Eckhart Tolle. Your opinion?

[DNS]

He is worth millions. That is not doing nothing.

Indeed. That Eckhart fellow is always doing things. If one's looking for a guru who's skilled at doing nothing, I should think that the Croatian Braco (Josip Grbavac) would be the best option.

I thought this was satire, but see it's "real." People really do come just to see him gaze.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braco_(faith_healer)

At least Tolle had to do lots of work re-packaging Eastern teachings and philosophies and make it palatable for a modern audience.

[Pulsar]

DNS wrote 

"At least Tolle had to do lots of work re-packaging Eastern teachings and philosophies and make it palatable for a modern audience"

well he is not the only Dude who did that, Mindfulness taught at western hospitals to recovering heart patients, is another instance of repackaging. If Buddha was included, folks would get indigestion.
This is why Samsara is so long for some, gotta go through many heart attacks, before the sun of Dhamma can arise.
Some like it hot, find it tasty, and easily digestible, others seem to know that heat can kill. An enlightening thread, as dumb as it sounds in the beginning. Eckhart Tolle and the present moment  Folks on weed live the present moment in vicarious ways, that is why shops multiply in the pandemic while many other businesses are failing ...
Sorry for a lapse of mindfulness, or a moment of papanca, just could not help it.
With love on a freezing-ly sunny morning

[auto]

5:24
How do you become conscious of the present moment..
after a while you can actually sense the presence of the present.. directly.

It is same thing what the saying 'being aware of being aware' is pointing out. Or when seeing then knowing that I am seeing. I think it is satipatthana first corner.
--
and besides that the moment he mentions it or explains it what it is, he recognizes it also and you can see doubt disappear in him and starts talking knowing about what he is talking. Idea is that the moment needs be recognized at scratch every time you talk about it(when there have been a lapse) same thing you can notice Khrishnamurti vids. That's the point of developing the great enlightenment.

[No_Mind]

Yeah, it really seems like his teachings have been helpful for a lot of people who burden themselves with thinking. I remember I found them super helpful when I first started getting into "spirituality"; his teachings were soothing and made a lot of sense at that time. Better than fault-finding, that's for sure.

Then I would have to say that most such people are fools and no better than those who attend a megachurch and imagine they are closer to God. And thanks to your reply now I know where the nearest one is

[dhammacoustic]

Eckhart Tolle. Your opinion?

quite the gentleman and a skilled businessman

[TLCD96]

Yeah, it really seems like his teachings have been helpful for a lot of people who burden themselves with thinking. I remember I found them super helpful when I first started getting into "spirituality"; his teachings were soothing and made a lot of sense at that time. Better than fault-finding, that's for sure.

Then I would have to say that most such people are fools and no better than those who attend a megachurch and imagine they are closer to God. And thanks to your reply now I know where the nearest one is

Really, the point is that finding some peace of mind is not really a bad thing. ET may actually serve as a valuable stepping stone for some people, as he did for me (though not in a major way).

As much as we might like these people to have the "true dhamma", it's extremely questionable for dhamma-practitioners be actively searching for faults in someone like this. That's not dhamma behavior at all. If somebody's not practicing to your liking, it's not like cutting their knees off will actually help them.

Any way, you asked for my opinion. My opinion is that he's not really a bad guy, and if we're fault finding here, that's really toxic.

[No_Mind]

Yeah, it really seems like his teachings have been helpful for a lot of people who burden themselves with thinking. I remember I found them super helpful when I first started getting into "spirituality"; his teachings were soothing and made a lot of sense at that time. Better than fault-finding, that's for sure.

Then I would have to say that most such people are fools and no better than those who attend a megachurch and imagine they are closer to God. And thanks to your reply now I know where the nearest one is

Really, the point is that finding some peace of mind is not really a bad thing. ET may actually serve as a valuable stepping stone for some people, as he did for me (though not in a major way).

As much as we might like these people to have the "true dhamma", it's extremely questionable for dhamma-practitioners be actively searching for faults in someone like this. That's not dhamma behavior at all. If somebody's not practicing to your liking, it's not like cutting their knees off will actually help them.

Any way, you asked for my opinion. My opinion is that he's not really a bad guy, and if we're fault finding here, that's really toxic.

It's good to know that you ended up discovering the Dhamma inspite of ET, Sadhguru et al. But you cannot dismiss the fact that many in the audience would believe that he is the best teacher possible. Hence by showing a false path he is contributing to Wrong View without a metaphysical scaffolding in place.

That is worse than say ISKCON (the first generation under Srila Prabhupada, not the post 1977 edition) who could trace their lineage and teaching of Achintya Bheda Abheda to at least 15th century CE.

It is for same reason that I am not picking on Catholic Church or Orthodox Church and practices such as hesychasm.

Not only is this an internal discussion among us, but you overlook the fact that Dhammawheel has high domain authority (trustworthiness of a website) and anyone searching the web for "criticism of ET" after few months would probably end up here.

Wouldn't that be nice? For someone to find the Dhamma free of cost instead of a vague teaching .. "between 'now' and .......... 'now' what do you observe?"

[Crazy cloud]

TLCD96

If I were to pay respect to all situations and every being that has pushed and nudged me further, I would have to use the rest of my life seeking them out and take a bow. The best way to "say thanks" is to take teachings too the heart, and that means better some aspects of oneself, - let go of the individuals - move on and keep on sharing one's own wisdom if any with those who say they are "all ears".

