sounds like HH the DL describes the Maharishi as an excellent and qualified teacher. good for him!
--- In [email protected], Vaj <vajradh...@...> wrote: > > From Becoming Enlightened by HH the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso > (2009). > > Knowing the Qualifications of a Teacher > > In general a teacher is useful for gaining knowledge, and it is > particularly important for a teacher of spiritual topics to be > properly qualified. Chief among the qualifications are expertise in > the spiritual texts and direct experience of what is being taught. > Since the very purpose of Buddhist learning is to discipline the mind, > a teacher of such knowledge could not help tame anyone else's mind > without first having tamed her own. Therefore, a teacher must herself > possess inner qualities of experiential realization and scriptural > understanding surpassing those of her students. > > How is that accomplished? Through the three trainings in morality, > meditative concentration, and wisdom. Specifically, whether you have > taken monastic vows or you are a layperson, as a teacher you should > have sufficient training in morality such that your senses are > controlled. Otherwise your senses will be like wild horses, pulling > you into unfit actions. Also, you need to have experience in one- > pointed meditative concentration so that you can overcome distractions > such as external excitation and internal dullness. Furthermore, you > need the wisdom of selflessness, and specifically of the emptiness of > inherent existence, in order to thoroughly pacify counterproductive > emotions that make your mental continuum intractable. At a minimum, > you need some familiarity with selflessness by way of scriptures and > reasoning. > > To teach trainees it is necessary to have a wealth of scriptural > knowledge as well as acquaintance with and understanding of a range of > teachings, so that when teamed with skill in techniques of instruction > you can stimulate understanding in students. To accomplish this, you > need to be energetically enthusiastic about improving the welfare of > your students, to have only loving sympathy for them, and to forgo any > personal concern about hardships involved in explaining doctrines over > and over again until they can sink in. > > Just as it is important for those who want to be teachers to work at > gaining these qualities, so it is important for students to understand > the attributes of a good spiritual teacher and try to find someone > endowed with them. If you cannot find anyone who has all of these > attributes, at least find someone who has more good qualities than > defects; avoid those whose defects predominate or who are in the same > situation as you. > > There are Tibetans in various parts of the world who are attempting to > teach but are not qualified to do so. Student need to take care in > order to avoid such teachers. Rushing headlong into this venture in > inappropriate. Analyze first. Just as a teacher needs the power of > analysis to become learned, so does the student need analysis from the > very start. >
