Cutting through spiritual materialism
by Chögyam Trungpa · first published 1973
64% recommend36% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Examines how spiritual practice can feed the ego, warning about self-deception and claimed attainment. Frequently paired with foundational Buddhist texts for anyone on a practice path.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…these people out of billions of dollars and trick yourself into thinking "well everything is emptiness anyways, it's all good". The best explanation of it I've found of it so far is Chogyam Trungpa's "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" [1]. [1] https://www.shambhala.com/cutting-through-spiritual-material...
on “Their Crypto Company Collapsed. They Went to Bali” ↗Cutting through spiritual materialism Opening the Heart of Compassion Both very high in the calling me out on my bullshit metric
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗The best book I've read on this topic is Chögyam Trungpa's "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" [1]. He's very clear in pointing out how ego tries to get involved in everything. It sounds like you may have had an experience, to some extent, of dwelling in the union of wisdom and emptiness or what…
on “When Buddhism Goes Bad – How My Mindfulness Practice Led Me to Meltdown” ↗…of sutras available at Access to Insight [2], which all schools of Buddhism use, but one (the Theravada) uses almost exclusively. Another book that I found really illuminating was Chogyam Trungpa's "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" [3]. It helps point out how the teachings can be put into practice. [1] https://plumvillage.org/books/the-heart-of-the-buddhas-teach... [2] https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ [3] https://www.shambhala.com/cutting-through-spiritual-material...
on “Ask HN: What's the Best Book on Religion” ↗Sigh, there is a classic (and popular) text called "Cutting through spiritual materialism" which explains what "improvements" they think they have attained. Even without any books, just look around, any dude who spent vacation in India or Tibet is cocksure that he is already enlightened,…
on “The Morality of Meditation” ↗Have you not heard of the spiritual ego? Most practitioners eventually grow a big ego around their practise. Chogyam Trungpas book “Cutting through spiritual materialism” is all about this
on “Ten years of trying to meditate” ↗Books: What The Buddha Taught: http://amzn.com/0802130313. A straightforward overview of the foundations of Buddhism. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism: http://amzn.com/1570629579. In your journey, your ego will be tempted to claim your spirituality for itself. Don't let that happen. Mindfulness In Plain English: http://amzn.com/0861719069. A classic…
on “Ask HN: Buddhism” ↗…purpose of brain structures, it's somehow wider than kahneman - A Mind for Numbers (include very useful data points for knowledge workers) - Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste - Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism About programming I would rate the following books highly, but at the same time it seems a bit fruitless to me to read about programming, rather than spending more time reading about psychology or sociology:…
on “Logical fallacies in software engineering” ↗A worthwhile read for anyone who had seen “Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism” in a used bookstore or heard of the Naropa Institute. Anyone closer to these folks than that probably have heard the stories already. And, if true, what stories they are. There but for the grace...for…
on “Survivors of an International Buddhist Cult Share Their Stories” ↗This immediately reminded me of Chögyam Trungpa's book "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism". Wikipedia: "He uses the term [Spiritual Materialism] to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spirituality into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor, based…
on “People’s egos get bigger after meditation and yoga, says a new study” ↗…growth" (can be a trap). - the Zhuangzi, translation by Burton Watson, which I've read many times. See the last two paragraphs of https://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu.html about the useless tree - Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa, which I haven't read except extracts, but it could be relevant to you (esp. if you're looking at spiritual growth). But anyway, instead of buying new book... I'll speak of what I'm…
on “Ask HN: Have you invested in self-development and done inner work?” ↗…losing its efficacy, if it becomes yet another maintenance strategy and you lose the sense of noninstrumentality, free exploration, suspension of ordinary pursuits, etc. There's a book by Chögyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, that has a lot to say on this theme. I have mixed feelings about the book overall, but it's quite relevant to this concept.
on “This Is Your Brain on Nature” ↗Reading a book at the moment called "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism", which are the words of Tibetan Buddhist monk of renown Chögyam Trungpa. He also likens the development of spiritual presence to a blade. The trick with Sam's stated perspective, from this Buddhist perspective,…
on “Compass Pathways' Phase IIb psilocybin trial shows reduced depression symptoms” ↗