The myth of freedom and the way of meditation

by Chögyam Trungpa

Freedom is generally thought of as the ability to achieve goals and satisfy desires. But what are the sources of these goals and desires? If they arise from ignorance, habitual patterns, and negative emotions, is the freedom to pursue these goals true freedom—or is it just a myth? 

In this book, Chögyam Trungpa explores the meaning of freedom in the profound context of Tibetan Buddhism. He shows how our attitudes, preconceptions, and even our spiritual practices can become chains that bind us to repetitive patterns of frustration and despair. He also explains how meditation can bring into focus the causes of frustration, and how these negative forces can aid us in advancing toward true freedom.

Trungpa's unique ability to express the essence of Buddhist teachings in the language and imagery of contemporary American culture makes this book one of the best sources of the Buddhist doctrine ever written.

This edition also contains a foreword by Pema Chödrön, a close student of Chögyam Trungpa and the best-selling author of When Things Fall Apart.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Meditation, Religion, Self Help

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Tibetan: ཆོས་ རྒྱམ་ དྲུང་པ་ Wylie: Chos rgyam Drung pa; also known as Dorje Dradul of Mukpo, Surmang Trungpa, after his monastery, or Chökyi Gyatso, of which Chögyam is an abbreviation) was a Buddhist meditation master, scholar, teacher, poet, and artist. He was the 11th descendent in the line of Trungpa tulkus of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also trained in the Nyingma tradition, the oldest of the four schools, and was an adherent of the rimay or "non-sectarian" movement within Tibetan Buddhism, which aspired to bring together and make available all the valuable teachings of the different schools, free of sectarian rivalry.

Trungpa was a significant figure in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism to the West, founding Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method, a presentation of the Buddhadharma largely devoid of ethnic trappings. In 1963, he moved to England to study comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts at Oxford University. During this time, he also studied Japanese flower arranging and received an instructors degree from the Sogetsu school of ikebana. In 1967, he moved to Scotland, where he founded the Samye Ling meditation centre.

Shortly thereafter, a variety of experiences—including a car accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body—led him to give up his monastic vows and work as a lay teacher. In 1969, he published Meditation in Action , the first of fourteen books on the spiritual path published during his lifetime. The following year he married Diana Pybus and moved to the United States, where he established his first North American meditation centre, Tail of the Tiger (now known as Karmê-Chöling) in Barnet, Vermont.

In 1986, he moved to Nova Scotia, Canada, where hundreds of his students had settled. That Autumn, after years of heavy alcohol use, he had a cardiac arrest, and he died of heart failure the following Spring. His legacy is carried on by his son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, under the banner of Shambhala International and the Nalanda Translation Committee.

Reviews

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1985 there was a sudden, radical shift in my perception of the world. It started with this incredible book.

The 80’s saw the rise of the Me Generation. Remember Seals and Croft, Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman? We were suddenly in the Money.

And the Soviet Bloc was not. Suddenly the world had a vision of The Good Life - which misnomer Charles Colson, with his clear apperception of a Dismal Future for us unknowing lemmings, used to great ironical advantage.

Money? Wealth? Power? It was all there for our Grabbing.

Or was it?

NOT, says the hardbitten Tibetan lama Chogyam Trungpa.

Wake up, dudes. It’s all in your HEADS. But the Flower Children of Haight-Ashbury had done just that - fed their heads. And now they wanted a Slice of The Pie (if you added ‘in the Sky’, you’ve ALREADY gotten my drift)!

What they were now all REALLY doing was heightening a dangerous Vision of Duality. Now, ALL the Mainstream Religions will tell you - or USED to tell you, in their ancient traditions - that the world is a Total Organic Continuum. All possible opposite dualities are submerged in the world’s unity.

That Unity, in the Christian sense, is the City of God, which the world subverts by creating a Dual View of its coexistence with the City of Man. Church and State! And then gritty politics creates an even grittier dual vision of reality.

Trungpa says that in the immense fertility of our not-so-pure headspace we created a busybody world for this - he calls it abhidharma - creating a universe of appropriate responses to the signs that signal to us the need for a response.

