Show Notes
In this episode I am once again joined by Samuel Bercholz, 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”.
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.
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Topics include:
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
To purchase “Rude Awakenings: vist: - https://www.shambhala.com/rude-awakenings.html
For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - https://www.guruviking.com
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
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