In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter or energy; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance, and reality is identical with the actually occurring states of energy and matter.

To many philosophers, 'materialism' is synonymous with 'physicalism'. However, materialists have historically held that everything is made of matter, but physics has shown that gravity, for example, is not made of matter in the traditional sense of "'an inert, senseless substance, in which extension, figure, and motion do actually subsist'… So it is tempting to use 'physicalism' to distance oneself from what seems a historically important but no longer scientifically relevant thesis of materialism, and related to this, to emphasize a connection to physics and the physical sciences."^[1] Therefore much of the generally philosophical discussion below on materialism may be relevant to physicalism.

Also related with materialism are the ideas of methodological naturalism (i.e. "let's at least do science as though physicalism is true") and metaphysical naturalism (i.e. "philosophy and science should operate according to the physical world, and that's all that exists").

A variety of schools of thought call themselves "materialist", particularly those associated with Marxism, dialectical materialism and historical materialism. The term can be used pejoratively, for example in the popular usage of the term "vulgar materialism" by Marxists and post-Marxists.^[2] Contrasting philosophies include idealism, other forms of monism, dualism and pluralism.

Overview[link]

Materialism belongs to the class of monist ontology. As such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism would be in contrast to idealism, neutral monism and spiritualism.

Despite the large number of philosophical schools and subtle nuances between many,^[3][4][5] all philosophies are said to fall into one of two primary categories, which are defined in contrast to each other: Idealism, and materialism.^[a] The basic proposition of these two categories pertains to the nature of reality, and the primary distinction between them is the way they answer two fundamental questions: "what does reality consist of and how does it originate?" To idealists, spirit or mind is primary, and created matter secondary. To materialists, matter is primary and mind or spirit is secondary, a product of matter acting upon matter.^[5]

The materialist view is perhaps best understood in its opposition to the doctrines of immaterial substance applied to the mind historically, famously by René Descartes. However, by itself materialism says nothing about how material substance should be characterized. In practice, it is frequently assimilated to one variety of physicalism or another.

Materialism is often associated with reductionism, according to which the objects or phenomena individuated at one level of description, if they are genuine, must be explicable in terms of the objects or phenomena at some other level of description — typically, at a more reduced level. Non-reductive materialism explicitly rejects this notion, however, taking the material constitution of all particulars to be consistent with the existence of real objects, properties, or phenomena not explicable in the terms canonically used for the basic material constituents. Jerry Fodor influentially argues this view, according to which empirical laws and explanations in "special sciences" like psychology or geology are invisible from the perspective of basic physics. A lot of vigorous literature has grown up around the relation between these views.

Modern philosophical materialists extend the definition of other scientifically observable entities such as energy, forces, and the curvature of space. However philosophers such as Mary Midgley suggest that the concept of "matter" is elusive and poorly defined.^[6]

Materialism typically contrasts with dualism, phenomenalism, idealism, vitalism and dual-aspect monism. Its materiality can, in some ways, be linked to the concept of Determinism, as espoused by Enlightenment thinkers. It has been criticized as a spiritually empty philosophy.

During the 19th century, Karl Marx, influenced by Hegel and early positivists, extended the concept of materialism to elaborate a materialist conception of history, which goes beyond metaphysics to apply to sociology and political economy, centered on the roughly empirical world of human activity (practice, including labor) and the institutions created, reproduced, or destroyed by that activity (see materialist conception of history). In psychology, a similar view is called Behaviorism^{[citation needed]}.

History of materialism[link]

Axial Age[link]

Materialism developed, possibly independently, in several geographically separated regions of Eurasia during what Karl Jaspers termed the Axial Age (approximately 800 to 200 BC).

In Ancient Indian philosophy, materialism developed around 600 BC with the works of Ajita Kesakambali, Payasi, Kanada, and the proponents of the Cārvāka school of philosophy. Kanada became one of the early proponents of atomism. The Nyaya–Vaisesika school (600 BC - 100 BC) developed one of the earliest forms of atomism, though their proofs of God and their positing that the consciousness was not material precludes labelling them as materialists. The atomic tradition was carried forward by Buddhist atomism and the Jaina school.

Xun Zi (ca. 312–230 BC) developed a Confucian doctrine oriented on realism and materialism in Ancient China. Other notable Chinese materialists of this time include Yang Xiong and Wang Chong.

Ancient Greek philosophers like Thales, Anaxagoras (ca. 500 BC – 428 BC), Epicurus and Democritus prefigure later materialists. The Latin poem De Rerum Natura by Lucretius (ca. 99 BC – ca. 55 BC) recounts the mechanistic philosophy of Democritus and Epicurus. According to this view, all that exists is matter and void, and all phenomena result from different motions and conglomerations of base material particles called "atoms" (literally: "indivisibles"). De Rerum Natura provides mechanistic explanations for phenomena such as erosion, evaporation, wind, and sound. Famous principles like "nothing can come from nothing" and "nothing can touch body but body" first appeared in the works of Lucretius.

Common Era[link]

''''Later Indian materialist Jayaraashi Bhatta (6th century CE) in his work Tattvopaplavasimha ("The upsetting of all principles") refuted the Nyaya Sutra epistemology. The materialistic Cārvāka philosophy appears to have died out some time after 1400 CE. When Madhavacharya compiled "A Digest of All Philosophies" in the 14th century, he had no Cārvāka/Lokāyata text to quote from, or even refer to. ^[7].

In early 12th-century al-Andalus, the Arabian philosopher, Ibn Tufail (Abubacer), wrote discussions on materialism in his philosophical novel,Philosophus Autodidactus, while vaguely foreshadowing the idea of a historical materialism.^[8]''''

Modern Era[link]

Later on, Pierre Gassendi represented the materialist tradition, in opposition to René Descartes' attempts to provide the natural sciences with dualist foundations. There followed the materialist and atheist Jean Meslier, Julien Offroy de La Mettrie, Paul-Henri Thiry Baron d'Holbach, Denis Diderot and other French Enlightenment thinkers; as well as in England, the pedestrian traveller John "Walking" Stewart, whose insistence that all matter is endowed with a moral dimension had a major impact on the philosophical poetry of William Wordsworth.

Schopenhauer wrote that "...materialism is the philosophy of the subject who forgets to take account of himself".^[9] He claimed that an observing subject can only know material objects through the mediation of the brain and its particular organization. The way that the brain knows determines the way that material objects are experienced. "Everything objective, extended, active, and hence everything material, is regarded by materialism as so solid a basis for its explanations that a reduction to this (especially if it should ultimately result in thrust and counter-thrust) can leave nothing to be desired. But all this is something that is given only very indirectly and conditionally, and is therefore only relatively present, for it has passed through the machinery and fabrication of the brain, and hence has entered the forms of time, space, and causality, by virtue of which it is first of all presented as extended in space and operating in time."^[10]

The materialist and atheist Ludwig Feuerbach would a signal a new turn in materialism through his book, The Essence of Christianity, which provided a humanist account of religion as the outward projection of man's inward nature. Feuerbach's materialism would later heavily influence Karl Marx.

Materialist conception of history and Marx[link]

In 1870s Europe, there emerged a new philosophical and political theory called Marxism. Its founder, Karl Marx, interpreted the world and its laws by highlighting the materialistic aspects of life as vehicles of world history, and that is why his theory is called materialism.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, turning Hegel's idealist dialectics upside down, came up with two distinct concepts: dialectical materialism and a materialist account of the course of history known as the materialist conception of history, later labeled historical materialism.^[11] Marx regarded the base material of the world as productive forces and their corresponding social relations (mainly class relations, e.g. between serfs and their lord, or between employees and their employer). As an expression of these basic social relations, all other ideologies form, including those of science, economics, law, morality, etc. Historical materialism has been expanded upon in the 20th century.