This universe - made up of the multiplying dualities of an essentially nondual world - creates more and more headaches for us, and the world of an innocent uncluttered mind is suddenly filled with a complex plethora of needs.

Life is then pain. So what can we do?

Pain is caused by ceaseless desire, but we can put an end to our suffering. We do that by doing right and thinking right. That in a nutshell is the Fourfold Noble Path.

And so Trungpa defines his own vision of the resulting Nondual Universe, which is infinitely more down-to-earth - and Reaches us where we live - and NOT any Politician’s vision of where we live.

Guess what? That’s the world our organized religions are trying - though nowadays dilutedly and half-heartedly - to bring us back to. A simpler and truer view of life.

A life you can stretch your legs into, taking considerable pressure off your overstretched psyche.

Life isn’t a dual thing.

If you stub your toe, you feel it in your toe, not in your mind. Pain is real. And Life is Pain.

Trungpa says that until we wake up - totally - to that one fact, we’re living in a mental State of Emergency. A Disneyland of signal and response. Getting more and more stressed.

So, instead of getting back to spiritual basics, we warp our mind with more and more samsara - that’s what he calls it. Confusion. We Christians call it sin.

And so more pain.

Harold Bloom’s Gnosticism calls it the Daemon - an inborn urge to create, procreate or destroy, or as in Kafka’s parable, the Beast that periodically desecrates the temple of our innocence.

And this Daemon, samsara, or sin, creates deeper and deeper dualities - or, in Derridean language, aporia - an untie-able knot.

So Trungpa says, as a result, we live in an Continuously Alternating world. Work. Play. Joy. Tears. Rich. Broke. Thriving. Sick. And so we say you just can’t win...

But you CAN win. You can wake up.

Waking up for Trungpa is enlightenment - or redemption. Right action.

Waking up is just learning to mitigate our desecrating beast as well as our standoffish absolutism and blend them sanely together in the common light of our shared reality.

We have no choice.

We have to get out into a Bigger Container.

Outa our dualistic world into a settled life enlivened by an alertness to our always-present predicaments...

The ONLY way, paradoxically, to simple Peace of Mind.

[Kitap · Rating 5 out of 5]

For starters, this is not a book for reading only; instead, it is a companion to regular contemplative practice (albeit not necessarily one that is "Buddhist").

I was "forced" to read this book as a graduate student at The Naropa Institute (in the same way that all students are "forced" to read textbooks) and found that I got very little out of the book. While at times his presentation was incredibly lucid, at other times Trungpa's turns of phrase made little sense, leading our circle of student heretics to coin the descriptive phrase "Trungpa-babble." (Full-disclosure: One of the reasons that this book appeared so jargon-laden at the time I first read it probably had to do with the fact that my sitting practice was very new and so I had little experience with which to compare Trungpa's ideas.)

On re-reading this book as one of the titles on my guru's reading lists, I was impressed by how much of the same material that had once left me cold now applied directly to my life and practice. Trungpa definitely takes the "romance" out of spiritual practice and reveals it to be as mundane as going to work, eating dinner, or taking a bath. Like those other activities, though, meditation (in this context the basic practice of sitting with oneself and familiarizing oneself with the neurosis and clarity that make up the mind) is essential to a life fully lived.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is freaking ridiculous. After reading this book I knew immediately where Pema Chodron got her wisdom and brilliance from. I loved this book because it is some of the same insights that Chodron shares, but it is from a harsher tongue, whereas Chodron is more kind. I really loved this book. I lent it out immediately after finishing it because I think it is so worthwhile.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose this book was planted one of the first seeds in my heart that I had run out of religions I could trust. The prospect was once a bit discouraging but it's okay now. It was from Trungpa that I learned to wrestle with such notions as "Enlightment" being the ulitmate disappointment. The title says it all, a "Myth of Freedom". I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read it because you already know who you are. Once again it's a great day to lose your mind but you don't need a myth or a method to (not) do it. Perhaps the view that nihilism=god and emptiness=love is the myth of meditation. I just did not get much out of this one except the courage to leave the temple.

[Steve Malley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...one level of meditation is where we observe our thoughts... the next level is where we realize the observer does not exist!"

Really makes ya' think. Don't it?

