The need for a teacher

In almost all traditions of Buddhism the teacher or guru or lama is seen as a vital ingredient to success in ones dharma practice.

Although the role and style of the teacher is different in many of the traditions, at the heart of our practice is the guru.
Guru Yoga is the root of the path, but this is often either overlooked or misunderstood. Sometimes students think they have to be just like their teacher in every way, sometimes down to mimicking his/her body language and style. One of my teachers has a very different personality compared to his teacher. This shows that what you are gaining from the relationship is internal qualities not behavioral gestures. The other extreme is through not understanding the point of Guru Yoga, the student simply ignores the practice altogether. This is even worse, as my teacher often says you become a boiled rock. What he means is that no matter how long you boil a rock (listen to teachings) the rock never softens (you will not gain realizations of dharma). Keep an open mind - Don’t be a boiled rock!

The guru is …

1. The one who reveals the path.
The guru is the source of all our wisdom, our empowerment’s and is therefore for students practicing Vajrayana the source of all our realizations.

2. Who embodies the teachings.
In Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras Maitreya’s lists 10 qualities that one can use as a guideline for the appraisal of a teacher.

Rely on a guru who is Controlled, pacified,
completely pacified, Who has more knowledge than you,
Perseverance, a wealth of scriptural knowledge,
Realization of suchness, Is skilled in teaching, has love
And has abandoned being discouraged from teaching.

3. Who is the Buddha entering our awareness.
By viewing the guru as a Buddha your practice becomes far more powerful. Think about it, imagine two different people going to hear HH the Dalai Lama speak. One perceives him a nice old Tibetan monk. While the other sees him as an emanation of the Buddha of Compassion, which one is more likely to integrate his words into their life? I’d say the latter. That’s not to say that the former got nothing out of the experience, of course they got something from it but, in terms on practicing Buddhism the latter would be listening to the teachings with a greater willingness to practice what they were hearing.

So you can see just how important to evaluation of a guru is. If you are currently in the process of evaluating a teacher, don’t in a rush. Because once you have accepted someone as a Mahayana teacher, make certain you are efficient with your practice by listening and following the advise and teachings of the guru.

Ten Qualities of a Perfect Mahayana Guru
1: Controlled by pure morality.
2: Pacified by the practice of concentration.
3: Completely pacified by discriminating wisdom.
4: Has more knowledge than you.
5: Has perseverance.
6: A vast knowledge of the scriptures.
7: Has realized emptiness.
8: Has great skill in teaching people.
9: Has unbiased love and compassion.
10: Has abandoned laziness in regards to teaching the dharma.

Has ten qualities are actually quite rare but, they are around.

From another perceptive the guru is like a caring therapist pointing out subtlety, with patience and care in order not to harm us, our most hidden psychological blind spots. Those areas of our personality that we don’t always see but, nonetheless need to be transformed. In Tibet there is an old saying It’s easier to see the flee on another’s back than to see the elephant on your own. This is so true, not because we are stupid or lazy but, because these psychological blind spots are what makes us, us!

For me this is what makes guru yoga such a fascinating practice. I can’t tell you how many time’s I have heard Geshe Loden say something to me and I find myself thinking hmm is he talking about me? Nah he couldn’t be…surely I’m not like that! Then hours or sometimes days latter, I realize the truth
These moments are like little gold nuggets where ones practice can really progress rapidly.

So the purpose of guru yoga

tags: Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist, meditation, Lamrim

Comments