Discovering Buddhism 4: The Spiritual Master

4 Tuesdays, June 11 - July 2
Discovering Buddhism 4: The Spiritual Master

As for this topic, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says in The Heart of the Path:
"Why do we need a guru? We might think, “Achieving liberation and enlightenment is fine, but why do I need a guru to do it? As long as books on the subject are available, I can read them, then practice. Why do I need a guru?”

You might think that to generate the path to enlightenment, it’s enough to read Dharma books and study by yourself. However, generally speaking, you can’t clearly understand the meaning of Dharma teachings, especially the hidden meanings that need clarification through commentary, without the explanations of a guru. There is a big difference between learning something from a teacher and just reading about it in a book. Listening to a teacher has a much greater effect on your mind. Being able to parrot the words written in books doesn’t mean that you really understand a subject.

Topics covered in this course include:
- what it means to be a qualified student
- what are the qualifications of a guru
- how to take someone as one of your gurus
- Buddhist protocol for relating to one’s spiritual teachers
- what to do when things go wrong with the guru-disciple relationship