Finding your teacher

How do we find a teacher?

I. Teach!

Geshe Michael Roach reminds us that "Everything you want in life, give it to others first." Let this be our mantra, he says.

And, this is the teaching of the Buddha, of Confucius, and of St Francis of Assisi, who said, "It is in giving that we receive."


You don't have to go out and teach yoga or meditation necessarily...we all have something to offer...we all have people in our lives that we can help. We probably have people in our lives that have asked us for help and we just haven't made the time yet to serve them. We have to make the effort to teach and help others to the best of our capability. We each have much more to offer than we think. Teaching, giving, serving, helping others plants powerful seeds for a teacher to appear in our lives.

II. Ask

There is a power in simply humbling ourselves and asking for help. When you meditate or pray or close your eyes to dream or to sleep, in your heart, just ask for a teacher to come to you. Make it a daily habit until it happens. Check your motivation. Why do you want this teacher? Is it for your own goals? Or, is it because you want to be able to serve others in a meaningful way too? When our intention is to benefit ourselves as well as others, our prayers are answered.


Our yogis of the past were so humble, they said we can even beg for teachers or realizations or blessings. The realized being, Je Tsongkapa wrote the book, "Begging for a Mountain of Blessings," which is all about finding and serving a teacher. This book is also popularly known as "The Source of All My Good."

III. Recognize your teacher

Our teachers may very well appear to us as beings just like ourselves (ordinary and flawed!). They appear to us like this and may come into our lives as a friend or partner or "ordinary" teacher just because this is the way that they can get close to us and teach us. We must be receptive. Look around you. I'm sure there is a high holy being(s) in your life right now. Be receptive to their teachings and their subtle ways. Do not be deceived by their ordinary appearance.

High, realized being who are beyond this world come to us and emanate as ordinary beings - it is a kindness of theirs to come to us in this way and give us the opportunity to learn from them.

IV. Power of Surrender and Service

It can take years to recognize your teacher. And, it is natural to have doubts. Choosing your teacher is like choosing your partner. It has to feel right. You need a little time to check the teacher out and know whether there is potential for a strong bond...do you have a way to understand each other well? a way to communicate together well? is the relationship natural or forced? A good way to get to know a teacher is to get to know their students.

My teacher's students are incredibly bright, successful, generous, kind, selfless, loving, adventurous, artistic, free-spirited, fearless, creative, and entrepreneurial. Getting to know them helped me to know that this is the teacher for me. It can take years to make that decision, and that is fine. It is common and normal to take your time.

If you have someone in your life who you think might be the teacher for you, but are not sure, still act towards them as if they are your teacher. Until you know for sure, just pretend. Learn from them, serve them, surrender to them, and then it will start to become clear whether they are the one or not. Why should you do this? Because there is a power to service and surrender.

The more you surrender to a teacher and serve them, the more you empower them to teach you. It is beautiful. It may sound strange. And, it is just one of those things you have to experience yourself. You give the teacher power to teach you through your surrender and service. Again, if the ego is present, you won't even hear or see or be receptive to the teachings.

So you serve a teacher through your thoughts by building faith in them and regarding them as the emanation of the highest being. You generate respect for your teacher by recalling their kindness of teaching you, blessing you, being present for you. You serve a teacher by offering material things, showing them honor and respect, and following their instructions precisely. Again, even if you are not sure they are the one, pretend until it becomes clear...

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You can read more on this subject in Pabongka Rinpoche's Liberation in Our Hands: Volume 2, pp 25-97.

A little excerpt from that section:

Qualities of a qualified teacher:

Energetic, but calm
Compassionate and patient
Eloquent
Learned in the scriptures
Realized ultimate reality
Ignores weariness
Virtuous qualities (that are superior to our own)
More concerned about others than him/herself

Qualities of a student:

Impartial and unbiased - neither attached to his own views nor averse to the views of others
Intelligent enough to distinguish good from bad
Hardworking
Great respect for teacher
Listen with attentive mind

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Thank you. I know this is a lot of information so thank you for your time and great efforts!

For your evening meditation, use the above information as part of your contemplation. Go back to the entry "Day 2, Part 1" and go through the preliminaries, contemplation, meditation, dedication and subsequent practice. The only difference between this morning's meditation and this evening's meditation is that you have more information to contemplate.

Enjoy!

With love
Reema