finding a master teacher in traditional shamanism

8/13/2019 Finding a Master Teacher in Traditional Shamanism

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Finding a Master Teacher In Traditional Shamanism

Finding a Master Teacher in

Traditional Shamanism

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHERTHE TERM

‘GURU’ IS NOT well understood these das! The

notion deri"ed #rom the ancient Sans$rit term

Kalyana mitra. Kalyana means "irtuous% Mitra

means #riend! Ta$en together% the term

denoted a &erson who was a ‘"irtuous #riend!’

' associating with such a &erson% one

de"elo&ed &ositi"e s&iritual (ualities which

could not )e ac(uired through an othermeans! This term did not a&&l to *ust an

#riendshi&s #ormed along the s&iritual &ath! +e

should ta$e care not to o"eruse the word

‘Guru.’ +e must understand at what stage a

master actuall )ecomes our Guru% and what(uali#ies him to )e $nown as a Guru! I ha"e

noticed% ma)e some o# ou ha"e too% that

these das when &eo&le go to see and hear

"arious mas,ters% the discuss their (ualities

and decide which one the would li$e to

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choose as their Guru! 'ut this is not what it is

all a)out! +e cannot &ic$ and choose% merel

)ecause we are attracted to someone’s&ersonalit or charisma% or )ecause o# their

re&utation or #ame! Such criteria are merel

emotional! The are too shallow to )e the

)ases #or a long standing relationshi&! O#

course% it is natural #or newcom,ers who lac$$nowledge or guidelines to )egin their search

#or a Guru ) loo$ing at such su&er#icial

(ualities! 'ut in order to esta)lish the essential

(ualities o# a Guru% we must rel u&on the

scri&tures! It is im&ortant at the outset to &oint

out that the term Guru is not a general

'uddhist term! It is used #re(uentl in

Hinduism% )ut within 'uddhism its use is

restricted to tantra! It a&&lies onl in the con,

te.t o# esoteric doctrines and teachings! The

&erson who gi"es Re#uge to ou does not)ecome our Guru! Neither does the &erson

who ordains ou! Similarl% the &erson who

gi"es ou the 'odhisatt"a "ows is not a Guru!

None o# these "ows in"ol"e /a*raana or

esoteric doctrines! 0 &er,son who has taught

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ou during numerous wor$sho&s and

meditation sessions is not a Guru! He is a

teacher% &erha&s also a s&iritual #riend!Etmologicall s&ea$ing% the word Guru

deri"es directl #rom the Sans$rit word

Guhyarucita. Guhya means secret% rucita

means holder! So the entire word could )e

translated as ‘holder o# secret $nowledge!’ 0&erson cannot )e our Guru until he &asses on

to us secret $nowledge in the &rescri)ed

manner! 0t this &oint I would li$e to discuss

the reasons wh we need a Guru! E"en in

e"erda li#e there are man things we must

learn #rom others! +hen we em)ar$ on the

search #or enlightenment we are see$ing

secret $nowledge not *ust #or our own )ene#it%

)ut in order to )ene#it others! It #ol,lows that

we must #ind a &erson with the highest

creden,tials to teach us! E"en #or mundanematters such as re&airs to $itchen &i&es% we

will want to ensure that the &erson who does

the re&airs is a registered &lum)er! 'ut man

&eo&le don’t seem to )other a)out credentials

when the choose a Guru! The o#ten decide







sim&l on the )asis o# a &erson’s re&utation or

a)ilit to attract crowds! This is not to sa that

one should not attend teachings ) &o&ularteachers! 'ut here we are re#erring s&eci#icall

to the role o# Guru! 3It is on the )asis o# the

Guru’s guidance that one will gain s&irit,ual

&ractice% s&iritual $nowledge and s&iritual

realisations! +hen we tr to ac(uire$nowledge or &ractices #rom )oo$s% we are

not &re&ared #or an ensuing e.&eriences

which ma arise! Man students )ecome

con#used )ecause the ha"e a Guru on the

other side o# the world! whom the rarel see!

The cannot de"elo& a close relationshi&!

