A genuine sense of humor is having a light touch: not beating reality into the ground but appreciating reality with a light touch. The basis of Shambhala vision is rediscovering that perfect and real sense of humor, that light touch of appreciation.
Interpretation
A true sense of humor involves appreciating life's realities lightly rather than being overwhelmed by them.
Chogyam Trungpa's quote highlights the importance of maintaining a gentle and appreciative perspective toward life, encouraging us to embrace a lighthearted attitude even in the face of challenges. This 'light touch' signifies an ability to navigate reality without taking it too seriously, allowing for a more joyful and fulfilling existence by rediscovering a sense of humor that acknowledges the imperfections of life.
In practice
In a speech about resilience, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of humor in overcoming difficulties.
Meditation _x000D_ practice begins by sitting down and assuming your seat cross-legged on _x000D_ the ground. You begin to feel that by simply being on the spot, your _x000D_ life can become workable and even wonderful. You realize that you are _x000D_ capable of sitting like a king or queen on a throne. The regalness of _x000D_ that situation shows you the... dignity that comes from being still and _x000D_ simple.
If you must begin then go all the way, because if you begin and quit, the unfinished business you have left behind begins to haunt you all the time.
The basics teachings of Buddha are about understanding what we are, who we are, why we are. When we begin to realize what we are, who we are, why we are, then we begin to realize what we are not, who we are not, why we are not. We begin to realize that we don't have basic, substantial, solid, fundamental ground that we can exert anymore. We begin to realize that our ideas of security and our concept of freedom have been purely phantom experiences.
Warriorship does not refer to making war on others. Aggression is the source of our problems, not the solution. Warriorship is the tradition of human bravery, or the tradition of fearlessness.
Our life is an endless journey; it is like a broad highway that extends infinitely into the distance. The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road. Our journey consists of constant ups and downs.
But again and again, we should reflect back to the darkness of the cocoon. In order to inspire ourselves forward, we must look back to see the contrast with the place we came from. You see, we cannot reject the world of the cocoon - which out which we may create a new cocoon. When we see the suffering that occured in the old cocoon, that inspires us to go forward in our journey of warriorship. It is a journey that is unfolding within us.
HYENA, n. A beast held in reverence by some oriental nations from its habit of frequenting at night the burial-places of the dead. But the medical student does that
You are thirty minutes late." "Yes." "Would you be thirty minutes late to a wedding or a funeral?" "No." "Why not, pray tell?" "Well, if the funeral was mine I'd have to be on time. If the wedding was mine it would be my funeral.
Our most noted satirists are true columnists, and their opinions can be worth more than any well-documented expose.
It amused me to think that one can tell the truth when one is drunk and nobody will believe it.
People are always asking me in interviews, 'What do you think of foreign affairs?' I just say, 'I've had a few.'
I am so busy doing nothing... that the idea of doing anything - which as you know, always leads to something - cuts into the nothing and then forces me to have to drop everything.
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