Spiritual Portal

"Spiritual materialism" is a term coined by Chögyam Trungpa in his book "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism". The book is a compendium of his talks explaining Buddhism given while opening the Karma Dzong meditation center in Boulder, Colorado. He expands on the concept in later seminars that became books such as "Work, Sex, Money".  He uses the term to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spirituality into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor, based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress.

Conventionally, it is used to describe capitalist and spiritual narcissism, commercial efforts such as "new age" bookstores and wealthy lecturers on spirituality; it might also mean the attempt to build up a list of credentials or accumulate teachings in order to present oneself as a more realized or holy person.

Author Jorge Ferrer equates the terms "Spiritual materialism" and "Spiritual narcissism", though others draw a distinction that spiritual narcissism is believing that one deserves love and respect or is better than another because one has accumulated spiritual training instead of the belief that accumulating training will bring an end to suffering.

In Trungpa's presentation, spiritual materialism can fall into three categories — what he calls the three "Lords of Materialism" (Tibetan: lalo literally "barbarian") — in which a form of materialism is mistaken to bring long term happiness but instead only brings short term entertainment, followed by longer term suffering:

1.  Physical materialism is the belief that possessions can bring release from suffering. In Trungpa's view, they may bring temporary happiness but then more suffering in the endless pursuit of creating one's environment to be just right. Or on another level it may cause a misunderstanding like, "I am rich because I have this or that" or "I am a teacher (or whatever) because I have a diploma (or whatever)."

2.  Psychological materialism is the belief that a particular philosophy, belief system, or point of view will bring release from suffering. So seeking refuge by strongly identifying with a particular religion, philosophy, political party or viewpoint, for example, would be psychological materialism. From this the conventional usage of spiritual materialism arises, by identifying oneself as Buddhist or some other label, or by collecting initiations and spiritual accomplishments, one further constructs a solidified view of ego.  Trungpa characterizes the goal of psychological materialism as using external concepts, pretexts, and ideas to prove that the ego-driven self exists, which manifests in a particular competitive attitude.

3.  Spiritual materialism is the belief that a certain temporary state of mind is a refuge from suffering. An example would be using meditation practices to create a peaceful state of mind, or using drugs or alcohol to remain in a numbed out or a blissful state. According to Trungpa, these states are temporary and merely heighten the suffering when they cease. So attempting to maintain a particular emotional state of mind as a refuge from suffering, or constantly pursuing particular emotional states of mind like being in love, will actually lead to more long term suffering.

The underlying source of these three approaches to finding happiness is based, according to Trungpa, on the mistaken notion that one's ego is inherently existent and a valid point of view. He claims that is incorrect, and therefore the materialistic approaches have an invalid basis to begin with. The message in summary is, "Don't try to reinforce your ego through material things, belief systems like religion, or certain emotional states of mind." In his view, the point of religion is to show you that your ego doesn't really exist inherently. Ego is something you build up to make you think you exist, but it is not necessary and in the long run causes more suffering.

~ The above text is a complete excerpt, without footnotes, from the Wikipedia article, Spiritual Materialism and is posted here to initiate dialogue on Spiritual Portal.

~ Peace

“The practice of meditation is taking your seat in the warrior’s world. Then, throughout your life, meditative awareness shows you how to regain your balance when you lose it, and how to use the messages from the phenomenal world to further your discipline. The practice of meditation also allows you to be completely grounded in reality. Then, if someone asks, ‘How do I know that you are not overreacting to situations?’ you simply reply, ‘My posture in the saddle, my seat on the earth, speaks for itself.’” ~ Chögyam Trungpa



Serena This is another response refering to number #3 above which is also by the same author.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SDWpuA08ues

Serena i listened to this video to understand mindfulness better and the practice of meditation that Trungpa advocates.

I enjoyed the video of Chögyam. I am not sure what he means by statement #3. i have found that the more i manifest peace in my life the better off i am.  I have a feeling I would have to understand what he was saying. The point being for me is to lengthen the peace until it no longer leaves you. It is always there at a certain level. Can we be egotistical about being peaceful? I suppose anything is possible. But then he speaks of happiness as something we can find. Then we could also get egotistical about happiness. It too comes and goes.

I too believe ego is a source of wrong identity and unhappiness. Recognizing ego is not so easy because most of us feel justified in our opinions.

I found # 2 most interesting. That is psychological egotism. A very good slant on people who do not diverge from a particular frame or view point and insulate themselves among people who have similar views.

2.  Psychological materialism is the belief that a particular philosophy, belief system, or point of view will bring release from suffering. So seeking refuge by strongly identifying with a particular religion, philosophy, political party or viewpoint, for example, would be psychological materialism. From this the conventional usage of spiritual materialism arises, by identifying oneself as Buddhist or some other label, or by collecting initiations and spiritual accomplishments, one further constructs a solidified view of ego.  Trungpa characterizes the goal of psychological materialism as using external concepts, pretexts, and ideas to prove that the ego-driven self exists, which manifests in a particular competitive attitude.

Dear Serena

i believe that when we are young on the path we gravitate towards certain concepts and beliefs. Having some experience on the spiritual path we are more fluid in our approach and less regimented. We begin to see the beauty and merit in all paths and recognise that a sudden glimpse through the eyes of others with differing views often help us with blind spots from following doggedly a certain path. The problem occurs when once finding a path we can resonate with... then we jump back and forth. It is good to follow through with what we have started.. especially if we find it is working.

I doubt that many of us here really believe that a certain political party or religion will bring relief from suffering. Although often there are clear choices that bring less suffering and we can find enlightenment by following many different paths and religions. That is the wonder of it all. Each of us has a very personal approach that fits us.