![]() ![]() I was happy to listen to talks and instructions that might help orient me to the practice. When I began my Zen study, I wanted to learn how to do zazen so I could find out firsthand what Zen was all about. So I have asked myself, what’s the point of spiritual teachers? What benefit could possibly be gained from hanging around some supposed sage if somebody else’s enlightenment is never going to rub off on me? No wisdom or experience that isn’t my own is worthwhile. I assume that I know what I need to know for living my life, and that when I need to know more I will find it out for myself. There may or may not actually be such special people, but in any case I have never been interested in them. I have never been attracted to Zen masters or gurus, powerful and charismatic spiritual guides. The great Zen teacher Huangbo strides into the hall and says to the assembled monastics, “You people are all dreg-slurpers! If you go on like this, when will you ever see today? Don’t you know that in all of China, there are no teachers of Zen?”Ī monastic comes forward and says to him, “Then what about all those people like you who set up Zen places that students flock to like birds?” Huangbo replies, “I don’t say there is no Zen, only that there are no teachers.”Īs an independent-minded (some would say stubborn) person, I find this story appealing. One of my favorite Zen stories is about teachers. Everyone is a student – even the teachers. In Zen, wisdom comes from personal experience. Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window).Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window).Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window).Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). ![]()
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