My Teacher’s Instructions

Over the course of studying with Chogyam 

Trungpa, he figured out how to communicate 

with me. Once I asked him a question when

I was with him. He gave me a long answer, by

the end of which, I was on another planet…

just by being with him, my mind was gone.

He knew I was a poet, so, he resorted to 

instructing me through that means of 

communication…one liners, usually. Over the

fifteen years I knew him when he was alive,

I had a meditation interview once or twice a 

year, where he would say something. I would

take what he said and try to do it. The last

sentence on this list was at the last interview

I had with him in 1978. It became a koan for 

me for the next thirty five years, until I finally

realized what he meant.

"You can't afford to be lazy

Don’t go too fast.

Don't get bogged down.

Forget about the past.

Cultivate a sense of humor.

Needs more practice.

Pain when you’re around me 

seems to be necessary.

No more questions

I don’t see any more problems.”