If we begin to realize that we are purely grains of sand, specks of dust in the midst of the universe, then the universe becomes inviting and inspiring. If we are grains of sand, then the rest of the universe, all of space, all the room that there is, is ours, because we are not obstructing anything other than our one grain of sand. Because we are grains of sand, there is tremendous openness. Each of us is the emperor of the universe, the conqueror of the whole universe. We each become the chakravartin, the universal monarch, simply because we are grains of sand
In The Myth of Freedom, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche talks about the very un-specialness of the Buddha: “. . . that total openness in which the Buddha had no ground, no sense of territory. So much so, that he was hardly an individual. He was just a grain of sand living in the vast desert. Through his insignificance he became the ‘world enlightened one,’ because there was no battle involved.” Being special requires a battle. It requires that we stake out territory and then defend it. The Buddha had given up the battle
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