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Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 2:58 am
by wisdom
Is there any understanding within Buddhism of the Inner Teacher/Inner Voice that instructs an individual?

If so...

What is the terminology used to describe it?
What level of importance is placed on it?
At which stage of development is it said to arise?
What is believed to be its primary function in Buddhism?
Which schools of Buddhism recognize it?

Thanks in advance!

:buddha1:

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:26 am
by Lhug-Pa
Greetings wisdom

I don't have answers for all of your questions, but Yidam would likely be the best term for That.

It's interesting that H.P. Blavatsky's The Voice of the Silence was praised by the 14th Dalai Lama and was also printed under the auspices of the Panchen Lama in Peking.

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:34 am
by retrofuturist
Greetings,

What about "prajna"?

http://the-wanderling.com/prajna.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Which schools of Buddhism recognize it?
All, as far as I know, except it's known as paññā in Pali (which is the language used in the Theravada texts).

Metta,
Retro. :)

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:51 am
by LastLegend
Psychosis? :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 6:14 am
by wisdom
LastLegend wrote:Psychosis? :rolling: :rolling: :rolling:
lol! :cheers:

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 1:42 pm
by justsit
Lhug-Pa wrote:... the Panchen Lama in Peking.
???

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:32 pm
by pemachophel
That's the Lama/Guru or Dharmakaya Lama if you need to qualify it.

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:30 pm
by wisdom
pemachophel wrote:That's the Lama/Guru or Dharmakaya Lama if you need to qualify it.
Thanks! Doing some research online on this seems to be the answer I was seeking. Much appreciated.

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:14 am
by Lhug-Pa
pemachophel wrote:That's the Lama/Guru or Dharmakaya Lama if you need to qualify it.
True indeed. I'd say that That^^^ and the Yidam would go hand-in-hand, in regard to the main question posed in this thread.

Prajna/Sherab would be how we distinguish between the voice of our egos (psychosis) :crazy: and the 'voice' of our 'Inner Buddha' (true sanity) or 'The Voice of the Silence'. :buddha1:

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:26 am
by Lhug-Pa
justsit wrote:
Lhug-Pa wrote:... the Panchen Lama in Peking.
???
http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/voicep ... hilama.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

About The Voice of the Silence, the Dalai Lama and D.T. Suzuki wrote:
"Undoubtedly Madame Blavatsky had in some way been initiated into the deeper side of Mahayana teaching and then gave out what she deemed wise to the Western world...

"Here is the real Mahayana Buddhism." - D.T. Suzuki

"Since 1956 I have had a close connection with the Theosophical Society...

"I believe that this book has strongly influenced many sincere seekers and aspirants to the wisdom and compassion of the Bodhisattva Path." - H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:15 am
by sangyey
'The Inner Spiritual Teacher'

http://www.lotsawahouse.org/topics/ngön ... oking-lama

Mindfulness, vigilance, and carefulness

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:41 am
by Thug4lyfe
Food_Eatah will be ya inner teacher :)

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:18 pm
by uan
justsit wrote:
Lhug-Pa wrote:... the Panchen Lama in Peking.
???
Peking = Beijing (it's from an older form of romanization of the Chinese language)

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 11:49 pm
by sangyey
Food_Eatah will be ya inner teacher
Food_Eatah maybe your renown will spread :tongue:

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 1:07 pm
by Asabandha
Beware expectations... You must develop supreme mindfulness before any sort of "Inner Lama" becomes useful. If you are not supremely mindful, then chances are your expectations and ego are just playing games with you in a sort of psychosis, as others have mentioned. The Inner Lama is just a finger that occasionally points to where the electron microscope of mindfulness should be directed. It is like the common sense that knows where your attention is most needed during crucial moments. It is *not* a voice in your head going, "Breathe... Relax a little, you're too tense... This is never going to work if you don't relax... You're not breathing anymore..."

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:54 pm
by alwayson
Its called wisdom.

It can take on various forms and speak to you. But its your own wisdom.

Re: Buddhist Term for "Inner Teacher"?

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:41 am
by MalaBeads
Every tradition has its own terminology. In Zen this would be referred to as "way-seeking mind".

It's possible (although I am not certain) that this terminology entered the Zen school via Taoism.