that Trungpa did indeed want his older students to become lineage holders besides the Regent -how would you see that?

As to Trungpa 12 -there has been a debate on this board about him – how would you recognise that he is a genuine emanation of Trungpa in the light of other comments on this board.

Over to you – really would like to hear your comments on these questions.

Best

Rita Ashworth

Dream on. If the 12th Trungpa Rinpoche is brought over here, it won’t be Shambhala International hosting him, (just like they didn’t host the 17th Karmapa, despite the PR pretending they did (SI is best at pretending), It will be a Kagyu group, there are already rumors to that effect.

No, the senior students you are referring too, phenomenally failed in their first task, i.e. , to protect the teachings of CTR. There are no other chances now. Elvis has left the building to the echoing hollow sounds of ” it’s up to us, it’s up to us”