TURN OFF AUTO CAPTIONS! Enjoy this audio clip of Chögyam Trungpa engaging in a lively Q&A with an audience member, exploring the question “Do we exist?” This excerpt is from a talk entitled “Recollecting the Present,” talk two from the seminar Vipashyana Insight Meditation given at Karmê Chöling, Vermont, in 1974. Follow the link below to hear the full talk, which features as part of the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library's recent release: the complete playlist of recorded talks that were the basis for Trungpa Rinpoche’s book The Path is the Goal: A Basic Handbook of Buddhist Meditation.
Link to full talk: https://cti.aviaryplatform.com/r/n00zp3z333
Link to the Digital Library release: https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/the-path-is-the-goal/
Chogyam Trungpa Institute
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The Institute serves those inspired by the work of Chögyam Trungpa, the path of meditation, and the Buddhist tradition.
Home to the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library, working to preserve & make accessible every recorded talk CTR gave in North America.
05/29/2026
We are excited to announce the latest additions to the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library: a wealth of seminars on the technique and psychology of mindfulness and awareness meditation.
Two of the four seminars now available in the media library are included in Chögyam Trungpa’s book The Path Is the Goal: A Basic Handbook of Buddhist Meditation (1995). Both given in his prolific year of 1974, the seminars Mindfulness and Awareness (New York City) and Vipashyana Insight Meditation (Karmê Chöling, Vermont) capture the essence of shamatha and vipashyana meditation practice. Explore the playlist here: https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/the-path-is-the-goal/
These teachings are presented in the Digital Library’s second “book-to-talks playlist,” where each book chapter is mapped to the original talk upon which it was based. Because the book The Path Is the Goal includes every talk (with Q&A) from the seminars in chronological order, the experience of listening to these recordings is almost like listening to an audiobook with bonus material!
This Digital Library release also features additional seminars on meditation: Understanding the Neurotic Aspects of Mind (New York City, 1971) and Dhyana and Samadhi (Berkeley, CA, 1974). The 1971 seminar explores how to work directly with our neurosis through meditation. The 1974 seminar includes teachings on meditation practice as a method for reconnecting with our fundamental enlightened state, the experience of loneliness in practice and life, and tuning into messages from the phenomenal world.
Visit the link to learn more, explore the playlist, and hear a special clip of Trungpa Rinpoche describing the significance of the breath in the meditation technique: https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/the-path-is-the-goal/
Enjoy!
Photo: Fiordland National Park, Aotearoa New Zealand. By Emily Waters.
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TURN OFF AUTO CAPTIONS! Chögyam Trunpga Rinpoche speaking about work and its relationship to the spiritual path. This excerpt is from a talk titled “Work: Simplicity and Awareness,” the second talk in a three-talk seminar that Trungpa Rinpoche gave in Boston, MA, in 1970 (shortly after arriving in North America).
This talk features as part of the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library’s recent release: Real Life on the Path of Mindfulness. The release includes all the talks and seminars that formed the basis for Trungpa Rinpoche’s groundbreaking book Work, S*x, Money: Real Life on the Path of Mindfulness. Follow this link to hear this full talk: https://cti.aviaryplatform.com/c/19700929VCTR1
And follow this link to explore the Digital Library release and access the full playlist of talks: https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/work-sex-money-real-life-on-the-path-of-mindfulness/
This collection features recordings of three compelling seminars given during the early 70s in Boston; Karme Chöling; and Burlington, Vermont. Also included in the release are Trungpa Rinpoche’s addresses to the Ratna Society, a group of businesspeople in Boulder, Colorado, exploring Buddhist business practices, founded by Rinpoche and his students.
In these seminars, Chögyam Trungpa presents how to work with meditation in action—the application of meditative awareness to everyday life. CTI Director Carolyn Gimian introduces this new Digital Library collection in an article composed of excerpts from the preface and afterword that she wrote for the book (for which she was a co-editor). She shares fascinating historical context, her experience working with the original recordings, and insight into these teachings on the profundity of ordinary life.
Enjoy exploring and listening!