Marx and Engels used the term "materialism" to refer to a theoretical perspective that holds the satisfaction of everyday economic needs to be the primary reality in every epoch of history. Opposed to German idealist philosophy, materialism takes the position that society and reality originate from a set of simple economic acts which human beings carry out in order to provide the material necessities of food, shelter, and clothing. Materialism takes as its starting point that before anything else, human beings must produce their everyday economic needs through their physical labor and practical productive activity. This single economic act, Marx believed, gives rise to a system of social relations which include political, legal and religious models usually intended to facilitate this process or justify the current social system in existence.

Scientific socialism holds that social mores, values, cultural traits and economic practices are not the property of some immutable natural law, but are products of the social environment and are thus relative to the specific form of social organization in existence. These social relations are determined by material forces in society, such as the productive forces, natural environment and the level of technology.

Scientific materialists[link]

Many current and recent philosophers—e.g., Daniel Dennett, Willard Van Orman Quine, Donald Davidson, John Rogers Searle, and Jerry Fodor—operate within a broadly physicalist or materialist framework, producing rival accounts of how best to accommodate mind—functionalism, anomalous monism, identity theory and so on.^[12]

Scientific 'Materialism' is often synonymous with, and has so far been described, as being a reductive materialism. In recent years, Paul and Patricia Churchland have advocated a radically contrasting position (at least, in regards to certain hypotheses); eliminativist materialism holds that some mental phenomena simply do not exist at all, and that talk of those mental phenomena reflects a totally spurious "folk psychology" and Introspection illusion. That is, an eliminative materialist might suggest that a concept like 'belief' simply has no basis in fact - the way folk science speaks of demon-caused illnesses. Reductive materialism being at one end of a continuum (our theories will reduce to facts) and eliminative materialism on the other (certain theories will need to be eliminated in light of new facts), Revisionary materialism is somewhere in the middle.^[12]

Some scientific materialists have been criticized, for example by Noam Chomsky, for failing to provide clear definitions for what constitutes matter, leaving the term 'materialism' without any definite meaning. The problem of providing such a definition seems particularly challenging given the fact that contemporary physics does not have a single notion of matter; rather physics has two different and contradictory theories of matter, general relativity and quantum theory^{[citation needed]}. Chomsky also points out that the concept of matter has been expanded in the past to accommodate new scientific discoveries, and it's possible it will happen again, so scientific materialists are being dogmatic in assuming the opposite.^[13]

Defining matter[link]

The nature and definition of matter - like other key concepts in science and philosophy - have occasioned much debate.^[14] Is there a single kind of matter (hyle) which everything is made of, or multiple kinds? Is matter a continuous substance capable of expressing multiple forms (hylomorphism),^[15] or a number of discrete, unchanging constituents (atomism)?^[16] Does it have intrinsic properties (substance theory),^[17][18] or is it lacking them (prima materia)?

One challenge to the traditional concept of matter as tangible "stuff" came with the rise of field physics in the 19th century. Relativity shows that matter and energy (including the spatially distributed energy of fields) are interchangeable. This enables the ontological view that energy is prima materia and matter is one of its forms. On the other hand, the Standard Model of Particle physics uses quantum field theory to describe all interactions. On this view it could be said that fields are prima materia and the energy is a property of the field.

According to the dominant cosmological model, the Lambda-CDM model, less than 5% of the universes energy density is made up of the "matter" described by the Standard Model of Particle Physics, and the majority of the universe is composed of Dark Matter and Dark Energy - with no agreement amongst scientists about what these are made of.^[19] This obviously refutes historical materialism which held that the only things that exist are things composed of the kind of matter with which we are broadly familiar ("traditional matter") - which was anyway under great strain as noted above from relativity and quantum field theory.

With the advent of quantum physics, some scientists believed the concept of matter had merely changed, while others believed the conventional position could no longer be maintained. For instance Werner Heisenberg said “The ontology of materialism rested upon the illusion that the kind of existence, the direct ‘actuality’ of the world around us, can be extrapolated into the atomic range. This extrapolation, however, is impossible . .. atoms are not things.”. Likewise, some philosophers^[which?] feel that these dichotomies necessitate a switch from materialism to physicalism. Others use the terms "materialism" and "physicalism" interchangeably.^[20]

The concept of matter has changed in response to new scientific discoveries. Thus materialism has no definite content independent of the particular theory of matter on which it is based. According to Noam Chomsky, any property can be considered material, if one defines matter such that it has that property.^[21]

Materialism and physicalism[link]

In the twentieth century, physicalism has emerged out of positivism. Physicalism restricts meaningful statements to physical bodies or processes that are verifiable or in principle verifiable. It is an empirical hypothesis that is subject to revision and, hence, lacks the dogmatic stance of classical materialism. Herbert Feigl defended physicalism in the USA and consistently held that mental states are brain states and that mental terms have the same referent as physical terms. The twentieth century has witnessed many materialist theories of the mental, and much debate surrounding them.^[22]

—George J. Stack, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Criticism and alternatives[link]

The professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame Alvin Plantinga criticises it, and the Emiritus Regius Professor of Divinity Keith Ward suggests that materialism is rare amongst contemporary UK philosophers: "Looking around my philosopher colleagues in Britain, virtually all of whom I know at least from their published work, I would say that very few of them are materialists."^[23]

Rejection of materialism by some scientists[link]

Michael Polanyi was a notable critic of materialism. In Life's irreducible structure (1968),^[24] he argued that the information contained in the DNA molecule is irreducible to physics and chemistry. Although a DNA molecule cannot exist without physical properties, these properties are constrained by higher level ordering^{[disambiguation needed ]} principles. In Transcendence and Self-transcendence (1970),^[25] Polanyi criticised the materialistic world view that modern science has inherited from Galileo.

Some modern day physicists and science writers such as Paul Davies and John Gribbin have openly expressed how scientific finds in physics such as quantum mechanics and chaos theory have disproven materialism. In their 1991 book The Matter Myth in the first chapter titled The death of materialism they wrote:

Then came our Quantum theory, which totally transformed our image of matter. The old assumption that the microscopic world of atoms was simply a scaled-down version of the everyday world had to be abandoned. Newton's deterministic machine was replaced by a shadowy and paradoxical conjunction of waves and particles, governed by the laws of chance, rather than the rigid rules of causality. An extension of the quantum theory goes beyond even this; it paints a picture in which solid matter dissolves away, to be replaced by weird excitations and vibrations of invisible field energy. Quantum physics undermines materialism because it reveals that matter has far less 'substance' than we might believe. But another development goes even further by demolishing Newton's image of matter as inert lumps. This development is the theory of chaos, which has recently gained widespread attention.

— Paul Davies and John Gribbin, 'The Matter Myth', Chapter 1

Religious and spiritual objections[link]

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, materialism denies the existence of both deities and "souls."^[26] It is therefore incompatible with most world religions including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In most of Hinduism and Transcendentalism, all matter is believed to be an illusion called Maya, blinding us from knowing the truth. Maya is the limited, purely physical and mental reality in which our everyday consciousness has become entangled. Maya gets destroyed for a person when they perceive Brahman with transcendental knowledge.

