Merle, Excellent question. There is guru after guru claiming HE is the only one who is enlightened and can pass that enlightenment on - but first you have to pay!
Edgar On Nov 20, 2012, at 5:28 PM, Merle Lester wrote: > > > how can we be so sure that the master is truly awake, joe?.... merle > > > > Brother Suresh, > > Mind is a funny thing. Sometimes we can convince ourselves that, "Now I've > seen everything!", and be happy. But a teacher might say we have not entered > the door, yet. > > A book cannot interact with us in this way, because the "content" of the book > is only open to our interpretation, and out interpretation can be hundreds of > miles OFF. > > And if the Intellect does the judging, you are already wrong. > > If you read the Zen literature and accounts of the masters, you will see many > stories of monks stepping forward, claiming to be "enlightened" after reading > many Sutras, etc., but the master hits them with a stick and chases them back > to the meditation hall to "Work harder!, you faker!" > > Words are GOADS, but cannot give you an examination. Only the Doctor can. > > A book can teach you some methods and attitudes, but it CANNOT test you on > whether you have truly shed your skin or not. Another individual who is AWAKE > must do this, or you may in fact be hundreds of miles off-course, and all > hands will be lost. > > You need GPS! Dead-reckoning too often results in wrecks. > > --Joe > > > SURESH JAGADEESAN <varamtha@...> wrote: > > > > Joe: A teacher is needed to help us persist the right way(s). > > > > Suresh: Do you mean a teacher in living body form? Why not a teacher > > be a book? Or why not it is nature? or why not it is a situation? > > > > >
