What does a master give me?
The question arises: "What advantage does a Chan master bring me, what can he give me"?
The central theme of Buddhism is "enlightenment", the teaching of the teacher of all teachers is about "awakening". Certainly Buddha said and did many wise things, but what made him really special and unique was the (re)discovery of "enlightenment".
Nowadays, when we strive for "enlightenment", the very approach turns out to be very difficult. Buddha did not leave his teachings in writing, all Buddhist texts were written down long after his death. Over the centuries, various interpretations were added, the views and customs of the respective countries were taken into account, and the views changed over the centuries. Important teachers shaped Buddhism by their personal views, over the centuries the philosophy of Buddha was changed more and more, thereby the core of Buddha's teaching (awakening) receded further and further into the background.
If we look at his main statement isolated, we could summarize: "Life is suffering, the way out is "enlightenment", every person can awaken, the "enlightenment" is already within us"!
In modern life many people find it very difficult to follow the path of Buddha, much has changed in the world since the days of the holy man. Hectic, fast pace, technology, constraints, many things have developed since then, only the problems and worries have remained for people, but just in completely new packaging. The struggle for life has changed, life itself has remained almost unchanged over time. The questions: does he love me, is she cheating on me, will we get through the time, will I stay healthy? These issues have remained the same, only the environment has totally changed.
Those who begin the journey to "awakening" today do not have it easy. Just to struggle through the various Buddhist teachings takes a lot of time and patience. But a Chan master can help other people in their "awakening" by talking again and again about the core of the teachings, by leading people back to their self, by revealing their inner self, by taking away what is alien to them, what is useless and empty covering their being, and also by making it difficult for them to see their own "I".
A teacher leads gently through the Buddhist philosophy, he makes people think, shows solutions, develops the personality of the students, helps them to wisdom, to see through. He conveys love, kindness and values, he shows the way, but you have to walk it yourself.
Through a teacher one has no real advantages, he brings us nothing that we could not do and make ourselves. He can not make the journey for others, but he can help, comparable to a tour guide on a package tour, nothing that you could not do without him, he is not really important, his contribution is small.
And that is exactly why he is so important!
Three things make a good master: Knowledge, skill and will.
If we meet Buddha for a short, tiny moment at the end of the journey, then we don't need him as a guide anymore either!
Learning and not thinking is useless.
Thinking and not learning is useless.
- Confucius - Kong Fuzi (Chinese 孔夫子) - Chinese philosopher - 551 BC to 479 BC.
To think in one's own way is not selfish. He who does not think in his own way does not think at all
- Oscar Wilde - Irish writer - 1854 to 1900
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