Chögyam Trungpa speaking about the idea of freedom or liberation—“moksha” in Sanskrit—from a talk titled “The Myth of Freedom” given in New York City in 1973. This clip features as part of the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library’s recent release centered on Trungpa Rinpoche’s classic book The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation. The release includes a playlist of every recorded talk that was a source for the book, along with several stand-alone talks on the topic of freedom (including the one excerpted here). Follow this link to hear the entire talk: https://cti.aviaryplatform.com/c/19730114VCTR1
And check out our Myth of Freedom release here: https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/the-myth-of-freedom/
04/15/2026
New release from the Chögyam Trungpa Digital Library! This year marks the 50th anniversary of Chögyam Trungpa’s classic book The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation. Inspired by the new anniversary edition—and Pema Chödrön’s exciting commentary published last week by Shambhala Publications, Another Kind of Freedom—we have now released every single recording that was a source for Trungpa Rinpoche’s influential book! For the very first time, you can listen to all the original talks that became each section of the ground-breaking text, presented in an accessible playlist. Follow the link to explore the playlist, hear a clip, and more! https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/the-myth-of-freedom/
Published in 1976, The Myth of Freedom is based on 37 different talks Trungpa Rinpoche gave across the United States between 1971 and 1973. These talks were distilled into short, pithy sections of the book, each one giving a vivid snapshot of a step on the Buddhist path.
The Library playlist maps each section of the book to the specific talk upon which it was based. You can jump around between sections and find your favorites, go through chapter by chapter, queue up the whole playlist in order, or download a PDF version—there are endless possibilities for exploration, study, and contemplation. As is often the case when a book is based on oral presentations, the material in the original recordings differs significantly from the final published versions. Because of this, working with the book and the playlist side-by-side adds another rich dimension to the teachings. This playlist also provides a unique opportunity to deeply engage with Pema Chödrön’s new teachings in Another Kind of Freedom.
Do you have a favorite chapter or section from the Myth of Freedom? Let us know in the comments!
An audio clip of Chögyam Trungpa speaking about Buddhism from an interview he gave on the progressive Montreal radio station CKGM in 1971.
Today marks the 39th anniversary of the parinirvana (nirvana after death) of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Each year on this day, we celebrate his remarkable life and legacy and highlight a selection of his teachings. This year, we present the unique, substantive radio interview featured in this clip. Follow the link to read more, hear a longer clip, and access the full recording! https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/news/celebrating-the-life-of-chogyam-trungpa-rinpoche-2/
In this radio program, host Doug Pringle interviews Chögyam Trungpa about his background, the American spiritual climate, and the essence of Buddhism. Their conversation explores the Buddhist concept of sanity, meditation, and the importance of direct transmission from a teacher. Remarkably, Trungpa Rinpoche was fresh off giving two talks that same day for a seminar (Passion and Aggression)—a classic example of his tireless generosity in bringing the dharma to others.
A clip of Chögyam Trungpa speaking about exertion, discipline, and celebration from our Milarepa Day release earlier this month! This excerpt comes from Milarepa: His Life and Example, a short seminar Trungpa Rinpoche gave at Karmê Chöling, Vermont, in 1976. Follow this link to hear the full talk: https://cti.aviaryplatform.com/c/19760104VCTR1
And follow this link to read more about the release and access the playlist for this seminar, along with all the other Milarepa talks we have in the Chogyam Trungpa Digital Library!: https://library.chogyamtrungpa.com/the-life-and-example-of-milarepa/
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Each year, we celebrate Jetsun Milarepa, Tibet’s great poet-yogi (1040-1123 CE). A disciple of Marpa Lotsawa, Milarepa was a major Kagyu lineage figure who attained enlightenment in one lifetime and is known for his spontaneous spiritual songs. The four talks in this 1976 seminar draw connections between Milarepa’s life in medieval Tibet and ours as modern-day students and meditators. Trungpa Rinpoche illuminates Milarepa’s relationship to his principal teacher, Marpa and his path of discipline, honesty, and perseverance that led to his spiritual realization.
Follow the links above for more!
Photo Credit: “Fan Man” by Robert Del Tredici
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