engineering

Spiritual materialism

Spiritual materialism is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Spiritual materialism rather than just read about it. In short: 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.

Key takeaways

Spiritual materialism belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Spiritual materialism to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Spiritual materialism from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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.

Lords of Materialism 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 misunderstood as bringing long-term happiness but instead brings only short-term entertainment followed by long-term suffering:

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)." 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. 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 euphoric 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.

Ego 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.

References

Carson, Richard David (2003) Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way ISBN 0-06-052022-1 Ferrer, Jorge Noguera (2001) Revisioning Transpersonal Theory: A Participatory Vision of Human Spirituality ISBN 0-7914-5168-2 Hart, Tobin (2004) The Secret Spiritual World of Children ISBN 1-930722-19-2 Potter, Richard and Potter, Jan (2006) Spiritual Development for Beginners: A Simple Guide to Leading a Purpose Filled Life ISBN 0-7387-0750-3 Trungpa, Chögyam (1973). Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-57062-957-9. Trungpa, Chögyam (2011). Work, Sex, Money: Real Life on the Path of Mindfulness. Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, Inc. ISBN 1-59030-596-5. Based on a series of talks given between 1971 and 1981.

External links Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism excerpts Work, Sex, Money excerpts Spiritual Finances Video of Boulder talks on the subject by Chögyam Trungpa

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Spiritual materialism

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Spiritual materialism claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Spiritual materialism before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Spiritual materialism ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Spiritual materialism

In research: Spiritual materialism appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Spiritual materialism in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Spiritual materialism is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Materialism and religion, Spiritual philosophy, Tibetan Buddhist philosophical concepts, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Spiritual materialism outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Spiritual materialism in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Spiritual materialism means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Spiritual materialism out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Spiritual materialism in simple terms?

Why does Spiritual materialism matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Spiritual materialism?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Spiritual materialism.