[binocular]

Of course if you know Latin, you know Eckhart Tolle means Take up Eckhart, and if you know the church fathers you know its a reference to Augustine of Hippo's dream where a voice told him "Tolle lege. Tolle lege." That is, "Take up. Read. Take up. Read." in reference to the Bible. So Eckhart Tolle must be by his name cryptically saying "Read Meister Eckhart." Which probably would be a better idea than reading Eckhart Tolle.

In the spirit of nomen est omen:

The German adjective "toll" now usually means 'great, amazing' ("der Tolle" is the deadjectival noun, meaning 'on who is great, amazing'). But in the past, it meant 'insane, mentally disturbed'. (Similar as with the English "sick" which can mean 'ill, diseased' or 'great, amazing'). The word is still used in its old meaning in the compound "Tollwut", meaning 'rabies' ...

(But he also anglicized his last name -- originally, it was Tölle.)

[binocular]

People like Eckhart Tolle cut pieces of Buddhism and try to make sense out of them. Surprise? It does not work.

Sure it works, it just depends on what one's goal is.

- - -

He is worth millions. That is not doing nothing.

You're just jealous.

[cappuccino]

People like Eckhart Tolle cut pieces of Buddhism and try to make sense out of them. Surprise? It does not work.

Sure it works, it just depends on what one's goal is.

his goal shouldn't be Nirvana

[rhinoceroshorn]

People like Eckhart Tolle cut pieces of Buddhism and try to make sense out of them. Surprise? It does not work.

Sure it works, it just depends on what one's goal is.

Nothing below nibbana is worthwhile.
And it is not sustainable. The ones who follow Eckhart Tolle may be amused by his teaching for a while, then abandon it. And I'm saying this from my personal experience. Not sustainable at all.

[Pulsar]

Binocular wrote

No_Mind wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 4:53 pm
He is worth millions. That is not doing nothing.
You're just jealous.

you are not serious? right, 'cause I know for sure that No_Mind has no use for millions.
I love that he/she started this thread, just because the comments are revealing of those
who comment, and of Tolle. An education, freely received.
On the other hand Rumi brought me solace once, but that lead me to a dead end. Also then
Pali canon sounded like Greek to me, not so anymore, now it sounds more like English, so I do not read Rumi
anymore. To read Rumi now would be a waste of time, but once it served a purpose, in terms of
entertainment.
Binocular also wrote

The German adjective "toll" now usually means 'great, amazing' ("der Tolle" is the deadjectival noun, meaning 'on who is great, amazing'). But in the past, it meant 'insane, mentally disturbed'. (Similar as with the English "sick" which can mean 'ill, diseased' or 'great, amazing'). The word is still used in its old meaning in the compound "Tollwut", meaning 'rabies'

Quite the scholar you are dear Binocular, so what is the truth about Eckhart Tolle?
Is he great as in "now"? he is
or is he "mentally disturbed" as in the past?. Folks like this feed candy to the gullible public and lull them to sleep, so they lose the ability to awaken. That was my thought in the past. My current thought, he is truly fake, I just listened to the first half of the video posted. A guy asks him "How to stop thinking?"
Tolle answers "simple matter, just stop thinking" and a bunch of baloney. If that were so easy, we know how hard it is to deal with Papanca. State devoid of papanca is Nibbana, Buddha has said. Is Eckhart Tolle leading us there?
Thanks for exposing him dear OP.
With love

[No_Mind]

Binocular wrote

No_Mind wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 4:53 pm
He is worth millions. That is not doing nothing.
You're just jealous.

you are not serious? right, 'cause I know for sure that No_Mind has no use for millions.
I love that he/she started this thread, just because the comments are revealing of those
who comment, and of Tolle. An education, freely received.
On the other hand Rumi brought me solace once, but that lead me to a dead end. Also then
Pali canon sounded like Greek to me, not so anymore, now it sounds more like English, so I do not read Rumi
anymore. To read Rumi now would be a waste of time, but once it served a purpose, in terms of
entertainment.
Binocular also wrote

The German adjective "toll" now usually means 'great, amazing' ("der Tolle" is the deadjectival noun, meaning 'on who is great, amazing'). But in the past, it meant 'insane, mentally disturbed'. (Similar as with the English "sick" which can mean 'ill, diseased' or 'great, amazing'). The word is still used in its old meaning in the compound "Tollwut", meaning 'rabies'

Quite the scholar you are dear Binocular, so what is the truth about Eckhart Tolle?
Is he great as in "now"? he is
or is he "mentally disturbed" as in the past?. Folks like this feed candy to the gullible public and lull them to sleep, so they lose the ability to awaken. That was my thought in the past. My current thought, he is truly fake, I just listened to the first half of the video posted. Guy asks him "How to stop thinking?"
Tolle answers "simple matter, just stop thinking" If that were so easy, we know how hard it is to deal
with Papanca and practice Bare cognition, even after reading MN 18, a million times.
Thanks for exposing him dear OP.
With love

I see that Tolle followers have infiltrated us to a significant extent

This thread is quite Dan Brownish.

Now .. any Tollerati who feels irked - your sins are forgiven since now you are on the right path.

It happens to all of us.

But ...since you brought it up .. Rumi was a mystic .. and it would be truly despicable to compare him to ET and his plagiarized half baked teachings.

[Coëmgenu]

since you brought it up .. Rumi was a mystic .. and it would be truly despicable to compare him to ET and his plagiarized half baked teachings.

He might have been a mystic, but he had a lot of very strange things to say about the bodies of young men. One man's mystic is another's rascal, they say.