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Journey Without Goal: The Tantric Wisdom of the Buddha

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Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Journey Without Goal: The Tantric Wisdom of the Buddhas was published 25 years ago. Though the language is somewhat dated, this compilation of teachings on Vajrayana practice is an excellent introduction and explanation of the methods and intentions of the ordinary and extraordinary practices. We are indebted to Trungpa Rinpoche and will always be grateful for his courage in bringing Tibetan Buddhist dharma to the West in English. Some have been critical of the trend resulting from this 1970's me-decade contact that produced what Gary L. Ray in CyberSangha (Spring 1996) says could be termed

THERAFIRMA BUDDHISTS: Intellectual Buddhists, usually psychotherapists, who believe in Buddhism strictly as a psychological process and reject any hints of extraordinary aspects of the tradition.

Indeed, in Journey we find explanations of one's emotional life as it relates to the five Buddha families, and we are made conscious of the characteristically Western (it seems) tendency to what has become known, after another famous title by him, as spiritual materialism. But if you are looking for a concise, clear explanation of what is meant by tantric Buddhism ie. Vajrayana, and how it accomplishes the transformation that certain individuals with a strong attachment to sensory input may seek, this is a good book with which to begin.

As someone who is beginning to study vajrayana practices, I found this a nice introduction to tantric practices and now I want to read more details, which this text does not provide. This felt like a teaser for wanting more. If you are a tantric practitioner, this may be too much of an introductory text.

I really wanted to get this book to teach myself about egolessness. However, when I read the introduction there were warnings about reading on and trying to learn the last step first. Apparently, the Hinayana and the Mahayana are the first and second steps (in that order) to be mastered, before one reads this book. I read on into the beginning of the first chapter, and the warnings were correct, I was lost and had no idea what was going on. So Warning to all others, get books on the Hinayana and the Mahayana first before you dive into this book. Learn and master them. It is a great book otherwise, I just wish I knew about those other steps first.

That I am nothing, and there is a lot to learn. There is an important warning in this book, that Tantra is very dangerous. So is living, I suppose. The humour of it all is here. We exist but we don't exist. Confusing.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Journey Without Goal: The Tantric Wisdom of the Buddhas was published 25 years ago. Though the language is somewhat dated, this compilation of teachings on Vajrayana practice is an excellent introduction and explanation of the methods and intentions of the ordinary and extraordinary practices. We are indebted to Trungpa Rinpoche and will always be grateful for his courage in bringing Tibetan Buddhist dharma to the West in English. Some have been critical of the trend resulting from this 1970's me-decade contact that produced what Gary L. Ray in CyberSangha (Spring 1996) says could be termed

THERAFIRMA BUDDHISTS: Intellectual Buddhists, usually psychotherapists, who believe in Buddhism strictly as a psychological process and reject any hints of extraordinary aspects of the tradition.

Indeed, in Journey we find explanations of one's emotional life as it relates to the five Buddha families, and we are made conscious of the characteristically Western (it seems) tendency to what has become known, after another famous title by him, as spiritual materialism. But if you are looking for a concise, clear explanation of what is meant by tantric Buddhism ie. Vajrayana, and how it accomplishes the transformation that certain individuals with a strong attachment to sensory input may seek, this is a good book with which to begin.