[Shashank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this around 2005. Trungpa put a basic idea of Buddhism in such an interesting and clear way for me. Freedom is usually thought of as a freedom to fulfill a desire or express a thought. But here the freedom is from our own urges, freedom from our own thoughts. What is usually considered freedom is a myth, it's a kind of unfreedom to be driven by our emotive, mechanical and cognitive patterns. He offers a path to freedom from that drivenness, from our very self as normally experienced into a freer way of being. A simple kind of turn-around of an idea presented vividly and with force that has stuck with me.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for newbie American meditators and those interested in non-dualism. Among other things, it clearly describes many of the common reactions people can have when they begin and continue a meditation practice and learn about Buddhism/Eastern Spirituality. For example, the boredom one can experience when beginning to meditate. And why to keep pushing "forward" with the practice anyway. The book also spoke a bit to a question I've had recently about the suffering of others in that it suggests we must first "walk...the narrow path of simplicity" before embarking on compassionate action.

The section on love is wonderful. Also a good section on "working with people" that speaks to compassionate action.

There is also a full section on dualism and how to work with emotions that is very helpful. Basically, emotions become a "threat" because we can feel overpowered by them and may feel tht we are "losing our basic identity, our center of command." This conflict creates the pain of emotions. But by "fully and directly" relating with the emotions, then they cease to become an external problem. "One is able to make very close contact with the emotions and the war between your emotions and yourself; you and your projections, you and the world outside, becomes transparent. This involves removing the dualistic barriers set up by concepts, which is the...absence of relative concepts, emptiness." Essentially, the instruction is to "become one with the emotions." Turning towards them and becoming your emotions, you drop the resistance that creates a "problem". "The most powerful energies become absolutely workable rather than taking you over, because there is nothing to take over if you are not putting up any resistance."


Other helpful ideas which are very clearly articulated in this book
- "Resisting pain only increased its intensity".
-"Meditation practice is not a matter of trying to produce a....sense of restfulness....seeking a restful state of mind, one is on guard against restlessness..Instead meditation should reflect a mentality of richness in the sense of using everything that occurs..Thus if we provide enough room for restlessness so that it might function within the space, then the energy ceases to be restless because it can trust itself fundamentally. Meditation is giving a huge, luscious meadow to a restless cow."
-"Whenever there is a frivolous emotional situation and concept growing out of it, then this ground should be completely extinguished with a direct blow--that is, by seeing directly what is not right.. This is what is called the Sword of Manjushri, which cuts the root of dualistic conceptualization with one blow....The real objective is just to squash the frivolousness, the unwillingness to see things as they actually are, which appears rational."

And an interesting observation about Zen practice among Americans by this Tibetan Buddhist:
-"To the Japanese, Zen practice is an ordinary Japanese life-situation in which you just do your daily work and sit a lot of zazen. Bu Americans appreciate the little details--how you use your bowl and how you eat consciously in zazen posture. This is only supposed to create a feeling of boredom but to American students it is a work of art... The tradition is trying to bring out boredom, which is a necessary aspect of the narrow path of discipline, but instead the practice turns out to be an archeological, sociological survey of interesting things to do, something you could tell your friends about... The attempt to destroy credentials creates another credential."

[Kelly Kerns · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first books on Buddhist thought that I would say could be consumed as a "user's manual"

Despite the complexity of the philosophy, this book is written in clear, concise, colloquial, and modern language. What do comic books, tanks, cars, lost keys, bad vacations have to do with a path to enlightenment? Read this excellent book and find out!

I especially enjoyed the discussion of the duality of all things - including the "way" - thus introducing the concept of freedom and entanglement, and the assertion that the closer we come to true understanding and escape from the mundane, the more we are confused pulled back into it.

As described in the text, the disciplined path must be continuously cultivated, nurtured, and revistited. I plan on revisiting this book often.

[Richard Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of good stuff here, and I think that if I read this book with a teacher I could probably have gotten a lot more out of it, but I found it a bit too technical. Too much categorization and analysis that distracted me, rather than focusing me on the basic task of perceiving the world and moving in it in a way that reflects an understanding of is and not. I sometimes have the arrogance to think that I get it, when clearly I have a long way to go. I'm sure I'd get a lot closer if I could sit at the feet of Mr. Trungpa for a few months.

