Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Encyclopedia
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is a book addressing many common pitfalls of self-deception in seeking spirituality, which author Chögyam Trungpa
Rinpoche coins as Spiritual materialism
. The book is the record of two series of lectures given by Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970-71 and is considered one of Rinpoche's seminal works.
In Psychology Today
, Michael J. Formica writes, "Spiritual materialism is that process by which the ego
grasps at the accomplishments and progress of the self upon the spiritual path; an act by which its very nature denies the Self." Hence, spiritual materialism is the act of seeking spirituality for the sake of being spiritually accomplished, so that this spirituality acts to secure the ego more, rather than to help see through it.
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
Rinpoche coins as Spiritual materialism
Spiritual materialism
Spiritual materialism or spiritual narcissism are terms used to describe mistakes spiritual seekers commit which turn the pursuit of spiritualism into an ego building and confusion creating endeavor. This is based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress...
. The book is the record of two series of lectures given by Trungpa Rinpoche in 1970-71 and is considered one of Rinpoche's seminal works.
In Psychology Today
Psychology Today
Psychology Today is a bi-monthly magazine published in the United States. It is a psychology-based magazine about relationships, health, and related topics written for a mass audience of non-psychologists. Psychology Today was founded in 1967 and features articles on such topics as love,...
, Michael J. Formica writes, "Spiritual materialism is that process by which the ego
Ego (spirituality)
In spirituality, and especially nondual, mystical and eastern meditative traditions, individual existence is often described as a kind of illusion. This "sense of doership" or sense of individual existence is that part which believes it is the human being, and believes it must fight for itself in...
grasps at the accomplishments and progress of the self upon the spiritual path; an act by which its very nature denies the Self." Hence, spiritual materialism is the act of seeking spirituality for the sake of being spiritually accomplished, so that this spirituality acts to secure the ego more, rather than to help see through it.