In a talk I gave, along with Jishin, at Three Wheels temple last year - entitled Encounter and Faith Transmission in Jōdo Shinshū - I said (my emphasis added to both quotations):
The role of the true teacher in our tradition is simply to share the nembutsu. However this is not something that is done through teaching; though teaching may be a valuable tool when it comes to nurturing the conditions for awakening or to refining faith-experience. Rather it comes about through the creation of a place where the Name (O-Myogo) can be heard. Therefore the role of the true teacher is simply to live facing the Buddha, gratefully pronounce the nembutsu in shinjin and joy, and embrace and welcome everyone who wishes to hear that Name. In consequence of this the nature of the teacher-student encounter in Jōdo Shinshū is radically different from what most people expect or understand. In so far as we talk about ‘faith-transmission’ it is not ‘something’ that is passed from master to disciple, but is a matter of re-orientation. When we find a good teacher and feel that we are encountering wisdom and compassion we seek for the origin of those virtues and find that it lies not in the teacher’s self, or personality, but in the orientation of their seeking-spirit (jp. ki) toward truth (skt. dharma, jp. ho).Then today I started reading Pointing Out the Great Way: The Stages of Meditation in the Mahamudra Tradition by Daniel P. Brown and came across the following passage:
The lama is considered to be the embodiment of truth. He is not a teacher yet carries the qualities of the teaching, the Dharma (chos). As the Dharma is the cause (rgyu) of realization, the beginner must directly experience (mngon du) its impact by listening to it. Going beyond mere admiration of the lama's qualities, the listener begins to wonder more about what kind of teaching brought about this transformation in the lama. (p.51)
Hi Kyoshin, apologies for the late reply but many thanks for sharing this. there seems to be a striking parallel doesn't there? i would tentatively (because i have no real experience outside of Shinshu) posit that this aspect of pushing further beyond teacher and teaching to the origin would be found in most schools.
ReplyDeleteunfortunately we are rather prone to succumb to the cult of personality and perhaps there is a danger in never pushing beyond that surface. i am sure that here too, there is as much space for fault in the teacher as there is the student.
i was, therefore, surprised, and deeply moved to hear Sensei apologise during the last Eza as he said he had realised during Chomon that all his activities here had been done out of a desire of recognition and fame. such honest humbleness is a way round these pitfalls yet can not be reached through self.