The ha"e a merel emotional lin$% or &act i#

ou li$e! The do not ha"e the closeness to

learn detailed $nowledge a)out &ractices and

meditati"e e.&eriences! I# ou ha"e certain

e.&eriences and ou cannot tal$ to a teacher whom ou regard as our Guru% the

circumstances are not in &lace #or a Guru,

disci&le relationshi&! 0 great danger in

searching #or a Guru is the tem&tation to

search #or someone who is high and #amous!







Followers o# such a Guru ma #eel as though

the are &art o# something im&or,tant% )ut the

will not get much out o# it )ecause he is noteasil accessi)le! One does not get close

enough to learn the )asics! It is said that one’s

teacher must )e someone who is accessi)le%

with whom one can do e"erthing% not *ust

s&ir,itual things! There must )e man ears o#)uilt u& #riend,shi&! +e are tal$ing a)out a

master who will assist% encour,age and guide

us% not do the o&&osite! One who does not

assist the student is not a Guru! One who

does not continue to ins&ire is not a Guru!

One who is not a"aila)le is not a Guru! He

must not )e *ust an o)*ect% a mere idol! He

must )e a (uali#ied master! He must himsel#

ha"e )een a dee&l dedicated disci&le at

some time! He must ha"e a &ro"en record o#

disci&leshi& with a li"ing master! He must con,tinue to see this master as we see our Guru%

and continue to emulate his e.am&le! There is

a danger when &eo&le rel solel on non

human guidance! Some &eo&le ma tal$ a)out

recei"ing transmissions directl #rom some







mstical )eing! 'ut as long as their

relationshi& remains &urel on this mstic

&lane% with someone the ha"e ne"er dealt with on the human le"el% the will not de"elo&

the res&ect and o)edi,ence that a disci&le

needs to show! Such &eo&le ha"e no e.,

&erience o# disci&leshi& with a human teacher!

One must e.&erience the wea$ &oints o# theGuru *ust as much as his s&iritual (ualities!

+e must )e a)le to #ind the golden ring amid

the &ile o# manure! The &oint here is that one

must )e a)le to a&&reciate the gold along with

its accom,&aning manure% not *ust the gold!

Those who deal onl with the gold will not

de"elo& a dee& relationshi&! Nor will it endure!

It will tend to remain at the le"el o# out,er

Guru% when what we reall need is to de"elo&

our inner Guru! This is what ha&&ens when we

grow u&! 'ut we can,not do this without thehel& o# a s&ecial &erson acting as a model and

guide! +e need this s&ecial hel& to de"elo&

our )udding inner s&iritual sel#% which we

realise is a lot saner than the ordinar sel#!

+hen we ha"e de"elo&ed a real Guru,disci&le







relationshi&% the Guru will ins&ire us to

de"elo& our inner Guru! +e will #ind that the

"oice o# this inner Guru is no di##erent #rom the"oice o# the outer Guru! O#ten at some le"el

we $now what we should do% )ut we do not

listen to what that gentle inner "oice is saing

to us! This means that our outer Guru’s

in#luence has not et )een #ull recei"ed! Until we ha"e the a)ilit to listen to our hearts and

act with true maturit% we will continue to

re(uire the &resence o# the outer Guru! The

outer Guru &las a "er im&ortant role! 'ut he

is not a li)erator! He does not rescue us! +e

ha"e to learn to rescue oursel"es! Otherwise

we might e.&ect the Guru to do e"erthing #or

us7 we &ra% and he acts! This is "er much

li$e )elie"ing in an all,&ower#ul god! The

(ualities o# the Guru are listed in the

scri&tures! The list is "er long% and some o#the (uali,ties included ma not ma$e a lot o#

sense to us )ecause the are highl technical!

The #irst ste& is to )e con"inced that we need

a s&ir,itual teacher% *ust as we $now we need

a teacher to learn to &la &iano% #or e.am&le!







his disci&les; Man% including his own #amil

mem)ers% had a &oor o&in,ion o# the 'uddha!

