The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa: Volume Seven (22 page)

The source of sophistication that allows us to be able to see messages coming here and there, ordinary symbolism, is some kind of gap—
that
which is free of
this
. Without that, we are unable to experience anything of that nature; everything is “me” all over the place; “I am” all over the place. Whatever you experience is only “me” talking back to you. From that perspective, everything’s okay: you could kill somebody, destroy somebody, and actually confuse the whole world as much as you yourself are confused. That is a journey toward making cosmic garbage, rather than cosmic vision. But our intention is not to create further garbage.

Basically, the main obstacle to the perception of symbolism is our ego. We are allergic to ourselves; therefore, we create all kinds of sicknesses and pains. And even when we take our medicine, unless the doctor is completely wise and understanding, the medicine doesn’t have any effect on us, because we are allergic to ourselves. People may ask if you are allergic to penicillin or aspirin, but nobody asks, “Are you allergic to yourself?” Nobody’s thought of that. If you do not have clear vision or clear perception, it is because you are allergic to yourself. So before you take any medicine to clear up your vision and be able to perceive symbolism, you’d better check on how allergic you are to yourself. You might think about that question for a while. Then you will begin to see what the problem is in experiencing direct communication from what exists in the world. You will begin to see why certain messages don’t click and other messages do click; certain things work and certain things don’t work.

Vajradhara. A traditional thangka painting by Sherab Palden.

PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Reeds
.

35-MM SLIDE BY CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE, 1972. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Texaco sign
.

35-MM SLIDE BY CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE, 1972–1975. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Branches. “We could view the trees as cracks in the sky, like cracks in glasses. We could adopt that change in perspective. The space that exists around you could be solid—and you could be only a hollow in the middle of that solid space.”

35-MM SLIDE BY CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE, 1974. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Wire
.

35-MM SLIDE BY CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE, 1974. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Beam. “People keep taking photographs of sunsets, so I thought I might take a photograph of a moment. It is a sort of vajra shot, the precision of it.”

35-MM SLIDE BY CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE, 1974. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Vidyadhara painting a Guru Rinpoche thangka, Dalhousie, India, 1963
.

PHOTO BY DR. ELISABETH FINCKH, 1963. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Spontaneous calligraphy on overhead projector. Los Angeles Dharma Art Seminar
.

PHOTO BY ANDREA ROTH, 1980. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

“Explorers of the Richness of the Phenomenal World” in the Los Angeles Arboretum
.

35-MM SLIDE BY ANDREA ROTH, 1980. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.

Shooting photos, Los Angeles Environmental Installation
.

35-MM SLIDE BY ANDREA ROTH, 1980. FROM THE COLLECTION OF SHAMBHALA ARCHIVES.