Ep384: Edgy Gurus & Rude Dharma - Samuel Bercholz
Samuel Bercholz is a senior teacher in the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, founder of Shambala publications, and author of Rude Awakenings:An Unconventional Guide to the Buddhist Path.
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Sam reflects on the controversial behaviour of his guru, Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa; explores the uneasy relationship between enlightenment and morality; and reports Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’s enthusiasm for cleaning and toilet hygiene.
Sam explains why he believes that the ground of meditation is hopelessness, shares his own past skepticism about Buddhist doctrines of awakening, and discusses the pros and cons of publicising one’s spiritual attainments.
Sam also recounts times when his gurus demonstrated omniscience and other siddhi powers, muses about a special sense of humour that comes with spiritual realisation, and reveals the centrality of working with spirits and other beings in Indo-Tibetan Tantra.
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - High octane gurus
02:33 - Guru trends, edgy vs nice
04:07 - Dzogchen madness
05:45 - Things happen
07:43 - How lies become truth
10:04 - Claiming enlightenment
13:41 - Why meditate?
18:29 - Meditation and hopelessness
20:20 - Skepticism about the path
24:08 - Realising hopelessness
25:23 - From depression to liberation
26:18 - The middle way
29:09 - No problem amidst problems
32:29 - No more working hard
35:27 - Guru relationship vs personal practice
38:09 - Chod practice
39:46 - Ngondro, the preliminary practices
40:45 - Is more practice better?
44:13 - The mind of the 16th Karmapa
45:02 - Enlightened humour
47:46 - The cosmic joke
49:32 - Concepts about enlightenment
51:56 - Thiney Norbu Rinpoche’s fanaticism about cleaning and toilet practice
53:38 - Enlightenment vs moral development
55:20 - The ālaya, all-ground
55:59 - Wrathful and peaceful deities
59:04 - Spiritual bliss
01:00:32 - Esoteric and drop the scientific method
01:01:11 - Morality and gurus
01:03:30 - Vinaya is based on human error
01:05:00 - Vajrayana morality
01:06:06 - Why people hate Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
01:09:02 - The Merwin incident
01:09:35 - Trungpa slept with his students
01:11:59 - Does Trungpa’s bad reputation bother Sam?
01:14:20 - Why Sam wrote Rude Awakenings
01:15:38 - Building an enlightened society
01:16:39 - Why Trungpa’s enlightened society crumbled
01:17:36 - Guided Tour of Hell
01:18:54 - Guru omniscience and psychic powers
01:23:06 - Thinley Norbu Rinpoche’s omniscience
01:25:53 - ESP and entity contact in Tantra
01:28:37 - Why Buddhist Tantra is failing
01:29:36 - Working with spirits
01:32:09 - Emphasising the Indo-Tibetan link
01:33:16 - Narpoa, Tilopa, and Padmasambhava
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