Imperfections As Part Of The Path
/Imperfections And Acceptance On The Path
“We must be willing to be completely ordinary people...,
which means accepting ourselves as we are without trying to become greater, purer, more spiritual, more insightful.
If we can accept our imperfections as they are, quite ordinarily, then we can use them as part of the path.
But if we try to get rid of our imperfections, then they will be enemies, obstacles on the road to our self-improvement.”
From the book The Myth of Freedom by Chögyam Trungpa.
Does the line “willing to be completely ordinary” make you cringe even just a little bit?
Competition In Everything
Being ordinary isn’t what we’re taught in our society. Competition reigns supreme in our outer world and that means you’ve got to be greater, better – no matter which game you're playing.
Run faster, leap higher, stay up later, have more projects than the other guy, and yes, shine brighter, be more enlightened, than your meditating neighbor. You'll find competition even in the "game" of meditation.
Naturally, we are all growing and striving to be the most authentic that we can be — and yes, we want to lessen or even eliminate our faults.
But, the first step is the acceptance of who we are?
Well, how could we begin without it?
Finding Acceptance Within Ourselves
On days when you are being particularly hard on yourself, the above quote is a nice reminder to be more gentle. Students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®) can support themselves on the path with ongoing use of TRT® hands-on.
Use of TRT® supports us to be the observer. It’s like turning up the lights in a darkened room. With increased light, we’re able to see more clearly.
TRT® hands-on helps us to relax into a deeper awareness of ourselves.
Freedom On The Path
The fact that Chögym Trungpa chose the title The “Myth” of Freedom is a bit daring, don’t you think?
Isn’t that the dream of all meditators — to be free? Free from it all? And yet, many of our teachers remind us that the path of meditation is not an escape.
There’s no escape from ourselves.
What is freedom? Where is it? Is it inside or outside of us?
Open portals are all around us.
Step through the gateways that you find in your meditations.
