Chogyam Trungpa Quotes

Walking the spiritual path properly is a very subtle process; it is not something to jump into naively. There are numerous sidetracks which leades to a distorted, ego-centered version of spirituality; we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spiritually when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques. This fundamental distortion may be referred to as spiritual materialism

Such excessive preoccupation with his faults is not a truly spiritual activity but, on the contrary, a highly egoistic one.The recognition of his own faults should make a man humbler, when it is beneficial, not prouder, which the thought that he ought to have been above these faults makes him.

Like all other lonely or hungry things, ego loves the light. It sees light, and the possibility of being close to the soul, and it creeps up to it and steals one of its essential camouflages. In a hunger for soul, our own ego-self steals the pelt

I don’t think there’s any problem with advancing consciousness and becoming more and more aware of the struggle, not with the world, not to convince other people to do anything. The really interesting think is the struggle with the self, and the relation with the self, and there is no end to the improvement that can be done there, the discoveries that can be made.

If anyone steps on your ego, instantly, he becomes your enemy. But a Guru is a friend who constantly tramples your ego.

Soul development should take precedence over all things.

The need is not to amputate the ego ... but to transcend it.

Sometimes I attract roles that are necessary either for personal growth or enlightenment.

Spiritual formation is for everyone. Just as there is an 'outer you' that is being formed and shaped all the time, like it or not, by accident or on purpose, so there is an 'inner you.' You have a spirit.

I'm always trying to find ways to evolve. Evolution, for me, is a very spiritual thing, getting closer to the creator, closer to God, and becoming a better version of yourself.

By constantly keep one's attention on the Source, the ego is dissolved in that Source like a salt-doll in the sea.

Don't fool people to think you are better than who you are. Instead of trying to act changed, pray that you will be changed.

If you think you are big, you will become small. If you are willing to become an absolute nothing, you will become larger than creation and Creator.

Your lower self sees you as the center of the universe- your higher self sees you as a cell in the body of humanity.

Righteousness cannot be born until self-righteousness is dead.

If you evolve within you, there will be no pride, no prejudice. You will perform action out of pure, absolute sense.

When every situation which life can offer is turned to the profit of spiritual growth, no situation can really be a bad one.

As far as I'm concerned, the spiritual life is just like any other endeavor-you can succeed or fail. And when the goal is actual evolution beyond ego in an intersubjective context, success or failure is plain for all to see.

Those who think that they have arrived, have lost their way. Those who think they have reached their goal, have missed it. Those who think they are saints, are demons.

Every man who steeps himself in the spiritual possibilities of his heart is a valuable helper in the building of the spiritual pyramid which will someday reach to heaven.

... consciousness is an ever-unfolding, deepening, and expanding process with no end point. We are infinite and complex beings, and our human journey involves not just a spiritual awakening, but the development of all levels of our being - spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical - and the integration of all these aspects into a healthy and balanced daily life.

The path of spiritual growth is a path of lifelong learning.

Enlightenment is not a complete remedy.

The instinct that pulls us toward art is the impulse to evolve, to learn, to heighten and elevate our consciousness. The Ego hates this. Because the more awake we become, the less we need the Ego.

A Course in Miracles tells us that although 'we think that without the ego, all would be chaos, the opposite is true. Without the ego, all would be love.'