He was widel criticised #or a)andoning his#amil! The could not see him as one who

would li)erate the world! I mention this to

underline the #act that the Guru ne"er

mani#ests with in#inite (ualities &leasing to

e"erone! Unless we remem)er this we made"elo& unreasona)l high e.&ectations% and

i# we are disa&&ointed we will #all #rom a great

height and hit the ground "er hard; +hereas

some religious traditions &lace a lot o# em&ha,

sis on a god% /a*raana 'uddhism stresses

the im&ortance o# the Guru! It is said that the

sun’s ras ma )e li$ened to the 'uddha’s

teachings! +e ma li$en oursel"es to wet

tinder < not (uite read to light% )ut

&ossessing the &oten,tial to )urn! The

relationshi& )etween the wet tinder and thesun is "er distant! The sun ma dr the wet

tinder% )ut onl i# conditions are #a"oura)le% #or

e.am&le i# the s$ is #ree #rom clouds and it

does not rain! 'ut there is little or no chance o#

the tinder actuall catching alight in the sun’s

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ras! The Guru &las the role o# a magni#ing

glass in this relationshi&! Our own $arma and

"arious other #actors must mature to a certaine.tent in order to )ring a)out the clear s$!

Howe"er hot the sun ma )e% i# it is o)scured

) clouds% e"en the most &ower#ul magni#ing

glass will not wor$! To clear the clouds% we

must ha"e dealt with a lot o# the o)stacles which o&erate in our li"es to )loc$ our desire

to )e )urned! Onl then will the magni#ing

glass wor$! 9ractitioners at the Thera"ada and

Mahaana le"el ma continue &ractising

des&ite the &resence o# clouds! The $now

that there is still a sun! The ma not gi"e u&!

'ut the ma not $now that the can )e

)urned% nor% #or that matter% ma the )e

willing to )urn! Those who real,ise the ma

)e )urned &ossess a $ind o# secret $now,

ledge that the are awa$ena)le! The ha"ecome to $now the &otenc o# the sun’s (ualit%

which is #ire! To realise the 'uddha nature% we

must )e aware o# this relationshi& )etween the

sun% the cloudless s$% the tinder and the

mag,ni#ing glass! This occurs during

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initiation! +hen the initi,-84 ation has )een

gi"en and recei"ed% that relationshi& has )een

culti"ated! Graduall one )egins to realise therole o# the Guru within the &ractice one has

)een gi"en! E"en,tuall we ma$e the

disco"er that we are not reall the &erson we

alwas thought we were! The )eing we &re"i,

ousl identi#ied with% its name and all itscharacteristics are re"ealed as illusor! +e

were merel la)elled! 0s soon as we let go o#

this merel la)elled% illusor identit de"oid o#

inherent e.istence% we cease to )e it! The

#unction o# the initiation &rocess is to undo the

ordi,nar sel# and reintroduce the disci&le to

his true sel# in the #orm o# the di"ine%

enlightened characteristics he re&resents! The

disci&le is gi"en a new re)irth! He then needs

to learn to identi# with this new ‘la)el%’ which

does not seem as real to him as the old onedid! +e are all gras&ing at mere la)els and

ideas! I# we )ecome attached to worldl%

emotional ideas it will &roduce more and more

su##ering! I# on the other hand% we learn to

identi# with the di"ine and enlightened entit

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within us% we )egin to #ree oursel"es #rom

su##ering! +e might sa that a ma*or #unction

o# the Guru is to #li& the sel# o"er% to turn o"erits ordinar as&ect and )ring its di"in,it to the

sur#ace! The Guru does this ) gi"ing the

trans,mission #ollowed ) instruction and

guidance! The &rocess will not wor$ unless we

are read #or it! +e must reall #eel that weare dried $indling which is willing and a)le to

)e )urned! O# course% the magni#ing glass is

not the sun’s ras! 'ut it is through the

medium o# the mag,ni#ing glass that the sun’s

ras will reach us and cause us to )urn! Once

we realise that% we can see the distinction

)etween oursel"es and the Guru! +e will not

sim&l tr to co& e"erthing the Guru does!

