DON'T TRY TO CHANGE THE SITUATION

Chogyam Trungpa, Meditation in Action (40th Anniversary Edition), with a afterword by Samuel Bercholz (Boston & London: Shambhala, 2010) ("Of course, one generally associates 'wisdom' with some special activity and one immediately rejects the present situation. . . . . But something is not quite right, because sooner or later you have to return to that same familiar street and those same familiar people, and everyday life continues on and on; one can never escape from it. So the point is, one must not try to change the situation--in fact one cannot. Since you are not a king, who could just give an order and stop things happening, you can only deal with what is nearest to you, which is yourself. . . . One must not blame one's surroundings, one must not blame people, one must not blame eternal conditions, but without trying to change anything, just step in and try to observe. That is real sampa, real contemplation on the subject. And when one is able to overcome the romantic and emotional attitude, one discovers truth even in the kitchen sink. So the whole point is not to reject, but to make use of that very moment, whatever the situation may be, and accept it, and respect it. Id. at 85-86.).