Don't Freeze Windhorse into Ice and Smile at Fear

A message from one of my early esteemed teachers,
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche...

You should appreciate yourself, respect yourself, and let go of doubt and embarrassment so that you can proclaim goodness and basic sanity for the benefit of others. The self-existing energy that comes from letting go is called windhorse in the Shambhala teachings. Wind is the energy of basic goodness, strong, exuberant, and brilliant. At the same time, basic goodness can be ridden, or employed in your life, which is the principle of the horse. When you contact the energy of windhorse, you can naturally let go of worrying about your own state of mind and you begin to think of others. If you are unable to let go of your selfishness, you might freeze windhorse into ice.

and this one from 'Smile at Fear', pp123.
When goodness and virtue are awakened through the sitting practice of meditation, you train yourself to have good posture and to harmonize your mind and your body. The goodness or virtue develops naturally in your speech and throughout your life, and you find the gunuine way of working with others (...) When we are resentful, we are somewhere else, because we are preoccupied with something else. Being a warrior is simply being here without distraction and preoccupation. And by being here, we become cheeful. We can smile at our fear.

image: Windhorse—hand crafted copper repoussé gilded with platinum and gold leaf—mounted with tourmalines, garnet and other gems—mounted on brocade with gilded frame— sold to a private collector. The windhorse is the pivotal element in the centre of the animals symbolizing the four cardinal directions and the idea of well-being and good fortune. Fom the Exhibition of Sacred Art at the Guru Bhumtsok for World Peace 2018 in Hobart, artist Martin Watson.

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