There is a Ti)etan stor-85 a)out a "er

o)edient &et dog who alwas wanted to go

with his master! Sometimes the master did not#ind it con"enient to ta$e him% )ut the dog was

so $een that the master o#ten relented and

too$ the dog with him on long *ournes! Now

a#ter tra"elling around in Ti)et% &eo&le usuall

#eel &rett cold! So at the end o# the da’s

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*ourne% the master would unload his animals

and start a #ire to warm e"er)od u&! 9eo&le

would stand )e#ore the #ire and turn round toheat themsel"es on all sides! The would #ace

awa #rom the #ire to warm their )ac$s! The

dog co&ied this% )ut he was #orget,ting he had

a tail! He was &ain#ull reminded o# this when

it &rotruded into the #ire! The &oint o# this storis that we should not tr to do e"erthing

e.actl as the Guru does% )ecause the Guru

ma or ma not ha"e a tail li$e ours! It is "er

im&ortant to recognise our own indi"idualit

and tailor the teachings accordingl% rather

than tring to ta$e e"erthing literall!

Un#ortunatel man &eo&le do ta$e the

teachings too literall! ?onse(uentl the #ind

contradictions )etween di##erent teachers and

)ecome con#used! +e must #ocus on the gist!

+e must loo$ at the meanings rather than atmere words and la)els! I# we are not s$il#ul in

how we handle our relationshi& with our Guru%

the Guru himsel# ma )ecome li$e our

&ossession% *ust a &iece o# &ro&ert! +e ma

gras& onto him and tr to hold him! That is








wh it is im&ortant #or us to ta$e care not to

s&oil the relationshi& ) tring to use it #or

mundane &ur&oses! +e must alwas remem,)er that it is a s&iritual relationshi&! O# course

there ma )e times when we relate to our

Guru in a non,s&iritual wa% when we are

in"ol"ed with him at the mundane le"el! This

can )e a good e.&erience! It is im&ortant to )ea)le to relate on all le"els! In the most

mundane circumstances% it is reall good #or

us to relate to our teacher as an ordinar

human )eing% et tr to recall at all times that

he is our teacher! It is im&or,tant to see how

we can modi# our reactions! This is not so

much the &ower o# the Guru% as the &ower o#

our own de"o,tion! It is through this &ower o#

our de"otion that we can trans#orm our "arious

im&ure &erce&tions! No Guru has such

in#luence inherentl! The &ower o# the Guruincreases as our de"otion increases! There is

no &articular &ower in the Guru that is

&ercei"a)le ) e"er)od! This is )ecause it is

not inherentl there! It arises interde&endentl

#rom the (ualit o# the Guru,disci&le








relationshi&! It is li$e the )ond )etween a

mother and child! No matter how much the

mother lo"es her child% i# the child does notlo"e the mother% a close mutual relationshi&

will not de"elo&! Strong de"o,tion changes

&erce&tion! @e"otion is strengthened through

#ollowing the &ractices! There are certain

(ualities which the Guru must &os,sess! Hemust )e learned in the su)*ects he is

su&&osed to im&art! He must )e disci&lined

and li"e according to the standards re(uired o#

a Guru! He must not ma$e a lot o#

com&romises and modi#ications )ased on

e.cuses o# time and &lace! O# course he will

ha"e the wisdom to ma$e an ada&tations

necessar to suit the &re"ailing

circumstances% )ut not to the e.tent o# missing

the whole &oint! He will not neglect his own

moralit and disci&line! He will main,tain hisstature as a res&ected teacher! It is said that i#

a Guru does not lead a moral li#e he changes

totall when he goes to di##erent &arts o# the

world! He must not sim&l ha"e the role o#

guiding a small grou&% he must also in#lu,The








Guru is one who introduces us into a secret

man,dala! It ma )e a sand or cloth &ainted

mandala! He leads us into the mandala ande.&lains the meanings to us! The (ualities o#

the Guru consist largel o# technical

$nowledge associated with &er#orming rituals%

&ractices% initiations% mandalas% earth taming

rituals and so on! He must )e well read in thescri&tures and associated teachings! He must

)e a)le to e.&lain the dee& inner and secret

meanings o# these scri&tures! It is not

su##icient sim&l to )e a)le to &er#orm the

outer rituals &er#ectl! Not onl must he ha"e

studied e.tensi"el% he must ha"e achie"ed a

high le"el o# realisation! He must )e e.tremel

com&assionate and generous! He must not )e

concerned with amassing material wealth! He

must )e #earless in e.&ressing his emotions!