[Neil Talbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquility, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes."

There is a section in the book that describes some mindsets for meditation, but it isn't a book of guided practices. Also, though written in simple language, it's not particularly accessible. For starters, I'd recommend Pema Chödrön. However, it is an interesting and insightful encouragement to meditate.

In particular, part two, "Styles of Imprisonment," describes the aforementioned neurotic patterns, including sections on self-absorption, paranoia, passion, anger, etc. Basically, it's a description of the mental dungeons people lock themselves in. I also found part four, "Working with Emotions," revelatory, especially the sections on "The Dualistic Barrier" and "Working with Negativity." This is how we can take meditation and apply it to our lives.

Although he does use some Buddhist terminology, nothing of what the writer describes depends on accepting any particular metaphysical or religious worldview. "'How do I know what he is saying is true?'" asks an imagined reader. "You don't [...] There is no answer to such doubts, no authority that can be trusted. Ultimately, we can trust only in our own basic intelligence." In other words, one can read this book and, through introspection, decide for oneself what seems credible.

There an assortment of other good stuff, such as how these things affect our relationships with people. Reviewing my highlights from the book, I've already noticed interesting points I hadn't before, and there are some sections which still don't make sense to me. As such, this is likely a book that would reward a second read.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first mention of “filmmaking” I’ve seen in Trungpa Rinpoche’s writing addresses a very modern predicament: “We had a film workshop in Colorado in which we discussed whether it was important to entertain people or make a good film. And what I said was that perhaps the audience might be bored with what we have to present, but we must raise the intelligence, the standards of the audience, up to the level of what we are presenting, rather than trying to constantly match their expectations, their desire for entertainment. Once you begin to try to satisfy the audience's desire for entertainment, you constantly bend down and bend down and bend down, until the whole thing becomes absurd. If a filmmaker presents his own ideas with dignity, his work might be ill-received in the beginning but possibly well-received once people begin to catch up to it. The film might raise the audience's level of sophistication.”

[Erik Akre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is among the most challenging books I have read. It induces a great deal of insecurity; it forced me to look at my own habits and mind-sets with more awareness and detachment. It really kicked me hard, and over time I have come to appreciate that.

Trungpa spins an elaborate web of observations about the human condition, and then he presents meditation, as an insulting, boring, and meaningless activity: the only way out of ignorance. Don't meditate because you want to grow as a person; meditate because it's the only honest approach to existence.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

wowzers. some of this i really relate to and some is beyond where i am at and read and re-read as i get more meditation under my belt, would love to read this with a group or teacher. his razor sharp wisdom and truthfulness is inspiring and scary sometimes. i love all Chogyam Trungpa's writing because it has that quality of transmission into direct experience through the awareness and presence with which it was written.

[j.marvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this I couldn't've hated that womanizing jerk more.
Turns out he was right about me,
shook me out of a spot that, five years on, I'm still confused about.
It really is a great and important book,
but no one should read it.

So two stars is all you get Chogyam.
Two stars and death.
no more women.
no more drink.
bastard.

[Scott Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A companion piece to Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, The Myth of Freedom and The Way of Meditation widens, deepens and expands on information regarding Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. As always, Trungpa Rinpoche's style is patient, clear and concise. Never a bad read, no matter which book you pick up. Great stuff!

[Talbot Hook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very poetic, and contains some aspect of what I consider to be the truth. That said, there are massive imperfections (not just within this book, but within Buddhism at large) that I cannot seem to reconcile with myself.

[Amy kohut]

it's a doozie...read it yourself.

[XD]

Read for class - not my thing?

[Hlyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Chögyam Trungpa. Right from the beginning, I noticed his signature sharpness. His words are precise, and they cut deep. He’s got no nonsense and no bullshit.

However, I had a dilemma. Like many readers, I was aware of his personal life and was quite disturbed by it. So I had to look into what other realized beings, like the Dalai Lama and Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, had said about him. While they did not endorse his personality, they all agreed that he had attained a certain level of realization.

Even though I myself could clearly see that he had a deep understanding of the Dharma, my knowledge of his personal life interrupted my listening experience of this audiobook.

