Spiritual Teachers

An overview of the different aims, expectations, cultural, spiritual and psychological factors that affect the relationship between students and their Dharma teachers.

Lama Tsultrim Allione discusses the practice of feeding your demons, the challenges of being a Buddhist parent, and pilgrimage as a Dharma practice.

Misunderstanding may arise from teachers or translators accidentally saying something incorrect.

An overview of the intellectual, emotional, and devotional approaches to Dharma.

Alan Turner, Serkong Rinpoche’s “Westerner Yogi’s,” recollections of his relation with his teacher.

We practice this meditation in order to inspire and uplift ourselves to the state of our spiritual teacher inseparable from Avalokiteshvara, by joining our good qualities with theirs.

The type of relationship between a spiritual student and teacher depends on the level of qualification of each, and is not the same as the relation between a client and a therapist.

The Kadam traditons’s sutra-level guru-meditation can be very helpful for some of the problems that have caused unhealthy relationships to develop with spiritual teachers in the West.

Spiritual mentors lead others to behave and to think constructively in order for them to attain enlightenment. Disciples are those who are led to enlightenment by such persons through training in constructive behavior and thought.

The appropriate relationships with our teachers depend on our aim, our level of development.