He must )e &atient% not easil sad,dened orde&ressed! He is alwas a)le to #ind was o#

#ul,#illing the wishes o# sentient )eings! He is

not )iased% rigid or narrow! He is not limited in

means #or clari#ing the dou)ts o# disci&les!

This re(uires master o# a )road range o#








te.ts% not sim&l good $nowledge o# a #ew!

Such a teacher is s$illed not onl in im&arting

the $nowledge and teach,ings% )ut also inholding his own "ows and &rece&ts more

dearl than his own li#e! The (ualities I ha"e

mentioned so #ar are general (uali,ties which

would a&&l to Sutraana and Mahaana

masters in addition to /a*raana masters! Onthe Sutraana le"el% one who ordains mon$s

must ha"e )een a #ull ordained mon$ #or at

least twent ears! There are similar (uali#ica,

tions #or the 'odhisatt"aana! 'odhisatt"a

"ows must )e gi"en onl ) those who ha"e

held the "ows #or a s&eci#ic num)er o# ears

and who ha"e &ractised the teachings #or a

considera)le &eriod o# time! He must )e

#amiliar with the lineage% the teachings and the

te.ts associated with the 'odhisatt"aana

tradition! In the /a*raana tradition% with which we are &rinci,&all concerned% it is said that

the (ualities alread men,tioned must )e

&resent! In addition such a &erson must )e

su)dued% hum)le% &eace#ul% &ossess &ro#ound

(ualities and ha"e dee& $nowledge! He must








e.cel in all good (ualities and )e a)le to

e.&ound the teachings elo(uentl and com,

&assionatel% without see$ing rewards such asres&ect or material gain in return! He must )e

untiring in )ene#iting others! He must not

discriminate amongst his students on the

)asis o# their wealth or &ower or #or an other

reason% such as the length o# his relationshi&!He will tr to attend to e"er)od as im&artiall

as a mother attending to her children! He must

ne"er claim to )e a)le to &ut the teach,ings

into &ractice! He is hum)le enough to admit

his own limitations% mista$es and #ollies! He

will tell his students not to necessaril ta$e

e"erthing he sas as right! This attitude was

also &resent in the 'uddha% who told his stu,

dents not to acce&t his teachings without

&utting them to the test! He must )e enriched

with scri&tural $nowledge and (uotations! Aethe does not )ore his disci&les! He can "ar

the teachings according to his audience! He

can deli"er the teachings to a le"el at which

e"er &erson &resent #eels that he has

recei"ed instructions tailored &recisel to his

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own needs! He will ne"er #eel that he has

learned e"erthing! He still see$s $nowledge!

He is e.tremel intelligent and gen,erous% notonl with material things )ut with teachings!

He e.udes lo"ing $indness and com&assion

and can #or)ear an di##iculties #or the sa$e o#

@harma! He ne"er com&lains! He can alwas

show a &ositi"e connotation o# whate"er neg,ati"e e.&ression &eo&le &roduce! He is

$nowledgea)le in the lineages and traditions

o# others% not onl his own lineage! He has a

lot o# &ositi"e things to sa a)out other

lineages! These (ualities are still at the

'odhisatt"ic le"el! I am a little reluctant to tal$

too much a)out the s&eci#icall /a*raana

(ualities% )ecause the are e.tremel techni,

cal! The master is called the /a*ra master! He

is sta)le and su)dued! He is intelligent and

&atient! He is not deceit,#ul! He is e.tremel$nowledgea)le in the mantra and tantra

meanings and mudras! He is com&assionate!

