Testing The Teacher

We’re told to test the teacher.
Do we?

Looking past charisma and eloquence.

We test and measure everyone we meet, don’t we? So why don’t we do the same to an expert? In this world, we should test everything.

To both teach and learn, we need simple and accessible language to allow profound concepts to be clearly heard and realised. It should not require jargon, Sanskrit, Tibetan, mysticism … The exotic is interesting, but it traps us into exclusivity.

Our spiritual essence of pure consciousness is what we are now,
beyond teachings.

If the teacher – or anyone – is trapped in a script,
whatever is said can sound hollow.

Spiritual interaction needs empathy and true compassion,
rather than oneupmanship.

Trapped teachers create dependency. Genuine teachers demystify the path by pointing back to our own wisdom. A teacher should treat everyone as an equal, so that we don’t feel either uncomfortable or like a beggar. One who becomes too holy is out of touch – and this goes for students as well. People emulate one another and a split occurs – insiders and outsiders. Beware of just copying others; that is Mara diversion, and it’s not the middle way.

Teachings are not a cult of personality. Teachers are servants and should be easy to approach, never becoming the slightest bit angry when questioned. They should encourage critical thinking.

Devotion is listening with an open mind; it doesn’t require exaggeration.
While we are testing the teacher, we’re also testing ourself. 🙂

The real teacher is everyday life as we observe the ways in which we react.
That is our test.