Spiritual Teachers

The graded-path presentations nearly always include instructions on appropriate thoughts and actions for disciples in relationship to their mentors, whether on the sutra or the tantra level.

Both the sutras and tantras instruct disciples to regard the qualities and kindness of our mentors as those of a Buddha.

Unhealthy relationships between disciples and mentors can manifest in many ways, including overdependence on the mentor, not maintaining discriminating awareness or transference and regression as known in psychotherapy.

Even though attachment is a disturbing emotion, developing attachment to our teachers does have a certain benefit, since it leads to trust. What we need to watch out for is exaggerating their good qualities.

When we receive inspiration, the uplifting transformation arises dependently on many causes and conditions.

As Buddhism takes root in the West, more Westerners are becoming spiritual teachers. Time-tested Dharma methods have provided solutions to culturally based problems that can arise.

Choosing our spiritual teacher or a root guru, someone whose inspiration serves as a root to anchor and nourish our spiritual growth, requires us to have examined them well and to feel a sense of instinctive connection.

Our relationship with our teacher needs to be based on a firm conviction in our teacher’s good qualities.

The traditional presentations list three points concerning our behavior toward a spiritual teacher. Making offerings, helping them and practicing in accordance with their advice.

Guru-yoga is done with visualizations, where we imagine that our own qualities of body, speech, and mind become joined with the good qualities of our spiritual teacher and uplifted by them.