He is endowed with the ‘ten (ualities!’ He is

e.tremel well "ersed in the creation o# a

mandala! He does not need to hire mon$s

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#rom other monasteries to construct it! I# need

)e% he can &hsicall do it all himsel#! O#

course% there is no wa that one teacher canma$e a mandala in one e"ening! Traditionall%

o# course% a mandala must )e con,structed in

one e"ening and )e read the ne.t morning

#or the initiation! He $nows the e.&licit

meanings o# each and e"er sm)ol in themandala! He can conduct the cere mon with

the utmost e##icienc! There are ten s&eci#ic

(ualities% $nown as the ‘ten com,mon (ualities

o# a /a*raana master!’ Such a master’s )od%

s&eech and mind are not ner"ous when

conducting ceremo,nies! His mind is so

su)dued that as he constructs the man,dala% it

de"elo&s as a &la o# his mind! He can easil

erase the mandala i# need )e% and start all

o"er again! He does not )ecome attached to

his creations! He conducts the ritual withcom&assion and concern in such a wa as to

achie"e the ma.imum )ene#it #or his disci&les!

He is s$illed in the #our acti"ities o# /a*raana

masters! These are the acti"i,ties o# &eace%

increase% &ower and wrath! This means that

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he is s$illed in &er#orming &eace#ul deit

retreats #or &aci,#ing sic$ness and

negati"ities% retreats #or &ros&erit and wrath#ul retreats to chastise e"il s&irits who

ma )e harm,ing some &ractitioners! He

$nows how to "ar the mantra de&ending on

s&eci#ic re(uirements! He will )e s$illed in

sol"ing mundane &ro)lems in addition tohel&ing )eings towards enlightenment! He will

)e a)le to listen to &ro),lems and ailments o#

an mundane $ind! Such s$ills are not easil

de"elo&ed! The cannot )e learned #rom

)oo$s! The re(uire s&eci#ic transmissions

#ollowed u& ) man ears o# de"oted

&ractice! He is a)le to weigh the di##er,ent

le"els o# intelligence and &redis&ositions o#

disci&les! He gi"es teachings a&&ro&riate to

his disci&les’ le"el! He will not gi"e lo#t

teachings to those who cannot under,standthem! He will gi"e dee& le"el teachings when

it is time #or disci&les to mo"e on! He will )e

s$illed not onl in the mandala% )ut also in

mantra and mudra! He will )e s$illed in

dancing% recitations% chanting% #ire rituals% con,

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structing tormas and all associated acti"ities!

His "isuali,sation is as clear in creation as in

dissolution! +e do not choose our teacher outo# se"eral teachers we ma ha"e encountered

in our li"es! Some &eo&le ha"e a lot o#

di##icult deciding who their teacher is! It is not

reall a matter o# choice! I# ou thin$ ou can

choose our teacher% it means ou ha"en’t#ound one et! Aou ha"e not understood the

meaning o# the Guru,disci&le relationshi&! In

the /a*raana conte.t% the Guru is someone

#rom whom we ha"e recei"ed a ma*or

initiation% which normall ta$es two das and

in"ol"es admission into the mandala! Hence,

#orward% we are re(uired to maintain the

&ractice which has )een assigned! 0s &art o#

the ritual admitting one into the mandala% one

has "owed to acce&t the Guru as the deit!

The Guru instructs the disci&les hence#orwardnot to see him in his ordinar #orm% )ut as the

'uddha% in the resultant #orm! That &erson is

our Guru% whether we ha&,&en to li$e him or

not! 9ro)a)l he should )e someone we don’t

li$e! In an case% he now &las the role o#








Guru in our li"es! He is not onl our Guru% he

is our root Guru! This is )ecause he is the root

o# the transmission we ha"e recei"ed! He isthe root o# our $nowledge o# the &ractice and

the root o# our realisation! The term ‘root Guru’

does not mean #irst Guru or the one we li$e

the most! +hen we ta$e a ma*or tantric

initiation we recei"e 9ratimo$sha% as minimumla 'uddhist "ows% and 'odhisatt"a "ows in

addition to /a*ra,ana "ows! So #rom the &oint

o# "iew o# moralit% all o# our &rece&ts ha"e

)een recei"ed #rom him! He is the root! Others

who gi"e teachings )ut not ma*or initiations

are not our root Gurus! The are more

correctl descri)ed as teachers or s&iritual

#riends! +hen we &ractise our sadhanas% we

meditate on the Guru in the #orm o# the deit!

