[Buddha-l] crazy wisdom

[L.S. Cousins]

For the record, I recall Trungpa in the latter part of the 60s, 
referring to a teacher who had used alcohol successfully, although 
his chief pupil (using the same method) went mad. This was in 
response to a question about drugs and meditation.

Whether or how far it has antecedents in Tibetan tradition I could 
not say, but I suspect that Trungpa was already thinking in these 
terms in India before he came to Britain. It was his fluency in 
English which was much improved by the time he went to America.

Lance Cousins


>I have a question for anyone familiar with Tibetan Buddhism.  Was 
>Trungpa's "Crazy Wisdom" dharma his own invention?  Clearly one 
>could look to the Marpa/Milarepa relationship and say, in a vague 
>way, that there is a precededent for unorthodox teaching methods. 
>But in terms of drinking and smoking and having vajra guards? I'm 
>not asking "Did it happen?" but rather, "Is such 'Crazy Wisdom', as 
>some of Trungpa's students will claim, a respected/recognized 
>tradition? Whether or not such methods were skillful is another 
>matter, but I'm hoping to have a better sense of whether or not the 
>"lineage" was, as I suspect, invented to suit 1970s Americans.
>
>Ditto Shambala Training.
>
>All best,  John Whalen-Bridge