Cutting through spiritual materialism
/ by Chögyam Trungpa ; edited by John Baker and Marvin Casper ; illustrated by Glen Eddy
- Boston ; [New York] : Shambhala : distributed in the U.S. by Random House , 1987, c1973.
- 250 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
- Shambhala dragon editions .
Two lecture series given in Boulder, Colo., 1970-71. Includes index.
In this modern spiritual classic, the Tibetan meditation master Chouml;gyam Trungpa highlights the commonest pitfall to which every aspirant on the spiritual path falls prey: what he callsspiritual materialism.The universal tendency, he shows, is to see spirituality as a process of self-improvement-the impulse to develop and refine the ego when the ego is, by nature, essentially empty. "The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use," he said, "even spirituality." His incisive, compassionate teachings serve to wake us up from this trick we all play on ourselves, and to offer us a far brighter reality: the true and joyous liberation that inevitably involves letting go of the self rather than working to improve it. It is a message that has resonated with students for nearly thirty years, and remains fresh as ever today. This new edition includes a foreword by Chouml;gyam Trungpa's son and lineage holder, Sakyong Mipham.