What is the warrior mindset really?

We hear a lot about it these days. And, there are many ways one could understand it. Here’s one of those ways and it comes from the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition. 

A little background first. About a decade ago, I taught a clinic during the Smith Rock Detour event in Oregon. Melissa Mattern was one of my students. Now she works for David Nichtern of Dharma Moon, a company committed to teaching mindfulness and meditation with a Buddhist foundation. She suggested to David to interview me for his Be Here Now Network podcast. Thanks Melissa! That’s what we did recently and what I’m sharing with you today. 

David is a disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who brought the Shambhala Tibetan Buddhist tradition to the West. He also wrote Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. We examined how The Warrior’s Way® method aligns with the kind of warrior mindset coming from Shambhala. Below are links and some excerpts: 

Links, plus you can access it on your favorite podcast app:

On the Dharma Moon website

On their youtube channel

Excerpts: First, a few statements I made that David put on his website:

“Mental training, it reveals what’s inside. You start inquiring, ‘What’s in here?’ and sometimes you find out things that you don’t necessarily like. But we can start working with liking it as much as we can, or at least changing how we view it; seeing it as an opportunity that we can learn and draw from what’s being revealed, so that we can expand our awareness and become more authentic human beings.”

“Climbing was like a really tangible metaphor for being able to understand concepts that make up mental training, so that we can then bridge it to becoming better climbers, but also to living our lives more intentionally.”

“Once we step off the ground onto the rock, we value the work that we’re doing for its own sake. In other words, we blend with the rock, looking for the easiest way to climb, going towards something inspiring. So we’re going to be going through stressful situations, but we do it in a self-compassionate way, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable so we can learn, adapt ourselves to the rock, to the external situation, so we can blend with it and work with it.” 

Now a few moments he found particularly relevant: 

Facing Fear & Becoming a More Authentic Human Being (18:28)

David shares his teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s thoughts and feelings on the warrior tradition being a global phenomenon that goes beyond culture and how—much like the idea of the spiritual kingdom of Shambhala—it is accessible to everyone open enough to face their fear with a smile, gentleness, and inquisitive curiosity. This prompts Arno to offer tips on facing fear and overcoming perceived personal weaknesses using his method of mental training involving self-compassion, humility, and vulnerability.

Climbing Metaphor: Focused Goal, Inspired Motivation, & Intrinsic Value (45:00)

Sharing The Warrior’s Way®, Arno relays a three-pointed metaphor for climbing which can be applied to any external situation. Particularly helpful in facing stressful or challenging circumstances, this method can help us blend, adapt, and grow through self-compassion, vulnerability, and flow.