“Was not their mistake once more bred of the life of slavery that they had been living?—a life which was always looking upon everything, except mankind, animate and inanimate—‘nature,’ as people used to call it—as one thing, and mankind as another, it was natural to people thinking in this way, that they should try to make ‘nature’ their slave, since they thought ‘nature’ was something outside them” — William Morris


Friday, January 13, 2012

Stepping out onto Planet Earth

"In your cocoon, occasionally you shout complaints, such as: “Leave me alone!” “Bug off.” “I want to be who I am.” Your cocoon is fabricated out of tremendous aggression, which comes from fighting against your environment, your parental or educational upbringing, your upbringing of all kinds. You don’t really have to fight with your cocoon. You can raise your head and just take a little peek out of the cocoon.

When you first peek out, you may find the air a bit too fresh and cold. But it is the best fresh air of spring or autumn or, for that matter, the fresh air of winter or summer. It’s delightful. Then, having peeked, you become brave enough to climb out of the cocoon. You sit on your cocoon and look around. You stretch your arms and begin to develop dignity in your posture. The environment is friendly. It is called “Planet Earth.” Or it is called “Boston,” or “New York City.” It is your world."

Trungpa Rinpoche



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