TRANSFORMING AGGRESSION INTO WISDOM
Just he released the book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism in 1971, Trungpa Rinpoche realized his burgeoning meditation community reach an audience beyond the familial hippie trappings. This would mean different kinds of peo0ple, with varying degrees of processing, would be enter his community and it would elevate him to the iconic status as one of the key founders Tibetan Buddhism in the West.
Throughout history, iconic figures and spiritual leaders have become reference points for hope and fear, leading to adulation and, sometimes, violent consequences. Contemporaneously, the Manson family and the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, and Dr Martin Luther King Jr were on everyone’s minds. Whether driven by personal projections or deeper political motives, such figures faced the double-edged sword of renown.
Trungpa Rinpoche discussed with his senior students the 
importance of creating safety for not only himself but also the Dharma and for his students. The need for protection grew alongside his rapidly expanding community. In Tibet, monasteries were safeguarded by monks trained in awareness and nonviolent crowd control. Trungpa’s close attendant, John Perks, a British armed forces veteran, played a pivotal role in this initiative. Perks, who passed away on January 31st, was an outrageous and endlessly creative figure whose book The Mahasiddha and His Idiot Servant captures the spirit of the time.
At his inspiration, Trungpa founded a group he referred to as “Kasung,” from the Tibetan meaning “protectors of the word, or command.” These protectors used danger and potential aggression as tools to cultivate awareness—and applied compassion. Traditionally, meditation communities have leaned towards peaceful manifestations. However, with Trungpa’s new community, this nonviolent approach incorporated the realities of danger and aggression to foster greater awareness. This marked a shift from the ideal, toward engaging with the world as it is.
The motto of the Kasung was “Victory Over War.” Perks designed a system based on his military background, complete with uniforms, drills, and calisthenics. Training included self-defense, defensive driving, and crowd control, but emphasized mindfulness and awareness. In Tibetan monasteries, guards maintained stillness while being acutely aware of their surroundings. This awareness is the ultimate defense against aggression. The best response to aggression is non-aggression and non-violence, aiming to diffuse tensions before harm occurs. Achieving this requires training, self-awareness, and the discipline to transcend personal biases and resentments. Tibetan monastic guards were trained not just to monitor external environments but also to guard against their own reactivity—skills profoundly relevant to staying awake and present in the real world.
These principles trace back to the 9th century when the Indian Mahasiddha Padmasambhava introduced Buddhism to Tibet at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen. Padmasambhava encountered numerous obstacles, as Tibet’s rich mystical traditions were diverse and often aggressive. While some practices were positive, others were rooted in fear and superstition. The Tibetan king sought to unify his people through a central spiritual framework, seeing Buddhism’s ideals of nonviolence and compassion as tools for governance. Inspired by India’s spiritual renaissance, Padmasambhava aimed to refine Tibet’s spiritual landscape.
Skilled at transforming obstacles into assets, Padmasambhava turned the aggressive elements of Tibetan spirituality into protectors of the Dharma. Instead of escalating conflicts, he synthesized various traditions, using negativity, violence, hatred, and fear as signals to awaken and deepen awareness. This approach prevented endless cycles of violence, much like the wars we witness today.
We can apply this in our daily lives. By facing rather than rejecting our negativity, we become more aware of our motivations and develop the discipline to refrain from acting on base impulses. This perspective yields two key outcomes: we stop demonizing the world’s difficulties, and we cultivate personal strength to master challenges and enhance awareness.
As Trungpa Rinpoche addressed larger audiences, strategically placed Kasung provided not only security but also heightened awareness. Trungpa’s self-awareness of his potential shortcomings led him to counterbalance them—for instance, teaching from an uncomfortable chair to stay alert. The Kasung served not just to guard against external threats but also to foster an environment that kept Trungpa attentive and present. Thus, the protectors embodied an outer defense, inner self-awareness, and the overarching principle of protection—all opportunities for wakefulness. This environmental awareness was as integral to the teachings as the words and gestures themselves.
Awareness is our most powerful defense. Ignorance, especially when fueled by aggression, is our greatest threat. When driven by hatred, we lose the ability to perceive the damage we cause. By softening our hearts against our own aggression, we train our minds to stay present. There is no better time to cultivate this presence than the approach of the new year.
The Tibetan calendar is based on solar cycle which feels to me like a much more organic way of calculating our spiritual being. Each month being the cycle of a moon. Many indigenous cultures marked time this way. The Tibetans believe that the end of the lunar new year was preceded by a period of the accumulation of karma so that everything became heightened and increased in its volatility and consequence. Therefore mindfulness – the specific knowing of an object in the present and awareness the present sense of knowing in the environment – becomes more important during this time. Rather than seeing it negatively as a dangerous time, we can understand the danger to be an opportunity to hone the craft of our aware being.
We could become protectors of our own heart and protectors of the heart of our communities.
In honor of the great Lion of Dharma, John Perks.
