It represents only the outer manifestation of craving and acquisitiveness. Twenty-five years ago, my guru, the Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, wrote one of first popular dharma books in America, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism . Its relevance only increases each year. He spoke of the three levels of materialism which rule our existence as expressions of ego-centered activity. Unchallenged, materialism will co-opt our physical lives, our communities, and our very practice.
Physical materialism refers to the neurotic pursuit of pleasure, comfort, and security.
This is the outer expression of consumerism. Under this influence, we try to shield ourselves from the daily pain of embodied existence, while accentuating the pleasurable moments. We are driven to create the illusion of a pain-free life, full of choices which make us feel in control. We need 107 choices of yoghurt in a supermarket so full of choices we feel like queens of our universe. We go to 24-Plex movie theaters so that we can see whatever film we want, whenever we want.