Kyabjé Künzang Dorje Rinpoche told me “Vajrayana is not ordinary and so ordinary language cannot be used. Vajrayana is the poetry of existence beyond space and time. Vajrayana is every art and you must be practising every art. If you do not practise every art – how can you know the elements? And if you do not know the elements – how can you know the essence of the elements and open your eyes to great vision?”
p3, Wisdom Eccentrics : Rumours of realisation as told by Künzang Dorje Rinpoche with additional tales of the unexpected.
Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9653948-6-4
Silent sitting seemed to be the heart of it all – and so I sat every day. The idea of sitting was intriguing because I'd sat silently since childhood – and had been harangued about it by my father “Why can’t you play like a normal boy?!” I was always able to sit and stare – without going off into dreams. I’d just observe the colours and sounds of my environment and allow them to drift in and out of my observation.
It was the idea of silence that eventually led me to Dzogchen as being the heart of everything.
p26, Wisdom Eccentrics : Rumours of realisation as told by Künzang Dorje Rinpoche with additional tales of the unexpected. Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9653948-6-4
One needs to approach sexuality with respect, kindness, and openness. One needs to understand that the alternative to celibacy in Buddhism is not merely selfish indulgence of one’s desire at the expense of others. One can ‘dress’ sexual misconduct in the clothing of freedom and lack of moralistic inhibitions, but it remains an obstacle to practice nonetheless.
This is an important statement in view of the high regard shown to celibate practitioners in terms of their discipline. It could be something of a shock to some to realise that non-celibacy is a more demanding path, and that its discipline is vast and subtle. It should be accurately understood, that ordination into the gö kar chang lo’i dé (gos dKar lCang lo’i sDe) is not chosen as an ‘easier option’ than celibacy. The monastic path is simpler and easier to follow. It is completely structured and designed to support the individual, whereas the structure of Vajrayana embraces endless nuances of reality as the play of precision and passion.
Aro Encyclopaedia Index: Tralam-mé: founding relationships on Vajrayana principles by Ngak’chang Rinpoche & Khandro Déchen
Tralam-mé in ordinary terms pertains to anything that happens in the sky –
weather conditions, precipitation, rainbows, the Aurora Borealis, asteroids,
meteor showers, seeing the stars in the sky, the moon in the sky, visions in
the sky, whatever happens in the sky.
In terms of Dzogchen long-dé tralam-mé is used in the context of vajra
romance – and thus we translate the term as poetic turbulence. Poetic
turbulence is the romantic energetic which is sparked by the capacity for
realisation in two individuals.
Tralam-mé does not exist simply as an interface between male-female
romantic couples; it exists between everyone and everything everywhere.
Tralam-mé affects how people relate with each other. We call it poetic
turbulence as an emptiness and form coinage. Tralam-mé
is the manner in which people accidentally rhyme with each other – the
manner in which they fall in love.
Tralam-mé allows you to experience the non-dual sparkling through
in respect of your partner.
Aro Encyclopaedia Index: Tralam-mé Questions & answers with Ngak’chang Rinpoche
The wonderful quality
of Vajrayana is the way in which it approaches every
aspect of human existence as being fundamentally workable. Whatever the
situation happens to be, it can be transformed through the practice of
Vajrayana. We do not have to be afraid of what is manifesting and neither do we
have to confuse ourselves with the idea that Buddhism needs to be adapted for
the West. Ideas of this nature do not relate with Vajrayana and the methodology
of transformation. If one really understands Vajrayana – one understands that
every culture is actually ideal for Vajrayana.