Whenever I had an "aha!" moment, my mind interrupted it and said, “How can you be sure he really knew what he was talking about?” “Or maybe he only had an intellectual understanding, but not an actual realization.” It was quite annoying. In fact, it was me who didn't have an actual realization because I was busy being annoyed and wrestling with my mind.

That said, his signature sharpness and depth of understanding left a strong impression on me. Regardless of my reservations, I’ll definitely be reading more of his books.

[Georgeta · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE - is a vast store of energy which is not centered, which is not ego's energy at all. It is this energy which is the centerless dance of phenomena, the universe interpenetrating and making love to itself. It has two characteristics: a fire quality of warmth and a tendency to flow in a particular pattern, in the same way in which fire contains a spark as well as the air which directs the spark. And this energy is always on-going, whether or not it is seen through the confused filter of ego. It cannot be destroyed or interrupted at all. It is like the ever-burning sun. It consumes everything to the point where it allows no room for doubt or manipulation.

But when this heat is filtered through ego, it becomes stagnant, because we ignore the basic ground, refuse to see the vast space in which this energy occurs. Then the energy cannot flow freely in the open space shared with the object of passion. Instead it is solidified, narrowed and directed by the central headquarters of ego to move outward in order to draw the object of passion into its territory. This captive energy extends out to its object and then returns to be programmed again. We extend our tentacles and try to fix our relationship. This attempt to cling to the situation makes the communication process superficial. We just touch another person's surface and get stuck there, never experiencing their whole being. We are blinded by our clinging. The object of passion, instead of being bathed in the intense warmth of free passion feels oppressed by the stifling heat of neurotic passion.

Free passion is radiation without a radiator, a fluid, pervasive warmth that flows effortlessly. It is not destructive because it is a balanced state of being and highly intelligent. Self-consciousness inhibits this intelligent, balanced state of being. By opening, by dropping our self-conscious grasping, we see not only the surface of an object, but we see the whole way through. We appreciate not in terms of sensational qualities alone, but we see in terms of whole qualities, which are pure gold. We are not overwhelmed by the exterior, but seeing the exterior simultaneously puts us through to the interior. So we reach the heart of the situation and, if this is a meeting of two people, the relationship is very inspiring because we do not see the other person purely in terms of physical attraction or habitual patterns, we see the inside as well as the outside.

This whole-way-through communication might produce a problem. Suppose you see right through someone and that person does not want you to see right through and becomes horrified with you and runs away. Then what to do? You have made your communication completely and thoroughly. If that person runs away from you, that is his way of communicating with you. You would not investigate further. If you did pursue and chase him, then sooner or later you would become a demon from that person's point of view. You see right through his body and he has juicy fat and meat that you would like to eat up, so you seem like a vampire to him. And the more you try to pursue the other person, the more you fail. Perhaps you looked through too sharply with your desire, perhaps you were too penetrating. Possessing beautiful keen eyes, penetrating passion and intelligence, you abused your talent, played with it. It is quite natural with people, if they possess some particular power or gifted energy, to abuse that quality, to misuse it by trying to penetrate every corner. Something quite obviously is lacking in such an approach- a sense of humor. If you try to push things too far, it means you do not feel the area properly; you only feel your relationship to the area. What is wrong is that you do not see all sides of the situation and therefore miss the humorous and ironical aspect.

Sometimes people run away from you because they want to play a game with you. They do not want a straight, honest and serious involvement with you, they want to play. But if they have a sense of humor and you do not, you become demonic. This is where lalita, the dance, comes in. You dance with reality, dance with apparent phenomena. When you want something very badly you do not extend your eye and hand automatically; you just admire. Instead of impulsively making a move from your side, you allow a move from the other side, which is learning to dance with the situation. You do not have to create the whole situation; you just watch it, work with it and learn to dance with it. So then it does not become your creation, but rather a mutual dance. No one is self-conscious, because it is a mutual experience.

