The Zen Master was constantly attempting to break up concepts that people had about what it was like to be a spiritual teacher. We have a traditional image. Each Zen master was a complete character.
The way of Zen is to become independent and strong. Don't rely on others for perceptions of life and truth. Do it individually. Go to a teacher of Zen to learn how to do that, not to get answers for individual life situations.
A master of an art is someone who's been mastered by the art. They've become so one with what they teach that you can't tell the teacher from the student.
All the sutras in the world are useless. All the lectures of all the teachers don't really mean anything. They are only words. They point in a direction, that is their only use.
We're connected to the Buddhist order, to the mind of enlightenment. All day long we draw the power and force from that world, from all the teachers and all the adherents of the practices and the principles.
There is no best teacher. Life itself is the teacher. There is no best method. All that matters is that it works.
Everything that I teach as an enlightened Buddhist teacher is towards directing an individual to happiness, a balanced wisdom and knowledge that is sometimes just bubbly and euphoric or just very still and profound.
Some people harbor the idea or belief that all teachers should teach for free. Obviously these people have never been teachers, particularly in the twentieth century. Teaching meditation is a very expensive hobby.
I don't think of myself as a guru but as a teacher. If one means 'guru' in the original sense a 'dispeller of darkness' then that certainly is my purpose.
Of course, there are the old hardcore teacher types like me who sit around and tell jokes, realizing, what's the difference anyway - it's all timeless.
I like Miracles. They inspire me. Miracles are the fun of enlightenment. When a teacher does a miracle, and everyone sees it, they have faith in what the teacher has to say about self-discovery.
I know some teachers say that you shouldn't display the psychic powers and other powers referred to as the siddhas, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't really matter. There are no absolute rights or wrongs in spiritual practice
A teacher had two types of students. One type of student is a close student. The other is also a close student, but not in the sense of physical proximity. The close students rotate a lot.
As a dialectical teacher, I have had many lives where I have taught Zen and Tibetan Buddhism and mysticism. I teach in many different modalites. But the theme that unites them - is love.
You only find your Teacher once in many lifetimes. Never be afraid to see them and meditate with them. Your Teacher always understands and always forgives.
We see an enlightened teacher to gain a sense of humor, to learn balance and proportion and of course to learn wisdom.
Many spiritual teachers have done this. They have disbanded their whole community because everyone got angry. The karma, at a certain point, has to go back to the person; it's intensified and hurts them spiritually.
To simply see a teacher to gain power is a mistake. You'll gain the power, but with the current mindset that you have you'll probably create more unhappiness for yourself than happiness.
Some come to a teacher for power. They still have all the desires, angers and jealousies of an unevolved person. Consequently, they become destructive both to themselves and to others.
Often, in the student's confusion, she or he directs anger at the teacher, blaming them for the pain they are experiencing, or for their own mistakes.
Unfortunately the student often feels guilt for not living the type of life that their Teacher suggested, or they feel that they are intrinsically bad and incapable of leading a higher life.
It is the teacher's job to point out mistakes so that an individual doesn't continue to hurt themselves or others.
I am very interested in the enlightenment of women. Very few teachers of advanced self discovery work with women, and if they do it's usually in a very second handed way. They treat women as second class citizens.
If you think it makes a difference if I have ten thousand sports cars, ten million girlfriends and lead a very flashy life ... I don't think you should work with any teacher because you don't know what it is all about yet.
Every person I've known has had an effect on me, as have people whom I've not met in the physical in this life, but whom I've met inwardly, teachers from other eras - Sri Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramakrishna and Lao Tse.
