Student-teacher relationship.

The student-teacher relationship forms part of an ancient tradition that involves learning how to be present in the world and serves as the glue that holds communities together from generation to generation.

The teacher or mentor represents lived experience and holds a body of knowledge. The curious novice is someone on the threshold of life, waiting to step into a way of being in the world and contributing to the world in meaningful ways.

The role of the mentor is to recognize and awaken the innate potential of the student. Between the mentor and student there is a transmission of knowledge and a bestowal of blessings that deepen the inner life of the student and provide a ground for the inner work to be done. The mentor stirs the voice of the student, allowing them to find the words that they were previously unable to express or were just beyond their reach. The elder raises up the life-force, or lung-ta, of the novice, giving rise to greater presence and power. Power here isn't power over others, but the power of recognizing our inner wealth and resourcefulness.

In this way, the mentor lights up the path, inviting the student into the world in a deeper way. Like a candle in the darkness, the student learns how to tend their own flame while discovering that they can share their light with others and nothing is lost. The novice slowly learns to recognize their natural qualities and finds their own gifts, gifts that can be brought out into the world and shared with others.

The student at the threshold is required to take that first step to cross over to the other side. That moment marks taking a stand for that which is authentic and true. It signifies taking the responsibility and initiative necessary to traverse the path to its very end. The mentor is not there to save the disciple. The mentor asks the disciple to free themselves so that they can live in the world in a greater way. Between them, teacher and student, they reveal the nobility of the buddha heart amidst the struggles of living in the world.

In this way, the student-teacher relationship forms the very heart of the culture of awakening.

If you were to pick one, which would it be?

Imagine a scenario:

You are an enlightened being. You are compassionate and generous. You bear a strong suit of patience. You have cunning wisdom and insight and the strong aspiration to bring benefit to all beings. You effortlessly fulfill the aims of others, simultaneously fulfilling your own aims. 

All other beings are unenlightened. You live in a world in which everyone is suffering. Everyone else doesn't understand the true nature of reality or their own nature. Your job is to tirelessly try to liberate them from their own confusion. You are the only one who has the vision and wisdom necessary to carry out that task.

Imagine another scenario:

You are unenlightened. You know your own suffering. Anger, attachment, frustration and delusion follow you like a shadow. You try to be generous, but end up holding back. You try to be patient, but end up blowing a fuse. You have insight, sure, but there are many days you just don't know what to do. 

Everyone else is enlightened.  Everyone else is trying to wake you up. Everyone is your teacher, a spiritual friend or a guide on the road. Every interaction is an opportunity, every trial is part of the path. Everyone is in on the game. You are the last to wake up. 

Both of these scenarios are unrealistic, but which one do you think would lead to quicker progress on the path?

The student-teacher relationship is not well understood in the west. There is a lot of cultural baggage and misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up. There is a lot of gross misconduct and deceit that takes place. You should properly analyze the teacher and the teachings. Once you do though, you should try to generate pure vision in regards to the teacher.

It may not be possible to see all beings as enlightened, to appreciate them all as guides on the path. That would be a stretch. But if we could see one person as enlightened and really be impacted by their teachings, then maybe we would be more receptive to other forms of teachers and teachings as well.

Start with one. One is the minimum. Be willing to be receptive, to generate reverence and devotion, to respect and to serve one being.  If you can do it with one, more will appear. 

Who knows, maybe you are the last one to wake up. 

Have you read this?

A key aspect to the preservation and transmission of the Buddhas teachings lies in the way that they are passed on from generation to generation.  There are certain teachings that anyone can read or practice. 

Choose a book, read it, reflect on it, use it to support your practice.

There are other texts that traditionally require a lung (pronounced with long u).  Lung is the Tibetan for oral or reading transmission.  It is an authorization to study or practice a text, but also more than that.  In order to receive the lung for a text, you need to get it from someone who already has the lung.  So the lung is a living transmission from teacher to student from generation to generation.  The teachings are alive because the lung is intact. 

The key aspect of maintaining the living tradition of the Buddha's teachings is the teacher-student connection. 

This also goes much deeper.  There are hundreds of teachings of the Buddha and other great masters that no longer have a living lineage of transmission.  You could find one of these texts, have it translated and read it.  It might be an amazing teaching that profoundly impacts your life, but who do you talk to about it?  Have you ever read a book that makes a huge impact on your life or perspective?  You want to share it with someone, you want to talk about it, discuss challenging sections. 

The tradition of passing on the teachings through an oral tradition from teacher to student ensures that the student has someone to come back to with questions.  They have a network they can tap into if they need it.

If you could only read books if you received the oral transmission, what do you think you would receive?  If you gave out oral transmissions of books that made an impact in your life, which ones would you want to pass on (assuming you had received the lung to begin with!)? 

If we only read books due to connections we had with others, would you be advocating for giving as many lungs as possible?   

Pure vision.

དག་སྣང་
Tibetan: dak-nang
English: pure vision

Pure vision is a unique aspect of the tantric path and the student-teacher relationship. 

As a westerner we approach the student-teacher relationship with skepticism and doubt.  We tend to be critical of every thought, word and deed.  We are used to bringing judgement into our relationships, setting firm boundaries of what is right and what is wrong.  We are ready to pounce on every minor flaw that we see, confirming our own rightness and position.

