CYNICISM & MAGIC

Intelligence And Intuition On The Buddhist Path
with David Nichtern & Larry Mermelstein
Tuesdays, November 9th - December 14th, 7-9pm ET
Cost: $150

"The first step for you as a student is to sharpen your intellect and not buy anything that is presented without question. To wake yourself up, cynical thinking and critical questioning are extremely important. Otherwise, you are completely helpless. You are just being fed through an intravenous system."

~ Chögyam Trungpa

Our Tuesday Night Dharma gatherings have become a hallmark and bedrock of our burgeoning Dharma Moon community. I must say that I really look forward to these sessions and it seems that many of you do too. Let’s keep the mojo working with our next class!

In our upcoming Tuesday night series, we will be studying a new book released by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Significantly, this book is edited by a new generation. Based on a series of talks given by Rinpoche during the first session of what was to become Naropa University, in the summer of 1974, Cynicism and Magic introduces key Tibetan Buddhist concepts, including karma, the structure of ego, the paramitas, and the bodhisattva.

In his unique and intimate teaching style, Trungpa Rinpoche presents these concepts in a larger framework of questions we all have:

What is authentic spirituality?
Can I find enlightenment and freedom?
How should I approach life, death, suffering, and boredom?
How can I develop discipline, patience, and sanity?

In the summer of 1974, Chögyam Trungpa looked out on a throng of spiritual seekers gathered in Boulder and urged them to get real and be cynical. The U.S. had become a supermarket for Eastern spirituality, so he emphasized the positive cynicism in the Buddha’s original teaching—be skeptical, be suspicious, especially of shortcuts, and see for yourself. At the same time, he emphasized the discovery of genuine freedom and openness.

"Looking forward to seeing the usual suspects and maybe some other MMTT grads who haven’t “tasted the soup” yet!"

~ David Nichtern

Dates: Tuesdays, November 9th - Dececember 14th
Time: 7-9pm ET
Cost: $150

The course will include lectures, discussion, meditation instruction & practice. Recordings will be available.

Prerequisite: Dharma Moon MMTT Grad

Suggested Reading: Cynicism & Magic by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (click title to purchase)

YOUR TEACHERS

David Nichtern

David Nichtern is a senior teacher in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. This tradition combines a contemporary, secular approach to meditation with the ancient practices and philosophies of Tibetan Buddhism.

David is also a four-time Emmy winner and two-time Grammy nominee, and a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience integrating spiritual practice and everyday living. He is the author of Awakening From The Daydream; Re-imaging The Buddha’s Wheel of Life and Creativity Spirituality and Making A Buck on Wisdom Publications.

Larry Mermelstein

Beginning in 1971, Larry Mermelstein became a close student of the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and scholar. He served as an acharya (senior teacher) in the Vajradhatu/Shambhala community for twenty years, as well as being a member of the board of directors for nearly that long.

He is a founding member and the executive director of the Nalanda Translation Committee for over forty years and is a long-time consulting editor to Shambhala Publications.