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http://dalailama.com/webcasts/post/120-what-life-is-all-about
In the Day1 PM section of these sessions H.H.D.L says himself that we do not need a guru, and that the text is a guru. He gives a story of an old master who died, and his disciples asked him "who is the best teacher that we should go to?" and the master says something along the lines of you only need the texts.
I don't remember the exact quotes or the details of the story, but I know its in there :P.
I think the need for a teacher is somewhat dependant on the tradition being followed.
In Shin it really isn't important at all. Nice if you have a temple and a Sensei who is inspiring, but we are equally embraced by Amida, so a teacher is just someone who has studied the sutras a bit more than most of us can is all.
So a person practicing Shin alone would do just fine, although I think having a Sangha...with or without a teacher, is a very good thing if possible.
One area I think a teacher is important in Shin, and maybe is not being met satisfactorily, is that in Shin we view the Amida as a symbol of eternal Buddha nature, and not literally as a Buddha off in a Pure Land. The Pure Land we see as a symbol of Nirvana.
The fact that if we take the Pure Land Sutras literally true (which is fine too) it tends to look a lot like Christianity, and thus does not attract many Westerners to the tradition.
In Soto, I don't fully understand why it is so important aside from helping make sure you are sitting correctly and not bringing attachments and expectations into your Shikantaza. Probably someone here can correct me on this.
However for koan practice obviously it is more important, so I see it for Rinzai.
I know very little about Tibetan or tantra, but I can see it being important to have a teacher there. I've heard cautions that is can even be dangerous to practice tantra without. Again though I know very little about this tradition.
In Theravada I would think it is less important, like Soto.
I'm not sure....does Thich Nhat Hanh insist on the importance of a personal teacher? I get the impression that many groups following his teaching, are teacher-less sanghas who gather for meditation, mindfulness practice, and reading TNH's writtings.
This is just my impressions though, and since aside from some background in Soto, I follow to the Shin tradition, it is more than probable I am missing some reasons in other traditions.
I agree though that the Suttas and Sutras are there. All the information is available. Really the teacher is there to present what is already there, in a way that we can relate to and understand, and to help in meditative traditions with technique, and encouragement. They are still human and fallible, so I would be cautious of thinking them as being Buddha incarnate or anything like that.
My fear in all this would be that someone would choose to not meditate or practice because they don't have a teacher. That would be a shame, because we all have Buddha nature, and suffering to learn to cope with, teacher or not.
Comments
In the Day1 PM section of these sessions H.H.D.L says himself that we do not need a guru, and that the text is a guru. He gives a story of an old master who died, and his disciples asked him "who is the best teacher that we should go to?" and the master says something along the lines of you only need the texts.
I don't remember the exact quotes or the details of the story, but I know its in there :P.
In Shin it really isn't important at all. Nice if you have a temple and a Sensei who is inspiring, but we are equally embraced by Amida, so a teacher is just someone who has studied the sutras a bit more than most of us can is all.
So a person practicing Shin alone would do just fine, although I think having a Sangha...with or without a teacher, is a very good thing if possible.
One area I think a teacher is important in Shin, and maybe is not being met satisfactorily, is that in Shin we view the Amida as a symbol of eternal Buddha nature, and not literally as a Buddha off in a Pure Land. The Pure Land we see as a symbol of Nirvana.
The fact that if we take the Pure Land Sutras literally true (which is fine too) it tends to look a lot like Christianity, and thus does not attract many Westerners to the tradition.
In Soto, I don't fully understand why it is so important aside from helping make sure you are sitting correctly and not bringing attachments and expectations into your Shikantaza. Probably someone here can correct me on this.
However for koan practice obviously it is more important, so I see it for Rinzai.
I know very little about Tibetan or tantra, but I can see it being important to have a teacher there. I've heard cautions that is can even be dangerous to practice tantra without. Again though I know very little about this tradition.
In Theravada I would think it is less important, like Soto.
I'm not sure....does Thich Nhat Hanh insist on the importance of a personal teacher? I get the impression that many groups following his teaching, are teacher-less sanghas who gather for meditation, mindfulness practice, and reading TNH's writtings.
This is just my impressions though, and since aside from some background in Soto, I follow to the Shin tradition, it is more than probable I am missing some reasons in other traditions.
I agree though that the Suttas and Sutras are there. All the information is available. Really the teacher is there to present what is already there, in a way that we can relate to and understand, and to help in meditative traditions with technique, and encouragement. They are still human and fallible, so I would be cautious of thinking them as being Buddha incarnate or anything like that.
My fear in all this would be that someone would choose to not meditate or practice because they don't have a teacher. That would be a shame, because we all have Buddha nature, and suffering to learn to cope with, teacher or not.