What a joy to spend time with Ch\u00f6gyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s poetry! A student of mine canceled this afternoon, so I had the good fortune of having a few free hours to sit on my balcony–which, incidentally, my girlfriend has recently strewn with flower boxes–and read First Thought Best Thought: 108 Poems<\/i>, Trungpa’s only collection of poetry (besides of course those gathered together in his mammoth Collected Works). If you haven’t yet stumbled upon this slim volume, and you have any interest in modern poetics, I recommend it.<\/p>\n
Ginsberg writes…<\/p>\n
\n…an astute analysis of Trungpa’s poetry in his introduction,
\n“Consider the progression of the poems, from early poems adapted out of
\nTibetan formal-classical modes, to the free-wheeling Personism
\nimprovisations of the poems of 1975, which reflect the Guru mind’s wily
\nmeans of adapting techniques of Imagism, post-surrealist humor,
\nmodernist slang, subjective frankness & egoism, hip
\n‘fingerpainting,’ & tenderhearted spontaneities as adornments of
\ntantric statement.” More simply, in his own introduction, Trungpa
\nwrites, “Some selections are traditional, written in Tibetan…. Others
\nwere composed in English in a stream-of-consciousness style…. Some
\nwere written out of delight.” <\/p>\n
Personally, I was drawn to the
\nway in which two poems in particular so neatly encapsulated Trungpa’s
\nmiraculous life, that is, his complete giving over of himself to the
\ndharma, his complete dedication to bringing the dharma to the West.
\nThe first poem was written in Bhutan in the 1960s, prior to Trungpa’s
\nventure to North America.<\/p>\n
Stray Dog<\/i><\/p>\n
Ch\u00f6gyam is merely a stray dog.
He wanders around the world,
Ocean or snow-peak mountain pass.
Ch\u00f6gyam will tread along as a stray dog
Without even thinking of his next meal.
He will seek friendship with birds and jackals
And any wild animal.<\/p>\n
For
\nwhat it’s worth, that line about the “next meal” reminds me strongly of
\na certain famous Dylan song. Then, years later, in 1976, after
\nTrungpa’s full-immersion in teaching the dharma in America, he ends
\n“Aurora 7 (#2)” with the following lines,<\/p>\n
Here comes Ch\u00f6gyie,
Ch\u00f6gyie’s for all,
Take Ch\u00f6gyie as yours–
Ch\u00f6gyam says: Lots of love!
I’m yours!<\/p>\n
These
\nlines offer a remarkable glimpse into the mind of a guru completely
\ngiving himself over to the dharma. Once a stray dog, now a full-blown
\nguru. “Whether you hate or love him. \/ Ch\u00f6gyie’s indestructibility
\ncould be venom as well as longevity-nectar.” <\/p>\n
Reading
\nTrungpa’s poetry brings to mind that old parlor-game question, What
\nperson, living or dead, would you want to have dinner with? Ah
\nCh\u00f6gyie, I wish I could have met you in the flesh, but it’s joy to have
\nyou in my mind!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What a joy to spend time with Ch\u00f6gyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s poetry! A student of mine canceled this afternoon, so I had the good fortune of having a few free hours to sit on my balcony–which, incidentally, my girlfriend has recently strewn with flower boxes–and read First Thought Best Thought: 108 Poems, Trungpa’s only collection of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-media"],"yoast_head":"\n