Looking For a Teacher..

General discussion, particularly exploring the Dharma in the modern world.
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elake
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:11 am
Location: Ohio

Looking For a Teacher..

Post by elake »

Is there anyone on here who would be willing to be my teacher? :buddha1:
Konchok Thogme Monlam
KonchokZoepa
Posts: 1358
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:50 pm

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by KonchokZoepa »

you seem to be from the Drikung Kagyu lineage? me too :smile:

you need an authentic lineage teacher, not some random guy from Dharmawheel.

isnt there any centers nearby ? havent you read a book or met a Lama that you really like that you could travel and meet a couple times a year?
If the thought of demons
Never rises in your mind,
You need not fear the demon hosts around you.
It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned,
there are neither buddhas or demons.
He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue,
will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion.
Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

-Milarepa

OMMANIPADMEHUNG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls6P9tOYmdo
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justsit
Posts: 1466
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:24 pm
Location: Delaware

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by justsit »

If you are anywhere near central Ohio, you could visit KTC Columbus. Lama Kathy Wesley may be able to help you locate a teacher.
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Tsongkhapafan
Posts: 1244
Joined: Sat Jan 01, 2011 9:36 am

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by Tsongkhapafan »

Pray for the right Teacher to appear, and then check out your local centres and see what you feel connected to.

Good luck!
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elake
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by elake »

Id go to a center but theres none close by and i dont have a car yet. it sucks because i want to go so bad! and no way there
Konchok Thogme Monlam
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reddust
Posts: 761
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Location: Oregon

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by reddust »

elake wrote:Is there anyone on here who would be willing to be my teacher? :buddha1:
Be careful, the spiritual path is difficult, teachers need to be researched and interviewed. Really good teachers will do the same with you. Lots of choices to make. Where do you live and people can give you some helpful suggestions? I was lucky, my first Dharma teacher is an amazing Buddhist Monk from Korea, I use him as a template for all my other Buddhist teachers. I've had several Buddhist teachers through the years and have been blessed, they are all wonderful.
(http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/ar ... _guru.html)
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
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elake
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by elake »

ohio
Konchok Thogme Monlam
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reddust
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Location: Oregon

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by reddust »

elake wrote:ohio
People may be able to help you find a teacher that is only a bus ride away. I've traveled many miles by car or flying to visit my teachers a couple times a year. I don't know anyone in Ohio but I am sure someone here can help you. I used my vacation time and saved up for my retreats. I was lucky living in Chicago, there were Vajrayana weekend events throughout the year so I could watch perspective teachers, talk with them and find one I synced with. With my first teacher he was close to my home here in Oregon and I must of had some good karma, I lucked out. I had no clue what to look for in a Dharma teacher. Good luck or maybe Good Karma :twothumbsup:
Mind and mental events are concepts, mere postulations within the three realms of samsara Longchenpa .... A link to my Garden, Art and Foodie blog Scratch Living
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elake
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:11 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by elake »

thanks for the replies!!
Konchok Thogme Monlam
KonchokZoepa
Posts: 1358
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:50 pm

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by KonchokZoepa »

elake wrote:ohio


?
If the thought of demons
Never rises in your mind,
You need not fear the demon hosts around you.
It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned,
there are neither buddhas or demons.
He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue,
will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion.
Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

-Milarepa

OMMANIPADMEHUNG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls6P9tOYmdo
Alfredo
Posts: 421
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:52 am

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by Alfredo »

Maybe. How much money you got?
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dharmagoat
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Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by dharmagoat »

You will ultimately need an authentic lineage teacher, but you can start practicing without one. Your ability to practice Buddhism should not be dependent on how much money you have or on how able you are to travel.

It is never too soon to start practicing shamatha meditation, which forms the basis of all styles of Buddhist meditation. You can receive instruction in this by visiting any Tibetan, Zen or Theravadan Buddhist centre without first having found a personal teacher, or you can research the technique yourself and learn to do it on your own. At some stage though (the sooner the better) you will need a teacher or instructor to point out anything you may be doing wrong.
Alfredo
Posts: 421
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:52 am

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by Alfredo »

Don't listen to all these reasonable people! (What, you're going to trust a bunch of STRANGERS from the INTERNET?) The best thing to do would be to e-mail me all your money right now, so it won't keep you tied to samsara! And here's a mantra to start with:

OWAH TAFOO LAYAM

(say this again and again until you are enlightened)

PS Are you married? Is your wife hot?
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dharmagoat
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Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by dharmagoat »

:rolling:

"It's funny because it's true!"
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justsit
Posts: 1466
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:24 pm
Location: Delaware

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by justsit »

elake wrote:Id go to a center but theres none close by and i dont have a car yet. it sucks because i want to go so bad! and no way there
Welcome to dharma in America. Very inconvenient. :smile:
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dzogchungpa
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Joined: Sat May 28, 2011 10:50 pm

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by dzogchungpa »

As Thrangu Rinpoche says in "Pointing Out The Dharmakaya":
Great masters of the past said that dharma texts are “the teacher who never gets mad at you,” because your relationship with the book is entirely up to you.
Have you read much about Buddhism yet?
There is not only nothingness because there is always, and always can manifest. - Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
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Adamantine
Former staff member
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Location: Space is the Place

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by Adamantine »

For now you could focus on study.. there's great books and also great audio teachings from teachers online. Also, Lamas like Garchen Rinpoche and Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche offer webcast teachings regularly live online. Also, for now, maybe it'd be good to listen to the teaching at this link titled "How to Look for a Guru and Be a Student" by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche http://www.khyentserecordings.org/namo/ ... hings.html
Contentment is the ultimate wealth;
Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha
KonchokZoepa
Posts: 1358
Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:50 pm

Re: Looking For a Teacher..

Post by KonchokZoepa »

basically, if Garchen Rinpoche visits your center once or twice a year, if you have a bond with Garchen Rinpoche that is basically all you need. practicing in groups maybe helpful for some people but the work to be done is ''solitary'' or individual, meaning you have to do it yourself and ''alone''.
If the thought of demons
Never rises in your mind,
You need not fear the demon hosts around you.
It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned,
there are neither buddhas or demons.
He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue,
will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion.
Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

-Milarepa

OMMANIPADMEHUNG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls6P9tOYmdo
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