In the early ’70s, Allen found a Tibetan Buddhist teacher named Chögyam Trungpa, and one of the first things that Trungpa asked him was, “Do you even know what you’re doing when you’re chanting mantras in front of these huge audiences?” Trungpa warned Allen that he was getting his readers high — but then what? He was leaving them high and dry. Trungpa had his own problems, but he stressed to Allen the importance of having a stable, regular meditation practice. You’re not looking to get high, you’re not looking to avoid getting low, you’re just putting your ass in a chair and breathing, and watching what’s happening — and whatever’s happening isthe meditation. That turns out to be of more lasting benefit than grasping after states of transcendence and bliss.