wondering what a modern teacher looks like

AMH

I will admit that i see myself as a teacher type, it is one of those things that comes after i get out of my own way. I really did not want to be a school teacher or any other type of teacher for a long time, and then I had the 'see what finds you' realization and saw what I was doing. Everywhere I went the kids followed me, the adults told me their private things, others asked me how to do their job even though I was the newest person in the business because I have that 'teacher stuff'. Teaching is a bit of a talent, making something accessible to others and reading their learning style and the biggie, undending patience!

In any case I go back and forth, it seems the teachers in any form of buddhiam first of all know all the terms and can recall all that, but also have spent years with their own teachers. I don't have that and with my life that I love I won't get that, but i still think this is al one extension of my teaching. I get excited about just maybe leading a meditation group and then very sad because I don't know all these things people will have questions about. From my fave meditation group the general leader (we don't have a leader) says he thinks I have the stuff to lead meditation, he graduated from Naropa so he has some validity. I wonder about just starting to write and see how that goes, I mean I will write things that I would change later or others don't agree with but it is ok.

In any case, I need to go work on my spanish and maybe find some christmas decorations and al that. Just early morning thoughts.

genkaku

I doubt if I will find much agreement, but I think that if you have some inclination to teach meditation (or anything else), the go right ahead. Don't dawdle around second-guessing yourself about 'authenticity' or 'credentials' or 'background.' Just go ahead and do it. That way, even if you fail, you will have received some very good teachings.

My own Zen teacher, when I asked him what a Zen teacher was (he was the abbot of a monastery in Japan), said, "Except for me, everything is the teacher."

patbb

hey

perhaps what you could do is get in touch with the spirit rock meditation center.
http://www.spiritrock.org/
This is where Jack Kornfield teach, and they have trained and keep on training many vipassana meditation teachers in the west.

They can teach you , train you and make sure you know what you need to know to get the teaching job done.
Perhaps they could even guide you to guide others without having reach the necessary level to be a official teacher, as some kind of unofficial thing...

This is pretty much the place to go if you want to become a vipassana teacher in the west. Beside Goenka courses of course.

I don't think it would be possible to become a Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher without investing many years of your life if not decades.
i might be wrong tho, someone should correct me if i'm.

Are you aware that there are some courses on mindfulness meditation from the mental health professionals everywhere?
perhaps taking one of those course would get you a diploma to become a certified meditation therapist (or something like that)...
These kind of things will be so much easier to get since you do not need to reach any kind of spiritual level like the Buddhists traditions in order to teach others.

AMH

Thank you! That is great encouragement. I have 2 ways I am looking at. One is a before school 30 minute meditation for students at my son's school. They are high strung, the arts school in denver (think FAME). I am already a district employee so I don't need a background check.

The other is with a Methodist Church I have been attending that is focused on inter-faith services. They have guest speakers on sunday evenings and that is their buddhist service, but I want to have a real meditation of 30-60 minutes another night and then what I have done before. Also my old group usually had a book we read chapter by chapter and discussed.

Okay, now for looking at all my free time, bwa haha

AMH

thanks patt, I will check out those resources!