The Myth of Freedom: A Playlist of the Original Talks
Click here to jump to playlist PDF or Click here to jump to an audio clip.
The publication of Pema Chödrön’s new book Another Kind of Freedom, a detailed commentary on Chögyam Trungpa’s classic text The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation, inspired us to create a complete playlist of all the talks included in his original book. Like almost all of Trungpa Rinpoche’s books, The Myth of Freedom is an edited compilation of talks he gave to a live audience. Published in 1976,The Myth of Freedom is based on 37 different talks Trungpa Rinpoche gave across the United States between 1971 and 1973. These talks were distilled into short, pithy sections of the book, each one giving a vivid snapshot of a step on the Buddhist path. Below is a playlist mapping each section of the book to the specific talk it is based off of. Now, for the very first time, you can listen to the original source material (including a Q&A) that brings the page to life!
How it works: This book-to-talks playlist is split into the chapters and sections just as they are in The Myth of Freedom (and Chödrön’s commentary). Across from the title of each book section is the link to the audio recording of the original talk. Click on the talk title to listen to the talk with captions and an interactive transcript. You can also scroll to the bottom of the playlist to access a downloadable PDF version.
Note: While the book is based on these talks, the presentation of the material in the original recordings differs significantly from the final published versions. This is to be expected when a book is based on oral presentations.
Chapter One: Myth of Freedom
This chapter contains two talks from the seminar The Meaning of Death (Karmê Chöling, VT, 1973).
Book Section. . . . . . Link to Original Talk
Fantasy and Reality . . . Tibetan Buddhist Teachings & their Application (Public Talk, ’72)
Disappointment . . . . . . Disappointment (Public Talk, NYC, 1972)
Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . Suffering (The Meaning of Death: Talk 3)
Egolessness . . . . . . . . . . Egolessness (The Meaning of Death: Talk 4)
Chapter Two: Styles of Imprisonment
This chapter is mostly based on the seminar The Six States of Being (Karmê Chöling, VT, 1971), with one talk from the seminar Buddhadharma Without Credentials (New York City, 1973).
Book Section . . . Link to Original Talk
Cosmic Joke . . . . . . Cosmic Joke (Buddhadharma Without Credentials: Talk 2)
Self-absorption . . . The Realm of the Gods (The Six States of Being: Talk 2)
Paranoia . . . . . . . . . . The Jealous God Realm (The Six States of Being: Talk 3)
Passion . . . . . . . . . . . The Human Realm (The Six States of Being: Talk 4)
Stupidity . . . . . . . . . . The Animal Realm (The Six States of Being: Talk 5)
Poverty . . . . . . . . . . . The Hungry Ghost & Hell Realms (The Six States of Being: Talk 6)
Anger . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Hungry Ghost & Hell Realms (The Six States of Being: Talk 6)
Chapter Three: Sitting Meditation
This chapter contains two talks from the seminar Buddhadharma Without Credentials (New York City, 1973) and one from the seminar The Battle of Ego III (Los Angeles, 1971).
Book Section. . . . . . . . . . . . Link to Original Talk
The Fool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Fool (Buddhadharma Without Credentials: Talk 5)
Simplicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sitting Meditation (Battle of Ego III: Talk 2)
Mindfulness & Awareness . . . Awareness (Public Talk, NYC, 1972)
Boredom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boredom (Buddhadharma Without Credentials: Talk 3)
The Way of the Buddha . . . . . . Cool Boredom (Public Talk, Boston, 1972)
Chapter Four: Working with the Emotions
This chapter contains one talk from the seminar The Battle of Ego III (Los Angeles, 1971) and one talk from the seminar Buddhadharma Without Credentials (New York City, 1973).
Book Section. . . . . . . . . Link to Original Talk
The Dualistic Barrier . . . . . . Working with the Emotions (Battle of Ego III: Talk 3)
Lion’s Roar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Lion’s Roar (Buddhadharma Without Credentials: Talk 4)
Working with Negativity . . .Working with Negativity (Community Talk, VT, 1971)
Chapter Five: Meditation in Action
This chapter contains two talks from the seminar Work Sex Money I (Boston, 1970).
Book Section. . . . . Link to Original Talk
Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Work: Simplicity & Awareness (Work Sex Money I: Talk 2)
Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sex: The Flame of Love & Pure Passion (Work Sex Money I: Talk 1)
Working with People . . Working with People: Tank Technique (Community Talk, VT, ’71)
The Eightfold Path . . . . . The Eightfold Path (Public Talk, San Francisco, ’71)
Chapter Six: The Open Way
This chapter is based on the seminar The Ten Bhumis (RMDC, CO, 1972).
Book Section. . . . . . . Link to Original Talk
Bodhisattva Vow . . . . . . . Bodhisattva Vow Part 1 (Ten Bhumis: Talk 1)
Heroism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heroism and the 1st Bhumi (Ten Bhumis: Talk 3)
The Sanity of Earth . . . . .The Sanity of Earth and the 2nd Bhumi (Ten Bhumis: Talk 4)
Patience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patience and the 3rd Bhumi (Ten Bhumis: Talk 5)
Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tradition and the 4th Bhumi (Ten Bhumis: Talk 6)
Zen and Prajna . . . . . . . . . Meditation, Prajna, Skillful Means, & Power (Ten Bhumis: Talk 7)
The Approach to Enlightenment . .The Approach to Enlightenment (Ten Bhumis: Talk 8)
Chapter Seven: Devotion
This chapter is based on the seminar Devotional Buddhism of Tibet (Boulder, 1973).
Book Section. . . . . . . . . Link to Original Talk
Surrendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surrendering (Devotional Buddhism of Tibet: Talk 1)
Spiritual Friend . . . . . . . . . . . Spiritual Friend (Devotional Buddhism of Tibet: Talk 3)
The Great Warrior . . . . . . . .The Great Warrior (Devotional Buddhism of Tibet: Talk 5)
Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . Commitment (Devotional Buddhism of Tibet: Talk 6)
The Universality of Guru . . . Universality of the Guru (Devotional Buddhism of Tibet: Talk 7)
Chapter Eight: Tantra
This chapter contains one talk from the seminar The Battle of Ego III (Los Angeles, 1971).
Book Section. . . . . . . . . . . . Link to Original Talk
Aloneness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aloneness (Public Talk, Sausalito, CA, 1972)
Mandala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tantra: Mandala (Battle of Ego III: Talk 5)
Mahamudra Upadesa . . . . . . . No source recording; translation of Tibetan text
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Download a PDF of the playlist:
More Talks on the Myth of Freedom
Bonus playlist! The audio recordings below are a collection of teachings not included in the book. These stand-alone public talks examine what it means to be free and how we imprison ourselves in our own confusion.
The Myth of Freedom (NYC, 1973)
- A talk about the difference between the conventional and Buddhist ideas of freedom.
The Myth of Freedom (San Francisco, CA, 1974)
- An experiential talk on working with the myth of freedom and dualistic mind.
The Myth of Freedom (NYC, 1974)
- A talk that explores what freedom really means, and if it even exists.
The Myth of Freedom (Chicago, IL, 1975)
- A talk on discovering genuine freedom through examining our own imprisonment.
The Myth of Freedom (Palo Alto, CA, 1975)
- An examination of the constant search for freedom through academic, commercial, or spiritually materialistic endeavors.
The Myth of Freedom (Berkeley, CA, 1976)
- An exploration of the four levels of the myth of freedom, corresponding to the four marks of existence (impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and egolessness).
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