When there is a fundamental openness in a relationship, being faithful, in the sense of real trust, happens automatically; it is a natural situation. Because the communication is so real and so beautiful and flowing, you cannot communicate in the same way with someone else, so automatically you are drawn together. But if any doubt presents itself, if you begin to feel threatened by some abstract possibility, although your communication is going beautifully at the time, then you are sowing the seed of paranoia and regarding the communication purely as ego entertainment.

If you sow a seed of doubt, it may make you rigid and terrified, afraid of losing the communication which is so good and real. And at some stage you will begin to be bewildered as to whether the communication is loving or aggressive. This bewilderment brings a certain loss of distance, and in this way neurosis begins. Once you lose the right perspective, the right distance in the communication process, then love becomes hate. The natural thing with hatred, just as with love, is that you want to make physical communication with the person; that is, you want to kill or injure them. In any relationship in which the ego is involved, a love relationship or any other, there is always the danger of turning against your partner. As long as there is the notion of threat or insecurity of any kind, then a love relationship could turn into its opposite.

[Gabija · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to give it 4.5 stars.
The 0.5 star was retracted for what could be called a slightly overcomplicated style.
I personally love it and think Chogyam Trungpa does a great job of describing the indescribable, but I can imagine it could be a bit hard to relate to.
But that is sort of irrelevant. A great book, and greatly necessary for everyone who's... "into meditation" or "does spiritual practice", heh heh.

[Jolanta · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Myth and Freedom and the Way of Meditation" is not just a book; it is a timeless companion for those seeking truth, liberation, and the path to inner peace.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have written before of my intense appreciation for Chögyam Trungpa and this is another winner for me. This really fleshed out some of my remaining questions about how to approach meditation and gave me a better overview of Buddhism. It was a nice compilation of his teachings. I have to record some quotations from this one for future reference!

"Mediation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquility, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes. We provide space through the simple discipline of doing nothing. Actually, doing nothing is very difficult. At first, we must begin by approximating doing nothing, and gradually our practice will develop. So meditation is a way of churning out the neuroses of mind and using them as part of our practice. Like manure, we do not throw our neuroses away, but we spread them on our garden; they become part of our richness."

"So meditation in the beginning is not an attempt to achieve happiness, nor is it the attempt to achieve mental calm or peace, though they could be byproducts of meditation. Meditation should not be regarded as a vacation from irritation."

"Meditation practice is not a matter of trying to produce a hypnotic state of mind or create a sense of restfulness. Trying to achieve a restful state of mind reflects a mentality of poverty. Seeking a restful state of mind, one is on guard against restlessness. There is a constant sense of paranoia and limitation. We feel a need to be on guard against the sudden fits of passion or aggression which might take us over, make us lose control. This guarding process limits the scope of the mind by not accepting whatever comes. Instead, meditation should reflect a mentality of richness in the sense of using everything that occurs in the state of mind."

"Having experienced the precision of mindfulness, we might ask the question of ourselves, 'What should I do with that? What can I do next?' And awareness reassures us that we do not really have to do anything with it but can leave it in its own natural place. It is like discovering a beautiful flower in the jungle; shall we pick the flower and bring it home or shall we let the flower stay in the jungle? Awareness says leave the flower in the jungle, since it is the natural place for that plant to grow."

"The lion's roar is fearlessness in the sense the ever situation in life is workable. Nothing is rejected as bad or grasped as good. But everything we experience in our life-situations, any type of emotion, as workable."

[Ellie]

Very challenging book on the mindset needed for the "journey". Meditation is part of the practice needed, but this book went much deeper. Good but he referenced many other paths and practices that I could not understand/needed more background on.

"First we must learn how not to make a nuisance of ourselves. If we can make friends with ourselves, if we are wiling to be what we are, without hating parts of ourselves and trying to hide them, then we can begin to open to others. And if we can begin to open without always having to protect ourselves, then perhaps we can begin to really help others." (116)

"Samyak means seeing life as it is without crutches, straightforwardly. In a bar one says, "I would like a straight drink." Not diluted with club soda or water; you just have it straight. That is samyak. No dilutions, no concoctions - just a straight drink. Buddha realized that life could be potent and delicious, positive and creative, and he realized that you do not need any concoctions with which to mix it. Life is a straight drink - hot pleasure, hot pain, straightforward, one hundred percent." (120)

