Be Daring

In order to overcome selfishness, it is necessary to be daring. It is as though you are dressed in your swimsuit, standing on the diving board with a pool in front of you, and you ask yourself: “Now what?” The obvious answer is” “Jump.” That is daring. You might wonder if you will sink or hurt yourself if you jump. You might. There is no insurance, but it is worthwhile jumping to find out what will happen. The student warrior has to jump. We are so accustomed to accepting what is bad for us and rejecting what is good for us. We are attracted to our cocoons, our selfishness, and we are afraid of selflessness, stepping beyond ourselves. So in order to overcome our hesitation about giving up our privacy, and in order to commit ourselves to others’ welfare, some kind of leap is necessary

In the practice of meditation, the way to be daring, the way to leap, is to disown your thoughts, to step beyond the hope and fear, the ups and downs of your thinking process. You can just be, just let yourself be, without holding on to the constant reference points that mind manufactures. When you let yourself go in that way you develop trust in your ability to open and extend yourself to others. You realise that you are rich and resourceful enough to give selflessly to others, and as well, you find that you have tremendous willingness to do so

– Chogyam Trungpa