Kant argued against all three forms of materialism, subjective idealism (which he contrasts with his "transcendental idealism"^[27]) and dualism.^[28] However, Kant also argues that change and time require an enduring substrate,^[29] and does so in connection with his Refutation of Idealism^[30] Postmodern/poststructuralist thinkers also express a skepticism about any all-encompassing metaphysical scheme. Philosopher Mary Midgley,^[31] among others,^{[32][33][34][35]} argues that materialism is a self-refuting idea, at least in its eliminative form.

Idealisms [link]

An argument for idealism, such as those of Hegel and Berkeley is ipso facto an argument against materialism. Matter can be argued to be redundant, as in bundle theory, and mind-independent properties can in turn be reduced to subjective percepts.

If matter and energy are seen as necessary to explain the physical world, but incapable of explaining mind, dualism results. Emergence, holism and process philosophy seek to ameliorate the perceived shortcomings of traditional (especially mechanistic) materialism without abandoning materialism entirely.

Materialism as methodology[link]

Some critics object to materialism as part of an overly skeptical, narrow or reductivist approach to theorizing, rather than to the ontological claim that matter is the only substance. Particle physicist and Anglican theologian John Polkinghorne objects to what he calls promissory materialism — claims that materialistic science will eventually succeed in explaining phenomena it has not so far been able to explain.^[36] Polkinghorne prefers "dual-aspect monism" to faith in materialism.^[37].

The psychologist Imants Barušs suggests that "materialists tend to indiscriminately apply a 'pebbles in a box' schema to explanations of reality even though such a schema is known to be incorrect in general for physical phenomena. Thus, materialism cannot explain matter, let alone anomalous phenomena or subjective experience,^[38] but remains entrenched in academia largely for political reasons."^[39]

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Look up materialism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Materialism.

• Stanford Encyclopedia:
  • Physicalism
  • Eliminative Materialism
• Philosophical Materialism (by Richard C. Vitzthum) from infidels.org
• Dictionary of the Philosophy of Mind on Materialism from the University of Waterloo

Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan performs at a comedy club after UFC 70
Birth name	Joseph James Rogan[1]
Born	(1967-08-11) August 11, 1967 (age 44) Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, Presenter, Announcer, Podcaster
Nationality	American
Years active	1988—present
Genres	Satire/political satire, blue comedy, observational comedy
Subject(s)	Recreational drug use, self-deprecation, race relations, marriage, everyday life, parenting, current events, politics, religion
Influences	Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison
Spouse	Jessica Rogan (2009–present) 2 children, 1 step daughter
Notable works and roles	Joe Garrelli in NewsRadio Co-Host of The Man Show Host of Fear Factor Commentator for the UFC Author of the Book Space Monkey Host of The Joe Rogan Experience

Joseph James "Joe" Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American martial artist, stand-up comedian, actor, writer and color commentator. He is best known for playing Joe Garrelli on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio, commentating for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, hosting the NBC reality show Fear Factor and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Early life[link]

Rogan was born in Newark, New Jersey.^[2] His paternal grandfather was Irish and the remainder of his ancestry is Italian.^[3]

Career[link]

Martial arts[link]

In 1981, at age fourteen, he became a practitioner of Kenpo Karate before transitioning to Taekwondo.^[4] He eventually gained a 2nd dan black belt.^[5] A four-time state champion in Massachusetts, in 1987 he was the USA Taekwondo U.S. Open Champion.^[6] In 1996, he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Jean Jacques Machado, eventually earning his brown belt.^[7] In addition, he holds a brown belt in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo.^[8][9]

He also practiced and competed in kickboxing.^[10]

Acting[link]

In 1994, he co-starred on the Fox comedy Hardball as Frank Valente, the young, ego-centric star player on a fictional professional baseball team.^[11] From 1995 to 1999, he co-starred on the comedy NewsRadio. He portrayed Joe Garrelli, the electrician at WNYX, a news radio station in New York City.^[12] In 2002, he appeared on the episode "A Beautiful Mind" of Just Shoot Me as Chris, Maya Gallo's boyfriend.^[13] In 2011, Rogan played his first major character in a movie in the Kevin James movie Zookeeper.^[14] He is slated to play himself in an upcoming action-comedy starring Kevin James called Here Comes the Boom, set to be released in the summer of 2012.^[15]

Color commentary[link]

Rogan began working for the UFC in 1997, making his debut interviewing fighters at UFC 12: Judgement Day in Dothan, Alabama, before eventually becoming a color commentator for the promotion.^[16] He won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards in two occasions as Best Television Announcer. He was also named "MMA Personality of the Year" in the 2011 World MMA Awards.^[17]

Stand-up comedy[link]

Rogan has toured as a stand-up comedian and recorded several albums and specials, including Shiny Happy Jihad and Joe Rogan: Talking Monkeys in Space.

In 2007 Rogan confronted comedian Carlos Mencia on stage, accusing him of joke thievery.^[18] A video of the incident, created with Brian Redban, included evidence and supporting comments from other comedians, including George Lopez, Reverend Bob Levy, Bobby Lee and Ari Shaffir.^[19]

Hosting[link]

Rogan worked on the TV series Fear Factor, as a host of the United States version of the show. He hosted from June 11, 2001 through September 12, 2006. Rogan returned as the host of Fear Factor in the rebooted edition of the show, which aired December 12, 2011 on NBC.

In 2003, Rogan and Doug Stanhope replaced Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla as co-hosts of The Man Show.^[20] They continued through the end of the show's run in 2004.

In December 2009, Rogan began hosting a regular podcast with concurrent live Ustream availability.^[21] Co-hosted by his friend and the show's producer Brian Redban, the podcast features an array of guests from the pursuits of comedy, acting and Mixed Martial Arts.^{[citation needed]} Now known as The Joe Rogan Experience, the show is regularly found in the Apple iTunes top 10 most downloaded comedy, and was named one of iTunes "Best of 2010" audio podcasts in its first year.

Personal life[link]

In 2008, Rogan and his wife to be, Jessica, had a baby girl.^[22] The couple married in 2009. In 2010, Rogan announced the birth of a second baby. Rogan also has a step daughter with his wife Jessica.^[23][24]

Although raised Roman Catholic,^[25] Rogan stated in September 2010, during a guest appearance on the Alex Jones radio show, that he does not follow any organized religions because he feels it is all the work of man. Rogan also said that he is not completely opposed to the concept of a "higher power" such as a God; however, he views the concept of God as part of nature that exists in everything.

Rogan has argued for the possibility of the moon landings being a hoax.^[26][27]

One of the recurring themes in his stand-up comedy and life is the use and support of cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, and DMT. Rogan supports the medical and recreational use of cannabis.^[28] He has also starred in the marijuana documentary The Union: The Business Behind Getting High.^[29] Rogan was featured in the 2010 History Channel documentary, Marijuana: A Chronic History, as an advocate of legalized medical use of marijuana. He is also the presenter of the 2010 documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, released in October 2010.

