TEACHER STUDENT RELATIONSHIP

WHY TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP GETTING MORE IMPORTANCE?

THIS QUESTION REVEALS THE PURITY OF TEACHER STUDENT RELATIONSHIP.WHY? AS PER INDIAN TRADITION TEACHER (THE MASTER) IS SIMILAR TO GOD. WE DO RESPECT HIM AND OBEY WHATEVER HE SAYS. THE BLESSINGS OF A REAL GURU(THE MASTER) EMPOWER US TO REACH THE UNREACHABLE.

ANCIENT WORLD DISCIPLES WERE WITH GURU (MASTER) AND THEY DID ALL THE HOUSEHOLD WORK WITH GURU PATHNI(GURU'S WIFE) AND LEARNED VIDYA(EDUCATION). BUT IN MODERN WORLD WE SEND OUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL OR COLLEGES TO STUDY. DO YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE?

Spiritual masters can also be proud. A master might say to himself, if not exactly to others; "I have practised for many years and have sat with many great masters. Now I have reached my ultimate attainment. But these disciples of mine have not reached that state. They are far from my level of attainment. You all have a long way to go to catch up with me."

Sometimes a Chan master acts like a dictator. But this is not necessarily proof that he is proud. The question is what does he feel inside himself. His aloofness may have something to teach you so do not be too quick to judge. Once upon a time a woman asked me, "Shifu, have you had any problems recently?" I said, "As far as I am concerned there are no problems."

"Ah!" said the woman. "As soon as I saw you I knew you were proud. There are always problems. Unless you have them you cannot see what they are. How can you say you never have problems?"

I had to explain my attitude. If I set about doing something the obstacles I encounter do not appear as problems to me. If something cannot be accomplished, I do not waste my time trying to do it. If something can be accomplished then it is a matter of discovering how. In neither case is there a problem. Is this pride? To witness pride in another you must look closely at the individual's motivation.

Suppose as many people came to the Chan Centre as attend meetings of the Hare Krishna or TM centres. I might say; "Formerly I could not compete with these groups but now I am catching up with them." Certainly this is pride arising from feelings of competition. But there is nothing here to compete about. Some people are taller or shorter than you are, that is all. Some people are certainly more beautiful and cleverer than you are. That is all. No problem. Learn not to compare yourself with other people. Of course there are differences but you should neither feel put down nor proud because of them. You get on with your thing.

However, suppose you have a dog. It will be happy if you praise it. If you give it a scolding; -"You greedy, lazy, nasty dog!" - you might spoil his whole day. People are not so different, so reflect on what you say to them.

Self-respect and helping others to a natural confidence are activities to be cultivated in Chan training. Self-respect is a sign that your faith in the method is getting stronger. With practice you begin to see things that others may miss and from this springs compassion. A practitioner will feel that all persons deserve compassion and will try to behave in a helpful, sharing way without generating antagonism.

A master's duty is to teach his or her followers to practice so that they may leave their state of ignorance. Yet, the more people are attracted, the heavier the teacher may feel the weight of such responsibility and the greater a sense of mission. The teacher will try many methods, some of them mistakes perhaps, some of them certainly confronting to your ego. Can you take it and learn from the master's attitude?

A disciple must do his or her own work but should neither be proud of that, thinking the master is lucky to have him around, nor feel any success is due solely to the teacher and therefore nothing to do with him. A practitioner should be reverent to the master, dedicating himself or herself unconditionally to the way. The attitude appropriate to a disciple is not that appropriate to a master.