@uring the Re#uge 9raer #or e.am&le% we

"isualise the whole merit #ield as the Gurumani #ested in that #orm% and then we &er#orm

&rostrations! I# we &uri# an negati"ities or

attain an realisation% it will )e rooted in the

Guru! The root Guru is intimatel in"ol"ed in

our dail &ractice! +hate"er deit we








"isualise% it is alwas the Guru assuming

di##erent #orms! +e ma s&end #ort hours

each wee$ wor$ing *ust to earn some mone!+e ma not en*o it! Aet the two hours o#

&ractice we do each da ma$es us #eel so

satis#ied% so &ositi"e a)out oursel"es! O#

course we owe this e.&erience to the outer

Guru! 0s our &ractice matures% we de"elo& theinner Guru! The de"elo&ment o# the inner

Guru is a gi#t to us #rom the root Guru! +hen

we reach the stage o# realising the nature o#

the mind itsel#% that is the secret Guru! O"er

time% we will )egin to see e"erthing as a

mani#estation o# the mind! E"erthing a&&ears

not onl as our own re#lection% )ut the &la o#

the enlightened mind! Our &erce&tion

)ecomes &ure! I# we )ecome o"erl

de&endent on the outer Guru% we )ecome

wea$ and "ulnera)le when se&arated #romhim! +e are easil a##ected ) whether the

Guru loo$s at us or not! Our &ractice #alls

a&art when he is awa #rom us! This ha&&ens

when we #ail to de"elo& the inner Guru! Once

we de"elo& the inner Guru% our &ractice








)ecomes stronger at times when we are

se&arated #rom the outer Guru! 0#ter all% when

the magni#ing glass is remo"ed% the sun’sras do not &ass awa! @isci&les who ha"e

reached this stage are ca&a)le o# &laing the

role o# Guru themsel"es in the #uture! In the

Ti)etan tradition% a Guru will o#ten send awa

a disci&le he #eels is )ecoming too close tohim! He will )egin to a"oid him! Following the

same &rinci&le% it is good #or us sometimes to

do a solitar retreat #or a while% awa #rom the

crowd and awa #rom the Guru! It is

interesting to see how we react! 0nother

translation o# the word Guru is hea"! This

signi#ies that the Guru’s in#luence is "er

dee&! It is not a sur#ace relationshi&! This

dee&,seated in#luence does not a&&l sim&l

to the relationshi& )etween oursel"es and the

teacher! It will a##ect all our relationshi&s!Others )egin to notice changes in our

)eha"iour and the wa we -:4 deal with li#e!

+e are no longer light and easil a##ected )

things! +e )ecome more sta)le! +e are no

longer so emo,tionall "olatile! +e can now








restrain and e"en trans#orm our emotions! +e

ha"e gained the s&iritual weight to con,trol our

own negati"ities! It #ollows that we can alsocontrol our actions% s&eech and thoughts! This

gi"es us the &ower to alter our &erce&tion o#

the world! +ithout these a)ili,ties we were

mere "ictims o# our own mental &ro*ections!

Now we ha"e trans#ormed our en"ironmentinto a more &eace#ul &lace% where

#orgi"eness% tolerance and com&as,sion

&re"ail! I# we maintain and cherish our &ractice

more dearl than our own li"es% we will ta$e it

with us at death! 'ecause o# the gi#t o# the

teachings and &ractices% death will hold no

horrors #or us! +e are not tal$ing a)out da to

da mundane ha&&iness! The teachings and

&ractices are all encom&assing! The are a

#orm o# &re"entati"e medicine which will

com&letel o"erhaul e"er as&ect o# our&resent and #uture li"es!

16 www shamanelder com




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