Comedy recordings[link]

• I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday (CD) (August 22, 2000)
• Live from the Belly of the Beast (DVD) (May 4–5, 2001)
• Joe Rogan: Live (DVD) (September 1, 2006)
• Shiny Happy Jihad (CD) (April 10, 2007)
• Talking Monkeys in Space (CD & DVD) (2010) Comedy Central Records

Awards and recognition[link]

• World MMA Awards
  • 2011 Personality of the Year
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 2010 Best Television Announcer
  • 2011 Best Television Announcer ^[30]
• Teen Choice Award,
  • Choice TV Reality/Variety Host for Fear Factor (2003, Nominated)

See also[link]

• List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Joe Rogan on Twitter
• Joe Rogan on Youtube
• Fear Factor
• Interview from August 2008
• Joe Rogan at the Internet Movie Database
• Joe Rogan on his UFC career

Patricia Smith Churchland

Born	(1943-07-16)July 16, 1943 Oliver, British Columbia, Canada
Era	21st-century philosophy
Region	Western Philosophy
School	Analytic Philosophy
Main interests	Neurophilosophy Philosophy of mind Philosophy of science Medical and environmental ethics
Notable ideas	Neurophilosophy, Eliminative Materialism
Influenced by Willard Van Orman Quine, Francis Crick, Paul Churchland

Patricia Smith Churchland (born July 16, 1943) is a Canadian-American philosopher noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind. She has been a Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) since 1984. Since 1999 she has been UC President's Professor of Philosophy at UCSD, and has held an adjunct professorship at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies since 1989.^[1] Educated at the University of British Columbia, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Oxford, she taught philosophy at the University of Manitoba from 1969 to 1984 and is the wife of philosopher Paul Churchland.^[2]

Biography[link]

Early life and education[link]

Churchland was born Patricia Smith in Oliver, British Columbia,^{[citation needed]} and raised on a farm there in the South Okanagan valley.^[3][4] Both of her parents lacked a high-school education, her father and mother left school after grades 6 and 8 respectively. Her mother was a nurse and her father worked in newspaper publishing in addition to running the family farm. In spite of their limited education, Churchland has described her parents as interested in the sciences, and the worldview they instilled in her as a secular one. She has also described her parents as eager for her to attend college, and though many farmers in their community thought this "hilarious and a grotesque waste of money", they saw to it that she did so.^[4] She took her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia, graduating with honors in 1965.^[2] She received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to study at the University of Pittsburgh, where she took an M.A. in 1966.^[2][5] Thereafter she studied at Oxford University as a British Council and Canada Council Fellow, obtaining a B. Phil in 1969.^[2]

Academic career[link]

Churchland's first academic appointment was at the University of Manitoba, where she was an assistant professor from 1969–1977, an associate professor from 1977–1982, and promoted to a full professorship in 1983.^[2] It was here that she began to make a formal study of neuroscience with the help and encouragement of Larry Jordan, a professor with a lab in the Department of Physiology there.^[3][4][6] From 1982-1983 she was a Visiting Member in Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.^[7] In 1984, she was invited to take up a professorship in the department of philosophy at UCSD, and relocated there with her husband Paul, where both have remained since.^[8] Since 1989, she has also held an adjunct professorship at the Salk Institute adjacent to UCSD's campus, where she became acquainted with the institute's founder and namesake Jonas Salk.^[1][3] Describing Salk, Churchland has said that he "liked the idea of neurophilosophy, and he gave me a tremendous amount of encouragement at a time when many other people thought that we were, frankly, out to lunch."^[4] Another important supporter Churchland found at the Salk Institute was Francis Crick.^[3][4] At the Salk Institute, Churchland has worked with Terrence Sejnowski's lab as a research collaborator.^[9] Her collaboration with Sejnowski culminated in a book, The Computational Brain (MIT Press, 1993), co-authored with Sejnowski. Churchland was named the UC President's Professor of Philosophy in 1999, and served as Chair of the Philosophy Department at UCSD from 2000-2007.^[2]

She attended and was a speaker at the secularist Beyond Belief symposia in 2006, 2007, and 2008.^{[10] [11] [12]}

Personal life[link]

Churchland first met her husband, the philosopher Paul Churchland, while they were both enrolled in a class on Plato at the University of Pittsburgh,^[4] and they were married after she completed her B.phil at Oxford University.^[3] Their children are Mark M. Churchland (born 1972) and Anne K. Churchland (born 1974), both of whom are neuroscientists.^[13][14]

Philosophy[link]

This section relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (February 2012)

Churchland has focused on the interface between neuroscience and philosophy. According to her, philosophers are increasingly realizing that to understand the mind one must understand the brain. She is associated with a school of thought called eliminative materialism, which argues that commonsense, immediately intuitive, or "folk psychological" concepts such as thought, free will, and consciousness will likely need to be revised in a physically reductionistic way as neuroscientists discover more about the nature of brain function.^[15]

Awards and honors[link]

• MacArthur Fellowship, 1991^[2][16]
• Humanist Laureate, International Academy of Humanism, 1993^[17]
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of Virginia, 1996^[2]
• Honorary Doctor of Law, University of Alberta, 2007^[3]
• Distinguished Cognitive Scientist, UC, Merced Cognitive and Information Sciences program, 2011^[18]

Works[link]

As sole author[link]

• Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain. (1986) Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
• Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy. (2002) Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
• Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality. (2011) Princeton University Press.

As co-author or editor[link]

• The Computational Brain. (1992) Patricia S. Churchland and T. J. Sejnowski. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
• Neurophilosophy and Alzheimer's Disease. (1992) Edited by Y. Christen and Patricia S. Churchland. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
• The Mind-Brain Continuum (1996). Edited by R.R. Llinás and Patricia S. Churchland: The MIT Press.
• On the Contrary: Critical Essays 1987-1997. (1998). Paul M. Churchland and Patricia S. Churchland. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Works about[link]

In addition to her own work, Patricia Churchland and her husband Paul have been the subjects of several philosophical review works, including:

• The Churchlands and Their Critics. (1996) Robert N. McCauley. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell
• On the Churchlands. (2004) William Hirstein. Florence, Kentucky: Thomson Wadsworth

See also[link]

• American philosophy
• Eliminative materialism
• Neurophilosophy
• List of American philosophers
• Materialism
• Monism
• Philosophy of mind
• Reductionism
• Scientism

References[link]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Salk Institute: Adjunct Faculty". Salk Institute. http://www.salk.edu/faculty/adjunct_faculty.html. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Churchland, Patricia. "Curriculum Vitae". http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/pschurchland/index_hires.html. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} "University of Alberta - Fall Convocation 2007" (web page). University of Alberta. 22 November 2007. http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/Senate/nav04.cfm?nav04=70714&nav03=36464&nav02=33316&nav01=12498. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5} "From the Engine of Reason to the Seat of the Soul: A Brain-Wise Conversation" (video). The Science Studio. The Science Network. 26 June 2006. http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/the-science-studio/from-the-engine-of-reason-to-the-seat-of-the-soul-a-brain-wise-conversation. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
5. ↑ "Fellows Of Note - Major Awards". Princeton, NJ: The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. http://www.woodrow.org/about_fellows/awards.php. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
6. ↑ "Faculty of Medicine - Physiology" (web page). University of Manitoba - Department of Physiology. http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/physiology/contacts/jordan.html. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
7. ↑ "Social Science Only". A Community of Scholars. Princeton, NJ: Institute for Advanced Study. http://www.ias.edu/people/cos/affiliation/socsci37b1.html?page=2&%24Version=1&%24Path=%2F. Retrieved 30 August 2011. "Churchland, Patricia Smith [V] SocSci 1982-83" 
8. ↑ Churchland, Paul M. (19 January 2007). "Curriculum Vitae". UCSD Philosophy Department. http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/pchurchland/cv.pdf. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
9. ↑ "CNL - People" (web page). Computational Neurobiology Laboratory. The Salk Institute. http://cnl.salk.edu/People/. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
10. ↑ "Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival" (web page and video). The Science Network. 5–7 November 2006. http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-science-religion-reason-and-survival. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
11. ↑ "Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0" (web page and video). The Science Network. 31 October - 2 November 2007. http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-enlightenment-2-0. 
12. ↑ "Beyond Belief: Candles in the Dark" (web page and video). The Science Network. 3–6 October 2008. http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-candles-in-the-dark. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
13. ↑ "Anne Churchland - Assistant Professor" (web page). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. http://www.cshl.edu/gradschool/research-faculty/churchland-anne. Retrieved 15 August 2011. 
14. ↑ "Neural Prosthetic Systems Laboratory - Shenoy Lab" (web page). Stanford University. 5 August 2011. http://www.stanford.edu/~shenoy/GroupResearchGroup.htm. Retrieved 15 August 2011. 
15. ↑ Warburton, Nigel; Edmonds, David (2010). "Pat Churchland on Eliminative Materialism" (audio). Philosophy Bites. http://hw.libsyn.com/p/1/f/5/1f58c34b13616c2b/ChurchlandMixSesNewW.mp3?sid=73786dd61e12b018705fe91d6a9298d0&l_sid=18828&l_eid=&l_mid=1808679. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
16. ↑ "MacArthur Fellows List, "C"" (web page). The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.1139461/k.9375/Fellows_List__C.htm. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
17. ↑ "International Academy of Humanism - Humanist Laureates" (web page). Council For Secular Humanism. http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?page=index&section=iah. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 
18. ↑ "Distinguished Cognitive Scientist Award" (web page). University of California, Merced. 4 May 2011. http://cogsci.ucmerced.edu/2.asp?uc=1&lvl2=13&contentid=10. Retrieved 14 August 2011. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Patricia Churchland

