The Teacher’s Role in Buddhism

“Sages do not wash away sins with water,
They do not clear away beings’ suffering with their hands,
They do not transfer their own knowledge to others;
They liberate by teaching the truth of reality”
- from the Lam Rim

Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism emphasizes the necessity of finding a Guru who has qualities like the Buddha’s to digest the Dharma. If you read about Zen Buddhism eventually you find out that it is necessary to find a ‘keen eyed Zen master’. In the Therevada it is necessary to find a Buddhist teacher who knows the sutras and has lots of experience with meditation to hlep guide you on the path.

The roles of these three teachers are described differently. The Therevada meditation master is like a great friend. He is wiser than you are and so can help you avoid pitfalls - in your daily life, but especially in regards to meditation and understanding the sutra. He is an ordinary human being who just started on the path sometime sooner than you and therefore has more experience and hopefully a calm mind. A Zen Master is like a mother bird kicking you out of the nest, constantly challenging you to grow up and stand on your own two feet. Someone told me once that a mountain lion - some mountain lion, maybe it was on TV that they saw this mountain lion with it’s cubs on top of a hill watching them fall (or pushing them, I can’t remember) down a hill. They tumbled head over heels in a most violent manner, and mother cat just watched. She took good care of them I bet so probably this was good for them too. A Zen master challenges you to become authentic and direct. A Tibetan Guru is like a mother cat and new kittens. His job is to help you digest the Dharma, he teaches you how to utilize your newly acquired spiritual body. Did you know that kittens can’t even poop or pee when they are born? For weeks the mother takes time to massage their bellies with her tongue to stimulate their intestines. This makes sure that the underdeveloped kittens intestines work and process the nourishing milk that she provides. So the mother’s milk is like the Dharma, and if we have a relationship with a Guru he (or she, please excuse my convention, bloody dualism) will be sure that the dharma that they teach is processed correctly, through teaching us expediently, according to our personal situation. The Vajra Master (interchangeable with Guru) is an example of Buddha himself, in that the student trains his mind that way, to see the Guru without faults. Obviously this could be very dangerous and people who get involved with unqualified teachers on this level often experience abuse and incorrect teachings on the Dharma. Someone told me that the Dalai Lama recommends that one examine the qualifications of a Guru for 11 years before entering into a formal teaching relationship with them (of Guru/Disciple).

I think it is clear that I have much more experience with Vajrayana than I do with Zen or Therevada, but my point is that all the Buddhist paths recommend or even necessitate this relationship which in all three cases is one of friendship. The teacher/master/guru is your friend. He has discovered the Buddha’s Dharma and hopes to bring this benefit to others. But why is it necessary to have this? Can’t one read the works of great masters and meditate secretely perhaps and gain realization through his own trying alone?

Well, no.

Think of the Sun - it sets in the west, rises in the east. That’s the way it works. Dharma friends are necessary on the path of Buddhism. That’s the way it works. We are trying to genuinely connect with the nature of all beings. We are trying to get beyond isolation and defecient mentalities. So we can start by reaching out in terms of learning the Dharma - there is a subtlety to learning it that is ego destroying, we don’t know what it is talking about. I remember the first time I read some sutras from the Pitaka. It was the strangest thing I had ever read, it talked about all these other realms and beings. It talked about these beings mind states. Pratyeka Buddhas, Arhats, stream enterers, once returners, nirvana, parinirvana, samadhi, omniscience, Buddha nature, Karma. There were all these terms and I was really in love with all of it. It was so exotic and resonated deeply with me. But what was the essence? There are supposed to be 108,000 different teachings of the Buddha. One Hundred and Eight Thousand different teachings because the Buddha said that there are 108,000 poisons or minds and each sutra is supposed to be the direct cure for that ailment. Should you just start reading and then maybe in 30 years after reading every day for eight hours a day you will have some understanding? Should we all be super scholars? Well, even after having read all the sutras it is still possible to miss the meaning. It happens all the time. There are great masters that question whether the Dharma is being understood correctly anywhere. The true meaning of the sutras is very subtle. In order to start of on the right foot and to be efficient and precise in our understanding we require a teacher.

It is possible to start that relationship before you have met the physical person who you will call teacher. If you have no access to your teacher then you can take someone in the Dharma and relate to them in your mind. Like you can take the Dalai Lama as your teacher. It is a little deeper than just respecting him and reading his books. You feel personally connected with him. When you read his books it isn’t just dry information - you have a feeling for him speaking or writing the words - you are relating to his personality. By maintaining a relationship like this you will get much further into your practice, you will approach genuine Dharma. When your physical teacher does appear then you will already know him. His qualities should be like those of your inner teacher. You might not even be surprised when you find him (or her).

The Teacher in Buddhism is not your owner or master. You are not in this to find someone to obey. Rinpoche told us during a teaching that the role of the teacher is to stand in the gate of spirituality and say, ‘come on, it’s okay, see - it’s fine’. Like a mother coaxing a child into the deep end of the pool. He encourages us to leap into the bliss of our own mind.

The Lam Rim lists some of the qualities that should be present in someone who is qualified to be a teacher of Dharma:

1. is Disciplined
2. is Serene
3. is Thoroughly pacified
4. has good qualities surpassing those of the students
5. is energetic
6. has a wealth of scriptural knowledge
7. possesses loving concern
8. has thorough knowledge of reality
9. has skills in instructing disciples
10. has abandoned dispiritedness.

Tsong Khapa goes on to define each of these, but I don’t want to get into it all. If you want to know more, buy the Lam Rim.

So I pray that you all find teachers that are surpassing in qualities, soon understand the essence of the Dharma, obtain enlightenment, and save all beings from suffering.

I’m feeling kinda sweet right now so I’ll write out the Four Immeasurable Thoughts:

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings never be separated from the happiness that is free from suffering.
May all beings abide in equanimity, free from both attachment and detachment.

These are considered immeasurable because the merit one collects from genuinely keeping these thoughts in the mind stream is immeasurable. Why? Because ‘all beings’ are infinite and wishing for them all to be happy covers everything. Our mind becomes pacified and blissful with generating these wishes by blending compassionately with space (another way of saying infinite).