"People who reject the materialism of American society and set themselves apart from it are unwilling to face themselves. They would like to comfort themselves with the notion that they are leading philosophically virtuous lives, rather than realizing that they are unwilling to work with the world as it is." (123)

[Ellery Hamann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of talks is a staple for any Shambhalian and is one of Chogyam Trungpa's most famous books. For those familiar with Pema Chodron, you can tell where she gets her wisdom. She herself has said she has read this book over 25 times or so. Upon finishing it for the first of what will probably be many, many times, I can see why. It is incredibly rich with wisdom. I took about 5 months to get through this very short set of teachings. After finishing reading a few pages you have to contemplate. You have to go back and re-read. This is a "collection of teachings" - not just a book. However, it is not as accessible as Pema Chodron's writing. Chogyam Trungpa does not spell things out in simple terms or give examples very often. He leaves you with more questions than answers, which in my opinion is better.

Some of the the chapters on guru devotion and tantra (the last two chapters) spoke to me less, as at least at this point, I am not as interested in these practices and devotion. Still, highly recommended, in particular to those on the Buddhist path.

[William Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book while perusing a Borders that was going out of business, and strictly because of the title. As a therapist and a practitioner of Eastern philosophy I am aware of how although we believe we have the freedom of choice, quite often our choices are made out of our conditioning. I fully expected this book to reaffirm that thinking, and to discuss how to overcome it. The book met and surpassed this expectation.

Some books create a peace in me by just catching a glimpse of them. This is the case of this book. From the time of my purchase it served as a meditation bell. It reminded me of how important it is to be meditative in every aspect of my life, not just in sitting. Another book that had led to this feeling in me was “Being Peace” by Thich Nhat Hanh.

You can read the full review on my webpage, here: http://www.wmberry.com/reviews/review...

[Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trungpa was a con man who formed a cult, in some ways similar to Donald Trump. Contrary to the descriptions of his sexual relations with students provided by other reviewers, he was a predator who, for example, had his cult followers violently sexually assault poets W.S. Merwin and Dana Noane while he watched and taunted them with racist insults. Trungpa's Shambhala successors carried on his hateful legacy - one of them concealed his HIV infection and infected many students, at least one of whom died, and Trungpa's son has been accused of multiple accounts of rape. I attended a tradition Tibetan temple with my family for years and we were always treated with love consistent with the teachings of the buddha and when I asked about Shambhala, I was told that it had nothing to do with buddhism. I recommend reading Andrea Winn's Buddhist Project Sunshine.

[Sonja Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm only reading a few pages a day, getting through this pretty slowly. But that's by choice. I like the set-up of this book better than that of "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism". That book was set up as transcriptions of his talks, including the Q & A sections, which sometimes veered off the topic a bit. This book has been edited in a way that is a little clearer to me. While probably also drawn from his talks, each short "chapter" has been edited so that you have more focus on a smaller topic. Instead of getting lost in the morass of the eightfold path of the Boddhissatva, this book separates each part of the path. This is not a book on how to meditate, but it IS about the attitudes, presumptions, and instincts that can get in the way of meditation.

[Chris Lemig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Rinpoche's Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism a few years ago when I first became interested in the Dharma. It was way over my head (and still is) but I was struck by its clarity and Trungpa's straightforward presentation of the path. The Myth of Freedom is no different except for the fact that it is even more concise and to the point. After accumulating a tiny bit of knowledge about Buddhism, I see that this book is a brilliant synopsis of the entire path to enlightenment, from cultivating an understanding of why Samsara and Nirvana are not what we're really looking for, all the way to the ultimate state of true freedom. If you like Trungpa Rinpoche's style even a little bit, please read this important book. If not, give him another try!

[Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and would have given it 3.5 stars if Goodreads had half stars. As it stands, I'll go with 3.

With subsequent readings, I'm sure I would have a better understanding of what Trungpa is saying here, but I just found the first read a little difficult to follow at times, especially in comparison to his son's book "Turning the Mind into an Ally." I kept waiting for Trungpa to translate all of the text into a more straightforward description, but it never really came. That said, I do think this book has great value for anyone interested in Buddhism and meditation. It's just not a great starting point.