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• From the Engine of Reason to the Seat of the Soul The Science Network interview with Patricia and Paul Churchland
• Patricia S. Churchland's Homepage
• Patricia Churchland entry from the Dictionary of the Philosophy of Mind
• Podcast discussion on The Partially Examined Life [1]
• Radio interview on "Philosophy Talk"
• Article in the New Yorker (12 February 2007)
• InConversation Radio Interview with Robyn Williams (1 March 2007)
• A Shot Clip:Churchland, Patricia
• UC Merced Distinguished Cognitive Scientist Award

Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (Wylie: Chos rgyam Drung pa; February 28, 1939 – April 4, 1987) 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 both by Tibetan Buddhists and by other spiritual practitioners and scholars^[1][2] as a preeminent teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, he was a major, albeit controversial, figure in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism to the West,^[3] founding Vajradhatu and Naropa University and establishing the Shambhala Training method.

Among his contributions are the translation of a large number of Tibetan texts,^[4] the introduction of the Vajrayana teachings to the West, and a presentation of the Buddhadharma largely devoid of ethnic trappings. Regarded as a mahasiddha by many senior lamas, he is seen as having embodied the crazy wisdom (Tib. yeshe chölwa) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.^[5][6] Some of his teaching methods and actions were the topic of controversy during his lifetime and afterwards.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Born in the Kham region of Tibet in February 1939, Chögyam Trungpa was eleventh in the line of Trungpa tülkus, important figures in the Kagyu lineage, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Among his three main teachers were Jamgon Kongtrul of Sechen, HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and Khenpo Gangshar.

The name Chögyam is a contraction of Chökyi Gyamtso (Tibetan: ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: Chos-kyi Rgya-mtsho), which means "ocean of dharma". Trungpa (Tibetan: དྲུང་པ་, Wylie: Drung-pa) means "attendant". He was deeply trained in the Kagyu tradition and received his khenpo degree at the same time as Thrangu Rinpoche; they continued to be very close in later years. Chögyam Trungpa was also trained in the Nyingma tradition, the oldest of the four schools, and was an adherent of the ri-mé ("nonsectarian") ecumenical movement within Tibetan Buddhism, which aspired to bring together and make available all the valuable teachings of the different schools, free of sectarian rivalry.

Already installed as the head of the Surmang monasteries in eastern Tibet, Chögyam Trungpa followed the Dalai Lama who fled Tibet during the ultimately unsuccessful 1959 Tibetan uprising against the Chinese communists. He was 20 years old, and he led his own party of monks across the Himalayas on foot and on horseback into India.

From 1959-1963, by appointment of the Dalai Lama, Chögyam Trungpa served as the spiritual advisor for the Young Lamas Home School in Dalhousie, India.

Early teachings in the West[link]

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In exile in India, Trungpa began his study of English. In 1963, with the assistance of sympathetic westerners, he received a Spalding sponsorship to study Comparative Religion at Oxford University in England.^[7] In 1967 he and Akong Rinpoche were invited by the Johnstone House Trust in Scotland to take over a meditation center on the departure of the western Theravadan monk named Anandabodhi, which then became Samye Ling, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the West. At this monastery in Scotland, future actor and musician David Bowie ^[8] was one of Chogyam Trungpa's meditation pupils. In 1970, after a break with his fellow lama Akong Tulku Rinpoche, Trungpa moved to the United States at the invitation of several students.

Shortly after his move to Scotland, a variety of experiences, including a car accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body, led Trungpa to the decision to give up his monastic vows and work as a lay teacher.^[9] This decision was principally motivated by the intention to undercut the temptation of students becoming distracted by exotic cultures and dress, and by their preconceptions of how a guru should behave.^[9] He drank, smoked, slept with students, and often kept students waiting for hours before giving teachings. Much of his behavior has been asserted as deliberately provocative and sparked controversies that continue to this day. In one account, he encouraged students to give up smoking marijuana claiming that the smoking was not of benefit to the spiritual progress and that it exaggerated neurosis. Students were often angered, unnerved and intimidated by him, but many remained fiercely loyal, committed, and devoted.

Upon moving to the United States in 1970, Trungpa traveled around North America, gaining renown for his unique ability to present the essence of the highest Buddhist teachings in a form readily understandable to western students. During this period, he conducted thirteen Vajradhatu Seminaries, three-month residential programs at which he presented a vast body of Buddhist teachings in an atmosphere of intensive meditation practice. The seminaries also had the important function of training his students to become teachers themselves.^[10]

Introduction of the Vajrayana[link]

Trungpa was one of the first teachers to introduce the esoteric practice of the Vajrayana to the West. According to Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, "The one who mainly spread the Vajrayana in the West was Trungpa Rinpoche."^[11] In contrast to its traditional presentation in Tibet, where the esoteric practices are largely the domain of the monastic sangha, in America Trungpa introduced the Vajrayana to the lay sangha.^[12]

The presentation of these teachings gave rise to some criticism. According to a former student, Stephen Butterfield, "Trungpa told us that if we ever tried to leave the Vajrayana, we would suffer unbearable, subtle, continuous anguish, and disasters would pursue us like furies"^[13] Other Vajrayana teachers, as well, also warn their students about the dangers of the esoteric path.

Butterfield noted "disquieting resemblances" to cults, and "to be part of Trungpa's inner circle, you had to take a vow never to reveal or even discuss some of the things he did." However, Butterfield also notes that "This personal secrecy is common with gurus, especially in Vajrayana Buddhism,"^[14] and acknowledges that Trungpa's organization is anything but a cult: "a mere cult leaves you disgusted and disillusioned, wondering how you could have been a fool. I did not feel that charlatans had hoodwinked me into giving up my powers to enhance theirs. On the contrary, mine were unveiled."^[15]

Meditation and education centers[link]

The purkhang at Karmê Chöling

In 1973, Trungpa established Vajradhatu, encompassing all his North American institutions, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Trungpa also founded more than 100 meditation centers throughout the world. Originally known as Dharmadhatus, these centers, now more than 150 in number, are known as Shambhala Meditation Centers. He also founded retreat centers for intensive meditation practice including Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, CO, Karmê Chöling in Barnet, VT and Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

In 1974, Trungpa founded the Naropa Institute, which later became Naropa University, in Boulder, Colorado. Naropa was the first accredited Buddhist university in North America. Chogyam Trungpa hired Allen Ginsberg to teach poetry and William Burroughs to teach literature.

