More Of THIS - Heaven And Earth Are Also Trustwrothy

Chogyam Trungpa’s recipes for the “Heaven and Earth Sandwich” - (Share)

“Imagine,” wrote Chogyam Trungpa, “that you are sitting naked on the ground, with your bare bottom touching the earth. Since you are not wearing a scarf or hat, you are also exposed to heaven above.

“You are sandwiched between heaven and earth: a naked man or woman, sitting between heaven and earth… - “Earth is always earth. The earth will let anyone sit on it, and earth never gives way. It never lets you go — you don’t drop off this earth and go flying through outer space. Likewise, sky is always sky; heaven is always heaven above you. Whether it is snowing or raining or the sun is shining, whether it is daytime or nighttime, the sky is always there. In that sense, we know that heaven and earth are trustworthy.” –from “The Genuine Heart of Sadness,” in Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior (Shambhala Library Edition), page 28.

And maybe, Trungpa Rinpoche suggested in this conversation with a student, you needn’t “imagine” at all:

Student: Could you say something about what you mean by heaven and earth?

Chogyam Trungpa: What do you think it could be? Do you have any ideas?… What’s earth?

Student: Well, that’s where I’m sitting.

Chogyam Trungpa: Good. From that, you can tell what heaven is. It’s our reference point with each other.

Student: But that sounds like being in the middle of a sandwich.

Chogyam Trungpa: Well, maybe you are in a sandwich. We’re always sandwiched because we have a past, we have a present, and we have a future. We are sandwiched by our father, our mother, our child. Even timewise, we are sandwiched. We are sandwiched between breakfast, lunch and dinner.

From “How to Cultivate the Great Eastern Sun,” in Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala, pages 112 to 113.
--------------
on the day of union
bathed in the rays of the morning sun
no ill feeling lingered
the fragrance of flowers
and the smile of life
removed all mental afflictions
between heaven and earth
amidst dry desert
rain peace
between the crimson hue of the morning sun
and the tender red color of the evening sky
the fragrance of ca’mpa’ and ketakii fills the air
blows a heavenly fragrance
between heaven and earth

(some words translated from Bengali from my mentor's lovely song poetry)