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Uniqueness and becoming a buddha
Jeroen
Luminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlands Veteran
We can see that people are all different on the outside, it stands to reason that we are also all different and unique on the inside. So does that not mean that teachings and spiritual goals should also be different and unique? Perhaps what works for one person as a path will not work for another.
You could say that this is the individual’s responsibility, but what does it mean for the student-teacher relationship? How can a teacher guide you when your experience could be very different from his own? More so, why has no-one tried to survey inner uniqueness and it’s effects on teaching (spiritual or normal education).
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Comments
Teacher-pupil relationships are not a unique trait of Buddhism alone.
I would say that the problem with the Pupil-Teacher relationship is very widespread and general, throughout any educational scenario.
If we could, in an ideal world, match the teacher to the pupil (and vice-versa) every school would have to employ on average 30 teachers per class.
That would be impossible.
So the education has to be presented in a way that would seem to indicate that 'one size fits all' and each pupil must take away from it whatever they can, and build upon that, for themselves, by doing individual research, homework and examination of the information.
I have said it before, but simply because the teacher is knowledgeable, it doesn't make them a capable teacher.
The secret of a good teacher is being able to impart their knowledge in a constructive and productive means of communication. They have to be able to convey the information in a way that holds the attention; they need to be a good orator, and transfix the pupil.
We can all probably call to mind one single teacher in our formative years that fitted that bill and fulfilled the criteria.
HHDL states himself that we should not merely accept a teacher by reputation, but test for ourselves whether they fit with our methodology.
Education is a two-way street.
Finding that street, is half the challenge of learning how to walk the walk along the Path...
this is why i like Zen so much. just watch and see what unfolds naturally. i like the idea of human flourishing, unobstructed by grand ideas of self and must/should like impulses of the will.
i have only just started to realise how the word "must" permeates so much of my thinking, often accompanied by a dull aching knot in the stomach. i think if a teacher laid a lot of other "musts" on me, that dull aching feeling would grow.
Hi @Kerome,
From my perspective:
Appearances are deceitful. What appears to be different is not truly different but relatively different depending on the context of assessment.
But based on that relative individual difference teachings and spiritual goals are in fact relatively different, too. That is why a certain teaching resonates with one individual but not with another.
What applies to teachings and spiritual goals does apply to teachers, too, in two ways:
1. One teacher may resonate with a student while another teacher may not.
2. The teaching one teacher gives may be understood by different individuals in different but equally helpful ways.
The most advanced form of teacher-student resonance may manifest as what I call 'mind-to-mind transmission' which can happen through very different media of communication: rational language, metaphoric language, language that uses similes, non-linguistic symbols, shouts, gestures and what have you.
I guess that's why they say when the student is ready the teacher appears.
I think a good teacher will be able to teach us how to figure it out rather than just tell us how it is.
The suttas are usually geared to a specific mindset and often named after the student they were given to. Some seem to contradict others but when leaning to one extreme or the other, we would be brought to center.
That's why it's good to read the introduction to the teaching before the teaching so we can see which way it will go. What one student needs to know could hinder another ones progress. Somebody with very little regard for themself won't need the same teaching as somebody incredibly vain.
Everybody sees things a bit differently and if there's a point, that could be it.
I always think of the contrast between Thich Nhat Hanh and The Dalai Lama. Their presentations are different but their message seems to be the same.
How can a teacher guide you if they were the same? If they were the same, then why would you even need them?
I want one of those please ...
and any of those going spare ...
In a mixed dharma crowd, peoples are at different stages of unfoldment. They will be repulsed or attracted, indifferent or unattentive to what is of benefit. Ideally they will find a teaching in the situation because like me, they wish to learn and possibly end up wise if they are not too careful ...
I want that one! I will learn good!
In my ignorance, I will add the the narrative:
I was often told, "Do not seek Buddha - you are already Buddha." which means that we (you, I us, them) already have the latent state of Buddha within. There is nothing special about becoming a Buddha. There is something remarkable about becoming a Buddha. Becoming a Buddha is awakening that Buddha nature, the Ninth consciousness and drawing it our from behind the wall of Karma Storage, overcoming our inate ignorance, our fundamental darkness. That priceless jewel (Buddha - Enlightened State) is hidden the tattered coat of our own lives which we so grudgingly wear.
Time to polish my mirror.
Peace to all
In some buddhist teachings there is even a teaching about 'five families of Buddhas' or in other words different people more specialize at certain types of energy than others.
Some information from wikipedia is here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Tathagatas
And no the Corleone family isn't listed here haha
I think so, which is why the Buddha and his disciples gave so many kinds of different teachings to so many different kinds of people. Some were taught about kamma and rebirth, while others emptiness, and dependent co-arising, not-self, inconstancy, rebirth, the four brahmaviharas, generosity, moral precepts, etc., some to lay-followers living a happy, moral life, and some to people seeking nibbana. From the Theragatha of the Khuddaka:
In the suttas, the Buddha always teaches the person where they're at and what will ultimately benefit them the most. Some things will obliviously work better for some than others. The skill of a teacher is in discerning what will benefit their student the most, guiding them along their own path. Not everyone can do that, which is why care should be taken by both the teacher and the student when accepting each other.