He had a number of notable students, among whom were Pema Chödrön, Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, Diane di Prima, Peter Lieberson, José Argüelles, David Nichtern, Ken Wilber, David Deida, Francisco Varela, and Joni Mitchell who portrayed Trungpa in the song "Refuge of the Roads" on her 1976 album Hejira.^[16] Ginsberg, Waldman, and di Prima were also teachers at Naropa University.

Some important but less well-known students, whom he taught in England and in the USA, were Alf Vial, Rigdzin Shikpo (né Michael Hookham), Jigme Rinzen (né P. Howard Useche), Ezequiel Hernandez who later became known as Keun-Tshen Goba after setting up his first meditation center in Venezuela, Miguel Otaola (aka Dorje Khandro), Francisco Salas Roche, and Francesca Fremantle. Rigdzin Shikpo went on to continue Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's teachings from a primarily Nyingma rather than a Kagyü point of view in the Longchen Foundation.^[17][18]

Shambhala vision[link]

In 1976, Trungpa began giving a series of secular teachings, some of which were gathered and presented as the Shambhala Training,^[19][20] inspired by his vision (see terma) of the legendary Kingdom of Shambhala. Trungpa had actually started writing about Shambhala before his 1959 escape from Tibet to India, but most of those writings were lost during the escape.^[21]

In his view not only was individual enlightenment not mythical, but Shambhala Kingdom referred to an enlightened society that could in fact be actualized. The practice of Shambhala vision is to use mindfulness/awareness meditation as a way to connect with one's basic goodness and confidence. It is presented as a path that "brings dignity, confidence, and wisdom to every facet of life." The enlightened society it proposes would be led by himself as sakyong (Tib. earth protector) and his wife as queen-consort or sakyong wangmo.

Shambhala vision is described as a non-religious approach, rooted in meditation and accessible to individuals of any, or no, religion. In Shambhala terms, it is possible, moment by moment, for individuals to establish enlightened society. His book, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, provides a concise collection of the Shambhala views. According to Trungpa, it was his intention to propagate the kingdom of Shambala that provided the necessary inspiration to leave his homeland and make the arduous journey to India and the West.^[22]

Work with arts and sciences[link]

From the beginning of his time in America, Chögyam Trungpa passionately encouraged his students to integrate a contemplative approach into all of their everyday activities. In addition to making a variety of traditional contemplative practices available to the community, he also incorporated the many already-existing special interests of his students, evolving specialized teachings on how to apply a meditative approach to these various disciplines. These disciplines included kyūdō (Japanese archery), calligraphy, ikebana (flower arranging), sado (Japanese tea ceremony), dance, theater, film, poetry, as well as health care and psychotherapy. His aim was, in his own words, to bring "art to everyday life." He founded the Nalanda Foundation in 1974 as an umbrella organization for these activities.^{[citation needed]}

Death[link]

On September 28, 1986, Trungpa, in failing health due to the auto accident in his youth and to years of heavy alcohol use, suffered cardiac arrest,^[23] subsequent to which his condition deteriorated further, requiring intensive care at the hospital, then at his home, and finally back at the hospital in mid-March 1987, where he died on April 4. His wife Diana Mukpo wrote in 2006 that: "Although he had many of the classic health problems that develop from heavy drinking, it was in fact more likely the diabetes and high blood pressure that led to abnormal blood sugar levels and then the cardiac arrest".^[24] However, when asked in a November 2008 interview, "What was he ill with? What did he die of?," his doctor Mitchell Levy replied, "He had chronic liver disease related to his alcohol intake over many years."^[25] One of his nursing attendants reports that in his last months, he suffered from the classic symptoms of terminal alcoholism and cirrhosis,^[26] yet continued drinking heavily. She adds, "At the same time there was a power about him and an equanimity to his presence that was phenomenal, that I don't know how to explain."^[27]

He is reported to have remained in a state of samādhi for five days after his death, his body not immediately decaying and his heart remaining warm.^[28] His body was packed in salt and laid into a wooden box that was conveyed to Karmê Chöling. A number of observers have reported that his cremation there on May 26, 1987 was accompanied by various atmospheric effects and other signs traditionally viewed as marks of enlightenment. These included the appearance of rainbows, of eagles circling,^[29][30] and of a cloud in the shape of an Ashe.^[31][32]

Continuation of the Shambhala lineage[link]

Upon the death of Chögyam Trungpa, the leadership of Vajradhatu was first carried on by his American disciple, appointed regent and Dharma heir, Ösel Tendzin (Thomas Rich), and then by Trungpa's eldest son and Shambhala heir, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.

The next Trungpa tülku, Chokyi Sengay, was recognized in 1991 by Tai Situ Rinpoche.

Acclaim[link]

Major lineage holders of his own Tibetan Buddhist traditions and many other Buddhist teachers supported his work.

In 1974, Trungpa invited the Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage, to come to the west and offer teachings. Based on this visit, the Karmapa proclaimed Trungpa to be one of the principal Kagyu lineage holders in the west:

The ancient and renowned lineage of the Trungpas, since the great siddha Trungmase Chökyi Gyamtso Lodrö, possessor of only holy activity, has in every generation given rise to great beings. Awakened by the vision of these predecessors in the lineage, this my present lineage holder, Chökyi Gyamtso Trungpa Rinpoche, supreme incarnate being, has magnificently carried out the vajra holders discipline in the land of America, bringing about the liberation of students and ripening them in the dharma. This wonderful truth is clearly manifest.

Accordingly, I empower Chögyam Trungpa Vajra Holder and Possessor of the Victory Banner of the Practice Lineage of the Karma Kagyu. Let this be recognized by all people of both elevated and ordinary station.^[33]

In 1981, Chögyam Trungpa and his students hosted the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in his visit to Boulder, Colorado. Of Trungpa, he later wrote, "Exceptional as one of the first Tibetan lamas to become fully assimilated into Western culture, he made a powerful contribution to revealing the Tibetan approach to inner peace in the West."^[34]

Chögyam Trungpa also received support from one of his own main teachers, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma lineage. In addition to numerous sadhanas and poems dedicated to Trungpa, Khyentse Rinpoche wrote a supplication after Trungpa's death specifically naming him a mahasiddha.^[35][36][37] Among other Tibetan lamas to name Trungpa as a mahasiddha are the Sixteenth Karmapa, Thrangu Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and Tai Situpa.^[38]

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche said, "As taught in the Buddhist scriptures, there are nine qualities of a perfect master of buddhadharma. The eleventh Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche possessed all nine of these." ^[39]

Suzuki Roshi, founder of the San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and another important exponent of Buddhism to western students, described Trungpa Rinpoche in the context of a talk about emptiness:

The way you can struggle with this is to be supported by something, something you don't know. As we are human beings, there must be that kind of feeling. You must feel it in this city or building or community. So whatever community it may be, it is necessary for it to have this kind of spiritual support.

