Meditation master and artist Chogyam Trungpa (1939-1987) founded the Naropa Institute. This prolific Tibetan Buddhist scholar wrote "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior" (1984) as a guide to enlightened living. "Great Eastern Sun" is a continuation of that volume edited by Carolyn Rose Gimian. It is organized around the five qualities of the life force: profound, brilliant, just, powerful, and all-victorious.
According to Chogyam Trungpa, "The Shambhala training is based on developing gentleness and genuineness so that we can help ourselves and develop tenderness in our hearts." In this non-theistic spiritual discipline, the challenge is to wake up, to step outside our comfortable cocoon, and to see clearly. Trungpa counsels against viewing the world as a conspiratorial place: "There is nothing threatening you and nothing promoting you either."
One of the essential ingredients in the Shambhala training is to be "thoroughly soaked in unconditional goodness." Trungpa presents affirmations of trust, letting go, renunciation, and peaceful confidence. Under the bright rays of the great Eastern sun, individuals can nurture their soft hearts.