Fabrice Midal

“Il y a un moment dans sa vie où on a à traverser des crises. Quelque chose vient à vous et vous dit : “si tu continues dans cette direction tu vas te renier complètement. D’accord, cela semble plus sûr, mais tu vas te renier.” On continue par devoir, par fidélité, mais aussi par une secrète lâcheté, tout en sachant bien, au fond de soi, que l’on est en train de se renier. La question centrale consiste à se demander non pas si je suis fidèle mais : à quoi le suis-je ? Qu’est-ce qui nous semble le plus important ? Cette question provoque souvent une crise et chaque être humain dans sa vie y est un jour ou l’autre confronté.”
― Fabrice Midal

“In 1972, Sara Kapp had been living for some time at Karmê Chöling without daring to ask to speak to Chögyam Trungpa. But when a New York modeling agency wanted to sign her as a model, she decided to ask his advice. Posing in front of the camera all day did not seem appropriate for someone who was trying to cut through her ego.

Chögyam Trungpa asked her why she wanted to become a model. She explained how she had experienced some difficulty in sticking to any one thing after finishing college. So she thought that maybe picking out something for a few years might be beneficial.

If that is the reason, he replied, then there’s no problem. He encouraged her to follow her career, and as she continued to hesitate, he told her: “The only obstacle I can see is if you do this work hoping to earn lots of money or to be on the cover of Vogue. That would be sad, because you’d be losing youself in the future. It’s a real shame when people regret not having enough money, or having missed a career opportunity, because they are then fixing themselves in the past. It’s very, very sad.” Then staring into her eyes, he repeated: “It’s very, very, very sad because that way we miss out on the present, and the present is marvelous.” She went on to become one of the best-known runway models of her day. For a period of time, one could find mannequins of Sara Kapp in Saks and other epxensive department stores throughout the United States. Her last major modeling contract was as the first Princes Borghese for Revlon. She now works behind the scenes in the fashion industry in Milan.”
― Fabrice Midal, Chogyam Trungpa: His Life and Vision