That is why I respect Trungpa Rinpoche. He is supporting us. You may criticize him because he drinks alcohol like I drink water, but that is a minor problem. He trusts you completely. He knows that if he is always supporting you in a true sense you will not criticize him, whatever he does. And he doesn't mind whatever you say. That is not the point, you know. This kind of big spirit, without clinging to some special religion or form of practice, is necessary for human beings.^[40]

Gehlek Rinpoche, who lived with Trungpa Rinpoche when they were young monks in India and later visited and taught with him in the U.S., remarked:

He was a great Tibetan yogi, a friend, and a master. The more I deal with Western Dharma students, the more I appreciate how he presented the dharma and the activities that he taught. Whenever I meet with difficulties, I begin to understand – sometimes before solving the problem, sometimes afterward – why Trungpa Rinpoche did some unconventional things. I do consider him to be the father of Tibetan Buddhism in the United States. In my opinion, he left very early – too early. His death was a great loss. Everything he did is significant.^[41]

Diana Mukpo, his wife, stated:

First, Rinpoche always wanted feedback. He very, very much encouraged his students’ critical intelligence. One of the reasons that people were in his circle was that they were willing to be honest and direct with him. He definitely was not one of those teachers who asked for obedience and wanted their students not to think for themselves. He thrived, he lived, on the intelligence of his students. That is how he built his entire teaching situation.

From my perspective, I could always be pretty direct with him. Maybe I was not hesitant to do that because I really trusted the unconditional nature of our relationship. I felt there was really nothing to lose by being absolutely direct with him, and he appreciated that.^[42]

Controversies[link]

Chögyam Trungpa's style of teaching was often unconventional.^[43] In his own words, "When we talk about compassion we talk in terms of being kind. But compassion is not so much being kind; it is being creative to wake a person up."^[44] He did not encourage his students to imitate his own behavior, and he was troubled by those who felt empowered by his example to do whatever they wanted and manipulate people. As the third Jamgön Kongtrül explained in a teaching given to students of Chögyam Trungpa, "You shouldn't imitate or judge the behavior of your teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, unless you can imitate his mind."^[45]

Trungpa's sexuality has been one of the sources of controversy, as he cultivated relations with a number of his female students. Tenzin Palmo, who met him in 1962 while he was still at Oxford did not become one of his consorts. She mentions she refused his advances at the time because he had presented himself as "a pure monk". However, she said had she known that Trungpa began having sexual relations with women at age 13 she would not have declined, considering that in the higher stages of Tibetan Buddhist tantra, sexual relations (especially with tertöns) are a means of enhancing spiritual insights.^[46] Trungpa formally renounced his monastic vows in 1969.^[47]

Trungpa was also known for smoking tobacco and for his liberal use of alcohol;^[48] many who knew him characterized him as an alcoholic.^[49][50] He began drinking occasionally shortly after arriving in India.^[51] Before his coming to America, Trungpa drove a sports car into a joke shop in Dumfries, Scotland.^[52] While his companion was not seriously injured,^[53] Trungpa was left partially paralyzed. Later he described this event as a pivotal moment which inspired the course of his teachings. Some accounts ascribe the accident to drinking.^[54][55] Others suggest he may have had a stroke.^[56][57] According to Trungpa himself, he blacked out.^[58]

He often combined drinking with teaching. David Chadwick recounts:^[59] "Suzuki [Roshi] asked Trungpa to give a talk to the students in the zendo the next night. Trungpa walked in tipsy and sat on the edge of the altar platform with his feet dangling. But he delivered a crystal-clear talk, which some felt had a quality – like Suzuki's talks – of not only being about the dharma but being itself the dharma." However, in some instances he was too drunk to walk and had to be carried.^[55] Also, according to the Steinbecks, on a couple of occasions his speech was unintelligible.^[60] One woman reported serving him "big glasses of gin first thing in the morning."^[26]

Two former students of Trungpa, John Steinbeck IV and his wife, wrote a sharply critical memoir of their lives with him in which they claim that, in addition to alcohol, Trungpa used $40,000 a year worth of cocaine, and used Seconal to come down from the cocaine. The cocaine use, say the Steinbecks, was kept secret from the wider Vajradhatu community.^[61]

An incident that became a cause célèbre among some poets and artists was the Halloween party at the Fall, 1975, Snowmass Colorado Seminary, a 3-month period of intensive meditation and study of the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana vehicles of Tibetan Buddhism. The poet W. S. Merwin had arrived that summer at the Naropa Institute and been told by Allen Ginsberg that he ought to visit seminary. Although he had not gone through the several years' worth of study and preparatory mind training required, Merwin was insistent he attend, and Trungpa eventually granted his request – along with his girlfriend as well. At seminary the couple stayed to themselves. At the Halloween party, after many, including Trungpa himself, had taken off their clothes, Merwin was asked to join the event, but refused. On Trungpa's orders his Vajra Guard forced entry into the poet's locked and barricaded room; brought him and his girlfriend, Dana Naone, against their will, to the party; and eventually stripped them of all their clothes, onlookers ignoring Naone's pleas for help and for someone to call the police.^[62] The next day Trungpa asked Merwin and Naone to remain at the Seminary as either students or guests. They agreed to stay for several more weeks to hear the Vajrayana teachings, with Trungpa's promise that "there would be no more incidents," and Merwin and Naone's assertion that "it would be with no guarantees of obedience, trust, or personal devotion to him."^[63] They left immediately after the last talk. In a 1977 letter to members of a Naropa class investigating the incident, Merwin concluded,

My feelings about Trungpa have been mixed from the start. Admiration, throughout, for his remarkable gifts; and reservations, which developed into profound misgivings, concerning some of his uses of them. I imagine, at least, that I've learned some things from him (though maybe not all of them were the things I was 'supposed' to learn) and some through him, and I'm grateful to him for those. I wouldn't encourage anyone to become a student of his. I wish him well.^[64]

Author Jeffery Paine commented on this incident that "Seeing Merwin out of step with the rest, Trungpa could have asked him to leave, but decided it was kinder to shock him out of his aloofness."^[65] However, he also notes the outrage felt in particular by poets such as Robert Bly and Kenneth Rexroth, who began calling Trungpa a fascist.^[66]

Trungpa's choice of Westerner Ösel Tendzin as his dharma heir was controversial as Tendzin would be the first Western Tibetan Buddhist lineage holder and Vajra Regent. This was exacerbated by Tendzin's own behavior as lineage holder. Tendzin, while knowingly carrying HIV, was sexually involved with students, one of whom became infected and died.^[67]

Rick Fields, historian of Buddhism in America,^[68] writes that Trungpa "caused more trouble, and did more good, than anyone I'll ever know."^[69]

Chronology[link]

1940: Born in Kham, Eastern Tibet. Enthroned as eleventh Trungpa Tulku, Supreme Abbot of Surmang Monasteries, and Governor of Surmang District. Some put his birth in 1939.^[70]

1944–59: Studies traditional monastic disciplines, meditation, and philosophy, as well as calligraphy, thangka painting, and monastic dance.

1947: Ordained as a shramanera (novice monk).

1958: Receives degrees of Kyorpön (Doctor of Divinity) and Khenpo (Master of Studies). Ordained as a bhikshu (full monk).

1959–60: Follows the Dalai Lama to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising, which failed to overthrow the Chinese government

1960–63: By appointment of the Dalai Lama, serves as spiritual advisor to the Young Lamas' Home School in Dalhousie, India.

