--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > For this kind of guru-disciple relationship to persist, the guru > > > > has to be distant. In a close daily contact the idealization would > > > > collapse rather fast. > > > > > > Honest gurus actually acknowledge this. Ammachi has told followers > > > that if they get too close to her, they may be disillusioned. > > > > **** > > That is really fine. > > The fact is that many people are needing gurus as objects of > > idealization. When a guru is taking upon this role consciously and > > graciously with a humble heart, it serves an important function in a > > way that can minimize the pain of awakening. > > Just as playful counterpoint (not argument) isn't it > possible that there is absolutely no difference between > the enlightened and the unenlightened except on the > level of subjective realization? > > If so, wouldn't it be more of a favor to students to > let them get close and discover this, rather than > keeping them distant and perpetuating their tendency > to idealize? > > This, you'll find, is a favorite theme of mine. I'm > of the opinion that to consider the enlightened some- > how "special" or "perfect" is a back-handed way of > ensuring that you never become enlightened yourself, > because you subconsciously believe that you're *not* > "special" and "perfect," and are thus not "worthy." > This belief prevents the realization of the already- > present, which is what the process of enlightenment is. > > I'm more drawn to teachers like the Buddha, who empha- > sized their ordinariness. It seems a more effective > paradigm than the perpetuation of the idea that the > enlightened being is somehow special. If the student > is allowed to get close and realize that the enlightened > being is just an Ordinary Joe who "woke up" and realized > his always-already-present enlightenment, then that > student can put two and two together and say, "Hey...I'm > just an Ordinary Joe, too...that means that I can wake > up, too." > > And isn't that the whole point? > > Unc
**** I agree fully with this. It just seems to be so that the demand creates the supply. A pot finds it lid. There are also many teachers with a small following without making a big fuss about themselves functioning as you describe above.And their number is growing, when more people develope to a level, where they are capable of doing this. Irmeli To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
