Crazy Wisdom

The Wisdom And Power Of Emptiness
My first encounter with Trungpa Rinpoche was in the mid-seventies when while in graduate school I was given a copy of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. A wonderful and fascinating read, the book propelled me to learn more about its author and his thinking by further exploring his writings. I knew about Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, which he founded in 1974. And I went to a lecture in New York City where I had a first-hand experience of the incredible power of emptiness of mind when while walking down the aisle to my seat I gazed upon him at the front of the room and experienced a moment of radical nothingness for perhaps the first and last time in my life. I thought I knew a lot about him but Crazy Wisdom opened up a window into his life and work that expanded my knowledge greatly. It is a well-made film by a documentarian who clearly relishes in her subject. He was quite a guy: Monk, philosopher, psychologist, teacher, exile, sensualist and addict, and a unique figure...

A moving and informative account
A well-made, engaging, beautiful, and informative film. If you know nothing about Trungpa from the get-go, you'll find this movie intriguing; if you are very familiar with Trungpa, you'll find the movie to be an even-handed, respectful, and touching representation, especially deft in the way it handles his more controversial side.

wisdom yes; crazy...depends
I'll confess from the start that I am a student of Chogyam Trungpa's son and heir, Sakyong Mipham. Having confessed, I am deeply appreciative of this film's depiction of an astounding figure, a fearless teacher, and a genuine human being. The viewer is given the opportunity to experience what it must have been like to be around Trungpa, discovering groundlessness, wakefulness, delight, and terror by his very presence. The filmmaker has elected not to include critical views outside his community of practitioners, but she does not hesitate to address the salacious aspects of sex and liquor that often overwhelm consideration of Trungpa's essential sanity and selflessness. KI KI SO SO!

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