Chogyam Trungpa was a buddhist master of the Kagyu lineage. He was also a tulku. So, to judge him as a "good" or "bad" buddhist master one should use strictly the criteria of the Kagyu lineage, NOT our vulgar preconceptions of good and bad inherited from centuries of Catholic moral.
So let's see. Was he certified "good" by a respected Kagyu authority? Yes, by none other than the 16th Karmapa, one of the last true great mahasiddhas on the western world, who expressed about CTR in no other terms than being his "heart son" and being "no different" than him. Also by the incomparable Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche.
Chogyam Trungpa had an immense task -- to bring tibetan buddhism to the western world in the most skillful way. And he delivered. ...
DRUGS
He went to USA to find deluded, hedonistic folks that indulged themselves in drugs, and used all sorts of New Age and eastern spirituality to ultimately increase their egos. Chogyam Trungpa mingled with the hippies, and with the Ginsberg-like crowd, and tried the drugs these guys were taking, NOT to indulge himself, but to have a full understanding of the way these guys were living and experiencing life. Doing everything -including doing things that have the danger to damage yourself- to best understand the needs of your disciple is no other than an example of immense compassion. ...
SEX and PRIVACY
To people obsessed with the sex topic, you must understand that lay and/or nomadic Tibetan culture has an attitude to sex that, from the viewpoint of the Bible Belt would totally be described as "promiscuous". He wasn't a monk anymore so there were no reason he couldn't have sex.
... Trungpa's sexuality ... could NOT call "affairs" (because they weren't hidden from anyone) nor exploits (because, correctly understood, the purpose is not to take advantage of the other person but to aid them into their dharma path. Sex is the ultimate form of personal communication.)
It is wrong to judge this behavior assuming CTR's mind was mundane. In the same way it is plainly wrong for a student to try to behave as CTR did, without having exactly his same level of realization, endorsed by somebody of the straospheric caliber of someone like the 16th karmapa.
Again, CTR wasn't your typical sutrayana buddhism master. He was acting right within the framework of the Kagyu tradition, which he was an approved member. The drinking, the sex, getting two specific students naked by force, etc, make perfect sense once one studies the life of Tilopa, Naropa, and Marpa, three of the most important historic masters of the Kagyu lineage, as correctly pointed out on previous posts.
...
ALCOHOL
Many videos of Trunga's talks show him with physical signs (eyes, body movements) of being under the physical influence of alcohol. But what is startling is that his mind didn't seem to be affected by him. This is confirmed once he opens his mouth and starts to talk. Zero nonsense came out from that mouth. Can we, then, honestly say his mind was "inebriated" or "intoxicated"?
Diana Mukpo, on her book, notes she didn't like Trungpa drinking at all, that it wasn't good at all for his health, obviously. Here is the only real controversy or mystery i can find with CTR. No one knows for sure why he did drink so much to put his own health at risk. On past posts somebody has noted that perhaps it was his way to deal with the physical pain he chronically suffer after his accident. Any guess?
But it cannot be stressed enough that CTR's alcohol consumption did harm no other than himself and only himself, for he never stopped teaching.