Chögyam Trungpa was a raw soul.
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I was entranced with the beautiful writings of Chögyam Trungpa for many years. His book, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of The Warrior became a staple in my life. It opened my eyes to spiritual potential and deepened my understanding of life, love, and the divine. The more I learned, the more I craved Chögyam Trungpa’s books. When I meditated on him, I could feel his playful and loving heart. He had died a few months prior to my first experience of his unique spirit and work. My favorite Chögyam Trungpa quotes are, “Everyone loves something, even if it’s only tortillas” and “The ideal of warriorship is that the warrior should be sad and tender, and because of that, the warrior can be very brave as well.” A prolific writer and Buddhist meditation master, Chögyam Trungpa (March 5, 1939 ~ April 4, 1987) is among the first masters who brought Buddhist teachings to the west and made them accessible. The holder of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, Chögyam Trungpa, was a brilliant man who lived a impressive life.Besides being the 11th Trungpa Tülku, an incarnating line of Tibetan lamas, Chögyam was:
- A radical, new teacher in the Vajrayana school of Buddhism
- A re-imaginer of the original visions of Shambhala (a mythic Buddhist kingdom)
- A Tertön, someone who discovers ancient, hidden, Tibetan Buddhist texts
- The Supreme Abbot of the Surgmang Monasteries
- Globally adored Poet, Artist, and Scholar
“Enlightenment Is Ego’s Ultimate Disappointment.” ― Chögyam Trungpa
The Adventurous Life Of Chögyam Trungpa
While studying meditation, philosophy, calligraphy, painting, and monastic dance, Chögyam Trungpa became a monk in 1947. In the 1950s, when Chinese communists repatriated Tibet, the Rinpoche trekked over the Himalayas and narrowly escaped capture. He reached India in 1959 and began teaching Buddhism to young lamas in Delhi, India. Fluent in English, Chögyam Trungpa studied at Oxford, and taught throughout North America and Europe, giving thousands of talks to eager initiates.Known for presenting Buddhist teachings in secular terms, Chögyam founded his growing Buddhist community and teachings under the name, “Vajradhatu” in 1973. The organization was renamed, “Shambhala International” in 2000 by his son, born to a nun named Lady Kunchok Palden. Shambhala International focuses on Buddhadharma, meditation, mindfulness, wakefulness, creativity, and new thoughts on living a peaceful life. In 1970, Chögyam married a wealthy sixteen-year-old student named Diana Judith Pybus (also known as Diana J. Mukpo). They had three sons together, two of whom are recognized as reincarnations of Buddhist lamas. Diana also had a son out of wedlock, Ashoka Mukpo, raised by Chögyam, who is also considered a reincarnated Tibetan lama. I remember sitting in Amma’s darshan hall in a packed ashram, the air thick with anticipation and raw emotion. My body was wired tight from years of tech stress and startup chaos. When Amma's arms wrapped around me, it wasn’t just a hug—it was an unloading of nervous system tension I hadn’t even known I was carrying. That moment cracked something open, and I realized how much spiritual work is about that deep release in the body, not just sitting crossed-legged thinking pretty thoughts. In my workshops on emotional release here in Denver, I watch people come in tight, guarded, like they’ve locked parts of themselves away for decades. One woman started shaking uncontrollably during a somatic exercise, tears streaming, raw grief spilling out. It wasn’t pretty. But that kind of unfiltered breakdown—that’s where real healing plants its roots. I’ve seen it hundreds of times in readings and classrooms alike: the body knows the truth long before the mind does. Ashoka states on his blog about his father, “I believe from the bottom of my heart that we will be unpacking his life and teachings for a thousand years.” Diana wrote a book entitled, “Dragon Thunder: My Life with Chögyam Trungpa”, which details the challenges and triumphs living with the Buddhist master. While impressive, their marriage wasn’t all malas, mantras, and magic. In 1974, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche founded Naropa in Boulder CO, the first Buddhist-inspired university in the United States. Chögyam’s books are published by Shambhala Publications and is not affiliated with Shambala International or Naropa University. To many Buddhists, Chögyam Trungpa is known as a raw and enlightened Buddhist master. He is also one of the most influential spiritual leaders of our time. His books and lectures are considered essential teachings on meditation and Buddhadharma. The Chogyam Trungpa documentary, “Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche” can be found on online and in stores.
“We Do Not Have To Be Ashamed Of What We Are. As Sentient Beings, We Have Wonderful Backgrounds. These Backgrounds May Not Be Particularly Enlightened Or Peaceful Or Intelligent. Nevertheless, We Have Soil Good Enough To Cultivate; We Can Plant Anything In It.” ― Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Books
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s work is vast and striking, so please do not allow this short list to limit your exploration of his work.Here are a few highlights among his impressive publications:
- Born in Tibet (1966), autobiography, the story of escaping from Tibet
- Meditation in Action (1969)
- Mudra (1972)
- Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (1973)
- The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo, translated with commentary by Francesca Fremantle and Chögyam Trungpa (1975)
- Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior (1984)
- Crazy Wisdom (1991)
- The Heart of the Buddha (1991)
- Secret Beyond Thought: The Five Chakras and the Four Karmas (1991)
- The Lion’s Roar: An Introduction to Tantra (1992)
- Timely Rain: Selected Poetry of Chögyam Trungpa (1998)
- Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala (1999)
- Glimpses of Space: The Feminine Principle and Evam (1999)
- The Essential Chögyam Trungpa (2000)
Famous Chögyam Trungpa Quotes
It’s impossible to encapsulate the writing of Chögyam Trungpa in a few quotes, but here are a handful of his thoughts that might inspire an opening of heart and mind:- “Shambhala vision teaches that in the face of the world’s great problems, we can be heroic and kind at the same time.”
- “Becoming “awake” involves seeing our confusion more clearly.”
- “As long as a person is involved with warfare, trying to defend or attack, then his action is not sacred; it is mundane, dualistic, a battlefield situation.”
- “When we talk about compassion, we talk in terms of being kind. But compassion is not so much being kind; it is creative to wake a person up.”
- “Enlightened society has to be real and good, honest, and genuine.”
- “When we are afraid of ourselves and afraid of the seeming threat the world presents, then we become extremely selfish. We want to build our little nests, our cocoons so that we can securely live by ourselves.”
- “The key to warriorship and the first principle of Shambhala vision is not being afraid of who you are. Ultimately, that is the definition of bravery: not being afraid of yourself.”
- “Warriorship is so tender, without skin, without tissue, naked and raw. It is soft and gentle. You have renounced putting on a new suit of armor. You have renounced growing a thick, hard skin. You are willing to expose naked flesh, bone, and marrow to the world.”
- “Meditation, or samadhi, is connected with the idea of overcoming the constant search for entertainment.”