The result is that we are not impacted.  We are not changed.  We continue on our righteous way. 

In order to be impacted by teachings, we need to be open minded and receptive.  We need to be present.  It is important that we show up ready, attentive, embodied.

We have to show up with a receptive and strong mind of initiative in order to be impacted.  Our habitual tendencies, negative thoughts and emotions are simply too strong otherwise.  It is too easy for us to slip back into negative feedback loops.  Too easy to fall prey to judgement, skepticism and arrogance. 

Pure vision is the process of entering a teaching with a sense of wonder and awe.  It is a fresh, receptive and curious perspective.  When we sit for a teaching in such a way, we actually hear and receive the teachings. 

Pure vision isn't about creating a make believe experience, it is about seeing things as they truly are for the first time, as they are now. 

The basis of the Ngakpa vow.

There are countless vows that the Ngakpa promises to uphold, but the root of all of them is the samaya they have with their root teacher.

The teacher is the source of all blessings.  We receive those blessings when our minds are transformed.  That transformation can take many forms, such as feeling more compassionate, more open minded.  It can take the form of finding one's purpose or finding meaning in one's life.  Ultimately that transformation is our ordinary samsaric mind transforming into the awakened mind of complete enlightenment, our inherent buddhanature.

Transformation can take many forms, but it is always personal.  It impacts your mind and your life.

The confirmation that we have received the blessings of the teacher is that our mind and life are transformed by their kindness.  We have been impacted, changed. 

That transformation engenders a deep gratitude and respect.  It is something to honor and to uphold.  That heartfelt connection that has been forged is called samaya.  It is the basis for all the other commitments that one makes. 

Blessings, transformation and samaya.  They are all linked between the student and the teacher.  The come together as a seed and they ripen as the path, bearing fruit as complete awakening. 

Leading the next generation.

Encourage curiosity and questions.  Create a sense of wonder and awe.

Build connections.  Start dialogue.  Promote conversation.  Give them resources. 

Send them on their way in search of an answer. Ask them to share their findings.

Challenge them to go deeper, see connections, draw out implications.

Ask them to contribute.  What do they see?  What questions do they still have?

Keep going. 

Who's next?

Those before you.

Lineage is important.  It is important in many things and it often gets brushed over, but lineage plays a special significance in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings. 

Lineage ensures a living transmission.  It ensures communication on a personal level, heart to heart, mind to mind.

Lineage is most often traced through one's root teacher.  We all have many teachers in life, but one's root teacher is the one that introduces us to our own nature of mind.  This direct introduction to our own buddhanature is what forms the basis of our path.  We walk the path infused with their blessings.

My own root teacher is Younge Khachab Rinpoche.  Rinpoche trained with many teachers in the monastic tradition as a child, but it wasn't until he met and trained under the Dzogchen yogi Dingri Khenchen that he experienced the subtlety and profundity of the nature of the mind. 

Dingri Khenchen was a great scholar and teacher at Dzogchen Monastery in his youth and spent the great part of his life in secret retreat.  He was affectionately called grandfather by everyone but he was a realized practitioner and scholar. 

Dingri Khenchen was a student and disciple of the great Khenpo Kunzang Palden (Khenpo Kunpal).  Khenpo Kunpal was one of the foremost holders of the Longchen Nyingtig lineage and was renowned for being a great practitioner and scholar.

Khenpo Kunpal was the disciple of Patrul Rinpoche, the wandering yogi and preeminent Dzogchen master.  Patrul Rinpoche's root teacher was Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu, who was the main disciple of Jigme Lingpa. 

That is the close lineage, close in the sense that you can still feel their warmth.  The extensive lineage can be traced all the way back to the Buddha through the succession of teacher and student. 

One heartfelt connection at a time, for thousands of years. 

A prism.

When a single ray of white light enters a prism it is refracted and dispersed creating a rainbow-like effect.

Is the source light different than the dispersed light? No.
Is the source light the same as the dispersed light? No.

They differ in frequency, function, appearance and activity.  The degree to which the light is refracted depends upon the prism.  The prism doesn't create colors, it is a lens through which the qualities of the original light can be fully understood.

If your practice is the prism, what is the source light?  What is the refractive index?  What colors and qualities are refracted upon the world?

Are they the same as the source?  Are they different? 

What do teachers teach?

Does a good teacher teach you the method, the skills?
Is it all about the information? 
Once you have gathered all the knowledge and can do the practice by rote, are you learned?

The best teachers teach you the path, the journey.  They push you to your limits and then give you the resources and support needed to figure out how to break through them.  They inspire you to look deeper.

They encourage the evidence based doubt of the scientist and the reason based doubt of the debater.  They understand the value of a good question and teach you to be brave enough to ask it.

The truly great ones teach you how to carry the ball yourself.  They show you how to bring your practice and knowledge into a new environment and still be able to connect the dots.  They teach you how to stand up, shoulder the weight, and to do it with patience, kindness and generosity.

You should read Stop Stealing Dreams by Seth Godin, it redefines what school is for and lays out a new approach to teaching and learning.