Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

Trungpa lets loose with his cannon in this book. Christianity, Islam, and Judiasm are totally false because they are "eternalists". They believe in a permanent soul that just goes on and on and on. Hindus are eternalists. Theravada Buddhists are what Trungpa calls "atomistic eternalists". They don't realize that an ant sees a flower as a jungle. Or a spot of dirt as a mountain. The obsever of phenomena is left out. Enlightenment consists of a Self observing impermanence, suffering, and selflessness. The Self is indicated from the fact that the observer is not dealt with. And there is no observer. So Trungpa states that "atomistic materialists" are "half right". Zen speaks of a Big Mind. There is no "Big Mind". And he isn't done with us yet. The spiritual path is horrible! All pain. My collecting of spiritual teachers is called "Spiritual Materialism". My examaning self-help books AND doing reviews on them is called "psychological materialsim". The last is "Physical Materialism". And Trungpa seems to indicate that this last form of materialism is the least harmful! He states that the Guru will cut through your suit of armor. He will keep at you until you are exposed naked. You will try and struggle to keep your armor intact. But the Guru will see your pretense and expose whatever you are hiding. He will strip you clean of all three forms of materialism. WOW! Please remember that this book is composed of his lectures to his students. It is simply brillant beyond belief in it's ability to destroy illogical assumptions made by people. It is a classic. Trungpa always had a way of examining the American Mind and striking at our delusions. It is a great read. Like seeing us all excited about our spiritual journey and kicking here and there until we fall. A must read. Buy it and read it three times like I did. Trunpa always cuts. See what you can do with this book. Thank you.

This is a classic of Western Buddhism, by one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist teachers in the West. Some of the stuff about relating to a guru may be justifiably off-putting to many Western readers, but don't let that keep you from seeing all the wonderful teaching in this book. I've read parts of it again and again over the past decade (especially the introduction and the first chapter) as the simple but elusive point has finally started to sink in that spiritual practice is not about getting anywhere or achieving anything. This book is best for readers who are already involved in Buddhist practice. I also highly recommend Trungpa's "The Myth of Freedom," which is a better place to start if you're new to Buddhist practice, and "The Wisdom of No Escape" by Pema Chodron, a student of Trungpa.

Chogyam Trungpa, often referred to as one of the few oriental, Buddhist lamas who truly understood the Western mind, here transcends East and West by addressing simply and eloquently, the processes of the mind and ego. Trungpa illuminates how some of these processes can undermine an otherwise wholesome relationship to ourselves and our basic goodness (buddha nature) and our relationship with others. These processes can cause our suffering and the suffering of others and disrupt our efforts to be decent and skillful. The non-theistic text, transmitted by this extraordinarily gifted meditation master, is presented freely without prostelytizing and is offered clearly without judgment, blame, guilt, hope or fear. Cutting Through is an important stepping-stone towards developing self-awareness, fearlessness, friendship and loving kindness. A 'must-read' for any diver or warrior of heart and courage. Also recommended are Trungpa's: Shambhala, Path of the Warrior and/or Meditation in Action.

THIS BOOK IS IDEAL FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS READ A NUMBER OF BUDHIST BOOKS AND BELIEVES HIMSELF TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER MEANING OF THE TEACHINGS. It will cut through your arrogance like butter and will help to keep your mind open and your spirit humble. The book is a great and well rounded look at spirituality and the problems encountered. It gives a brief view of the proper attitude towards spirituality, then gives detailed account of how our attitudes obscure and constantly attempt to manipulate spirituality for personal gain. Also included are good overall views of the most basic budhist truths..ie. the Four Noble Truths and the Six Realms.