The Battle of Ego
Click here to jump to talk playlist and clip
In 1970 Chögyam Trungpa read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the profound novella about a young prince who travels the universe in order to understand life. This inspired him to create a similar fable about ego to explore the nature of mind. Shortly thereafter, he gave the first of three seminars entitled The Battle of Ego at Karmê Chöling in Vermont. In this unconventional series, The Battle of Ego I, Trungpa Rinpoche tells the other-worldly story of the “castle of ego”: built on a desert island, it is inhabited by dignitaries who represent the different skandhas (components of ego). Uniquely, the talks were in an open discussion format with Chögyam Trungpa soliciting enlightened battle tactics from the audience.
He taught the second seminar, The Battle of Ego II, aboard the houseboat of Zen teacher Alan Watts in Sausalito, California. Trungpa Rinpoche approached the topic from a different angle. He described to students how ego arises, how confusion generates thoughts and emotions, and how meditation can unravel them.
Later that year, Chögyam Trungpa gave the third and final seminar, The Battle of Ego III, in Los Angeles, California. This was an exceptionally clear series which gave a comprehensive introduction to the main points of the three-yana path. In each talk, he distilled an essential subject including the development of ego, buddha nature, meditation, working with emotions, emptiness, mandala principle, and the role of the teacher. Three of these rich talks were later published in his book The Myth of Freedom, and one in The Future is Open.
Accompanying illustrations:
Enjoy the drawings below which depict the desert island setting and some of the symbolic characters from the tale of The Castle of Ego. The artwork includes excerpts from The Battle of Ego I seminar as well as a quote from student Jack Niland recounting the fable told by Trungpa Rinpoche.
The Battle of Ego Playlist (Audio)
The Battle of Ego I (Karmê Chöling, VT, 1970.)
- Talk 1: No-Man’s Land
- Talk 2: The Castle of Ego
- Talk 3: Attacking the Castle
- Talk 4: The King’s Surrender
- Talk 5: Unmasking the Spiritual Advisor
- Talk 6: Leaping Into Now
- Talk 7: Debriefing
- Full Seminar Playlist
THe Battle of Ego II (SAusalito, CA, 1971.)
- Talk 1: Skandhas and Kleshas
- Talk 2: Meditation and Discipline
- Talk 3: Compassion and Nonduality
- Full Seminar Playlist
The Battle of Ego III (Los Angeles, CA, 1971.)
- Talk 1: Karma, Ego, and Buddha Nature
- Talk 2: Sitting Meditation: Simplicity
- Talk 3: Working with the Emotions: The Dualistic Barrier
- Talk 4: Meditation and Shunyata
- Talk 5: Tantra: Mandala
- Talk 6: Relationship to the Guru
- Full Seminar Playlist
Public Talk (New York City, 1979. Audio)
Learn More
Chögyam Trungpa’s fable of The Castle of Ego as recounted by Jack Niland to John Rockwell on The Chronicles website: https://www.chronicleproject.com/castle-of-ego/