Well, the issue is, if the methods he's teaching are not the path he took to enlightenment, how does he know they work? I agree that he should not be telling people to hit rock bottom. But how does he know that his teachings are the best way to reach enlightenment?

It's like being told how to get rich by someone who inherited their wealth. They don't have personal experience of what they are trying to teach.

It's a mistake to say that there are no such things as problems and that nothing is real. We are having real experiences. They are real enough to us. If you have a shitty experience, you will feel shitty. You can pretend you're not, but you will be. Its a form of gaslighting to tell someone their problems are all in their head.

What if I was to shout racist abuse at a black person or call a disabled person a useless cripple? It would be wrong for me to then tell them that any upset they are feeling is only an illusion of their mind. No, in such a situation, the cause of the problem would be ME, not their thoughts.

Regarding the issue of proof, I suppose all we can do is try things out and share what works for us. The problem with Tolle is that he says extraordinary things as if they are absolute facts. I see no problem with challenging such claims with logical thought, and also comparing them to our real experiences of life.

Yes, the issue of his wealth is certainly something worth looking into. I am planning to write a separate article about that soon.