Spiritual Materialism: Cross-Tradition Comparison Handout
Core Question Across Traditions
Is spirituality being used to dissolve the ego—or to sanctify it?
1. Tibetan Buddhism
Key voice: Chögyam Trungpa
Risk
-
Turning meditation, insight, or compassion into identity
-
“I am awakened / beyond attachment”
Corrective
-
Radical self-honesty
-
Cutting through ego at increasingly subtle levels
-
Ordinary mind, no special status
Test
Does practice reduce self-importance—or refine it?
2. Zen Buddhism
Risk
-
Attachment to enlightenment experiences (kenshō)
-
“I have seen the truth”
Corrective
-
Continuous practice after awakening
-
“Before enlightenment: chop wood. After enlightenment: chop wood.”
Test
Has awakening made daily life simpler—or grander?
3. Sufism (Islamic Mysticism)
Key voice: Jalāl ad-Dīn Rumi
Risk
-
Spiritual intoxication becoming pride
-
Mistaking ecstasy for union with God
Corrective
-
Fanāʾ (annihilation of the self)
-
Humility before the Divine
-
Love that erases the self, not polishes it
Test
Is love dissolving the “I”—or glorifying it?
4. Indigenous Spiritual Traditions
(Pan-American, Australian, Arctic, Amazonian examples)
Risk
-
Ritual removed from land, elders, and obligation
-
Ceremony as personal “healing product”
Corrective
-
Spirituality inseparable from:
-
community
-
land
-
ancestry
-
ethical responsibility
-
Test
Does ceremony increase service to the people—or focus on the self?
5. Christian Mysticism
Key voices: Meister Eckhart, St John of the Cross
Risk
-
Pride in holiness
-
Moral or ascetic superiority
Corrective
-
The “dark night”
-
Surrender, unknowing, humility
-
Grace rather than achievement
Test
Has faith softened judgment—or intensified it?
Shared Warning Signs (All Traditions)
-
Spiritual language used to avoid pain or accountability
-
Hierarchies of “advanced” vs “unenlightened”
-
Identity built around purity, insight, or awakening
-
Loss of compassion for ordinary human struggle
Shared Markers of Authentic Practice
-
Humility
-
Ethical responsibility
-
Greater tolerance for ambiguity
-
Deepened compassion for self and others
-
Less need to be special
Unifying Diagnostic Question
Is this path helping me escape reality—or meet it more fully?
Bottom Line
Across traditions, spiritual materialism is the same error in different clothing:
the ego survives by becoming sacred.
True spirituality makes us less defended, less certain, and more human.
TO MY IRANIAN FRIENDS AND LOVERS , YOU ARE IN MY HEART AND MIND
