Fayan uses his authority as an accomplished teacher on the topic to share some insights that are worth keeping in mind when being exposed (yes yes) to modern day zen teachers. I am not fortunate enough to have found a teacher, other than all of you, but I know some here frequent modern teaching establishments, with positive and negative experiences, so I think it is a worthwhile topic for discussion. I think we should always thoroughly assess those whom we are considering to be our elected teachers, on anything.
You must guard against ill-equipped teachers
It is wrong to act as a teacher of others before your own mind ground is clearly illumined. Zen teachers need first to distinguish false and true, then they must clearly understand the time.
A: How do you test whether your teacher is zen enlightened, has the discerning eye for truth, the appropriate means to meet you? What do you do to protect yourself from someone who steps into this role and selfishly presumes to waste your time on earth?
You must guard against complex forms of deception
Through the errors of false teachers, [students in modern times] likewise lose the way. Without having understood senses and objects, as soon as they possess themselves of some false interpretation they become obsessed by it and lose the correct basis completely. They are only interested in becoming leaders and being known as teachers. While they value an empty reputation in the world, they bring ill on themselves. Not only do they make their successors blind and deaf, they also cause the influence of Zen to degenerate.
B: How do you ensure that you are not joining a club of perpetuating delusion facilitated by common human tendencies, a hierarchy of perhaps undiagnosed false attainment contributing to the degeneration of what was once the school of zen?
You must guard against mere traditional role play
Zen is not founded or sustained on the premise that there is a doctrine to be transmitted. It is just a matter of direct guidance to the human mind, perception of its essence, and achievement of awakening. How could there be any sectarian styles to be valued? There were differences in the modes of teaching set up by later Zen teachers, and there were both tradition and change. The methods employed by a number of famous Zen masters came to be continued as traditions, to the point where their descendants became sectarians and did not get to the original reality. Eventually they made many digressions, contradicting and attacking each other. They do not distinguish the profound from the superficial, and do not know that the Great Way has no sides and the streams of truth have the same flavor.
C: Do you seek candid explanation and elucidation regarding the chosen teaching methods, the displayed elements of tradition, the purpose of the institution vis a vis the Great Way, and how exactly this is applicable to your context and situation? Do you research and question these social rituals and their role in your quest? What do you do if straightforward dialogue and rationale is declined?
You must guard against your own inability to judge
Zen teachers in recent times have lost the basis, so students have no way to learn. There is egotistical contention, and impermanent states are taken to be attainments.
D: Since your ability to learn hinges on it, have you made an effort at due diligence research to discern warning signs of baseless teachings with full appreciation of your own biases and desires, or is your zen centre the primary source of information and confirmation?
Submitted April 30, 2021 at 08:12AM by Coinionaire https://ift.tt/3eLd5tg
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