corboy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> [www.theguardian.com]
> ure-felt-like-a-cult-stephin-merritt-life-in-songs
> -magnetic-fields-new-album
>
>
> Being a guru means at least several things:
>
> * Never having to say you are sorry
>
> * A wider range of rationalizations available to
> you than to the ordinary
> drug abuser
>
> * Ability to attract people from dysfunctional
> homes who will enable you
> and make excuses for you the way they as
> children made excuses for their
> own disabled parents.
>
> * You will be protected even after your death by
> those same disciples after the
> latter have become teachers, therapists and
> authors.
>
> * After your death your actual behavior and the
> persons harmed will become the 'family secret' of
> your sangha. This will re-enact the family
> backgrounds so many of spiritual seekers come
> from.
>
> This generates yet more ancient twisted karma.
The observation that dysfunctional and/or unethical gurus tend to attract followers from dysfunctional homes, and that the sangha environment and the guru's behavior re-enact the family backgrounds of the followers, in effect re-abusing them over and over, is demonstrated in the bio by John Steinbeck IV and his wife, Nancy, who were Trungpa followers: "The Other Side of Eden".
Steinbeck IV came from a multi-generational family of alcoholics, so in the Trungpa sangha, he found familiar ground that he felt at home in. He and his wife did eventually see through all the hype, pretense and abuse-as-enlightened-practice, and left. They provide some valuable insights into the group dynamics of the Trungpa entourage from an insider perspective.
Amazon link here:
[www.amazon.com]
-------------------------------------------------------
> [www.theguardian.com]
> ure-felt-like-a-cult-stephin-merritt-life-in-songs
> -magnetic-fields-new-album
>
>
>Quote
"My mother has travelled a lot, following
> various gurus around ...he liked to encourage
> drunk driving, which didn’t turn out well for
> him. He thought drunk driving was very good for
> you, to sharpen the awareness."
> Being a guru means at least several things:
>
> * Never having to say you are sorry
>
> * A wider range of rationalizations available to
> you than to the ordinary
> drug abuser
>
> * Ability to attract people from dysfunctional
> homes who will enable you
> and make excuses for you the way they as
> children made excuses for their
> own disabled parents.
>
> * You will be protected even after your death by
> those same disciples after the
> latter have become teachers, therapists and
> authors.
>
> * After your death your actual behavior and the
> persons harmed will become the 'family secret' of
> your sangha. This will re-enact the family
> backgrounds so many of spiritual seekers come
> from.
>
> This generates yet more ancient twisted karma.
The observation that dysfunctional and/or unethical gurus tend to attract followers from dysfunctional homes, and that the sangha environment and the guru's behavior re-enact the family backgrounds of the followers, in effect re-abusing them over and over, is demonstrated in the bio by John Steinbeck IV and his wife, Nancy, who were Trungpa followers: "The Other Side of Eden".
Steinbeck IV came from a multi-generational family of alcoholics, so in the Trungpa sangha, he found familiar ground that he felt at home in. He and his wife did eventually see through all the hype, pretense and abuse-as-enlightened-practice, and left. They provide some valuable insights into the group dynamics of the Trungpa entourage from an insider perspective.
Amazon link here:
[www.amazon.com]