1962: Fathers first son, Ösel Rangdröl (Mukpo), by a nun later referred to as Lady Kunchok Palden (or Lady Konchok Palden).^[71]

1963–67: Attends Oxford University on a Spaulding scholarship, studying comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts. Receives instructor's degree of the Sogetsu School of ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement)

1967: Founds Samyê-Ling, a meditation center in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.

1968: Receives The Sadhana of Mahamudra terma text while on retreat in Paro Taktsang, a sacred cliffside monastery in Bhutan.^[72]

1969: Becomes the first Tibetan British subject. Injured in a car accident, leaving him partially paralyzed. Relinquishes monastic vows and robes.

1970: Renounces monastic vows and marries wealthy sixteen year old disciple Diana Judith Pybus.^[73] Arrives in North America. Establishes Tail of the Tiger, a Buddhist meditation and study center in Vermont, now known as Karmê Chöling. Establishes Karma Dzong, a Buddhist community in Boulder, Colorado.^[74]

1971: Begins teaching at University of Colorado. Establishes Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, now known as Shambhala Mountain Center, near Fort Collins, Colorado.

1972: Initiates Maitri, a therapeutic program that works with different styles of neurosis using principles of the five buddha families. Conducts the Milarepa Film Workshop, a program which analyzes the aesthetics of film, on Lookout Mountain, Colorado.

1973: Founds Mudra Theater Group, which stages original plays and practices theater exercises, based on traditional Tibetan dance.^[75] Incorporates Vajradhatu, an international association of Buddhist meditation and study centers, now known as Shambhala International. Establishes Dorje Khyung Dzong, a retreat facility in southern Colorado.^[76] Conducts first annual Vajradhatu Seminary, a three-month advanced practice and study program.

1974: Incorporates Nalanda Foundation, a nonprofit, nonsectarian educational organization to encourage and organize programs in the fields of education, psychology, and the arts. Hosts the first North American visit of The Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyü lineage. Founds The Naropa Institute, a contemplative studies and liberal arts college, now fully accredited as Naropa University. Forms the organization that will become the Dorje Kasung, a service group entrusted with the protection of the buddhist teachings and the welfare of the community.

1975: Forms the organization that will become the Shambhala Lodge, a group of students dedicated to fostering enlightened society. Founds the Nalanda Translation Committee for the translation of Buddhist texts from Tibetan and Sanskrit. Establishes Ashoka Credit Union.

1976: Hosts the first North American visit of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, revered meditation master and scholar of the Nyingma lineage. Hosts a visit of Dudjom Rinpoche, head of the Nyingma lineage. Empowers Thomas F. Rich as his dharma heir, known thereafter as Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin. Establishes the Kalapa Court in Boulder, Colorado, as his residence and a cultural center for the Vajradhatu community. Receives the first of several Shambhala terma texts (see termas). These comprise the literary source for the Shambhala teachings. Founds Alaya Preschool in Boulder, Colorado.

1977: Bestows the Vajrayogini abhisheka for the first time in the West for students who have completed ngöndro practice. Establishes the celebration of Shambhala Day. Observes a year-long retreat in Charlemont, Massachusetts. Founds Shambhala Training to promote a secular approach to meditation practice and an appreciation of basic human goodness. Visits Nova Scotia for the first time.

1978: Conducts the first annual Magyal Pomra Encampment, an advanced training program for members of the Dorje Kasung. Conducts the first annual Kalapa Assembly, an intensive training program for advanced Shambhala teachings and practices. Conducts the first Dharma Art seminar. Forms Amara, an association of health professionals. Forms the Upaya Council, a mediation council providing a forum for resolving disputes. Establishes the Midsummer's Day festival and Children's Day.

1979: Empowers his eldest son, Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo, as his successor and heir to the Shambhala lineage. Founds the Shambhala School of Dressage, an equestrian school under the direction of his wife, Lady Diana Mukpo. Founds Vidya Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado.

1980–83: Presents a series of environmental installations and flower arranging exhibitions at art galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Boulder.

1980: Forms Kalapa Cha to promote the practice of traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. With the Nalanda Translation Committee, completes the first English translation of The Rain of Wisdom.

1981: Hosts the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to Boulder, Colorado. Conducts the first annual Buddhist-Christian Conference in Boulder, Colorado, exploring the common ground between Buddhist and Christian contemplative traditions. Forms Ryuko Kyūdōjō to promote the practice of Kyūdō under the direction of Shibata Kanjuro Sensei, bow maker to the Emperor of Japan. Directs a film, Discovering Elegance, using footage of his environmental installation and flower arranging exhibitions.

1982: Forms Kalapa Ikebana to promote the study and practice of Japanese flower arranging.

1983: Establishes Gampo Abbey, a Karma Kagyü monastery located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, for Western students wishing to enter into traditional monastic discipline. Creates a series of elocution exercises to promote precision and mindfulness of speech.

1984–85: Observes a year-long retreat in Mill Village, Nova Scotia.

1986: Moves his home and the international headquarters of Vajradhatu to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

1987: Dies of an alcohol-related illness, April 4, in Halifax; cremated May 26 at Karmê Chöling. (His followers have constructed a chorten or stupa, the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, located near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, for his remains.) 1989: The child recognized as his reincarnation, Chokyi Sengay, is born in Derge, Tibet; recognized two years later by Tai Situ Rinpoche.

Bibliography[link]

• Born in Tibet (1966), autobiography, story of escaping from Tibet.
• Meditation in Action (1969)
• Mudra (1972)
• Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism (1973)
• The Dawn of Tantra, by Herbert V. Guenther and Chögyam Trungpa (1975)
• Glimpses of Abhidharma (1975)
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo, translated with commentary by Francesca Fremantle and Chögyam Trungpa (1975)
• The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation (1976)
• The Rain of Wisdom (1980)
• Journey without Goal: The Tantric Wisdom of the Buddha (1981)
• The Life of Marpa the Translator (1982)
• First Thought Best Thought: 108 Poems (1983)
• Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior (1984)
• Crazy Wisdom (1991)
• The Heart of the Buddha (1991)
• Orderly Chaos: The Mandala Principle (1991)
• Secret Beyond Thought: The Five Chakras and the Four Karmas (1991)
• The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra (1992)
• Transcending Madness: The Experience of the Six Bardos (1992)
• Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving Kindness (1993)
• Glimpses of Shunyata (1993)
• The Art of Calligraphy: Joining Heaven and Earth (1994)
• Illusion's Game: The Life and Teaching of Naropa (1994)

• The Path Is the Goal: A Basic Handbook of Buddhist Meditation (1995)
• Dharma Art (1996)
• Timely Rain: Selected Poetry of Chögyam Trungpa (1998)
• Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of Shambhala (1999)
• Glimpses of Space: The Feminine Principle and Evam (1999)
• The Essential Chögyam Trungpa (2000)
• Glimpses of Mahayana (2001)
• Glimpses of Realization (2003)
• The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa, Volumes One through Eight (2003)
• True Command: The Teachings of the Dorje Kasung, Volume I, The Town Talks (2004)
• The Sanity We Are Born With: A Buddhist Approach to Psychology (2005)
• The Teacup & the Skullcup: Chogyam Trungpa on Zen and Tantra (2007)

See also[link]

• Buddhism in the United States
• Shambhala Buddhism
• Tulku (documentary film by Trungpa's son Gesar Mukpo)
• Celtic Buddhism
• Ken Keyes, Jr.
• Miksang (contemplative photography)
• Reginald Ray
• Samaya

Notes[link]