Description
"This book examines the role of the guru in Buddhism based on Lama Shenpen's experience as both a student and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism for over fifty years. Lama writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions, the lack of clarity around which is already causing a great deal of confusion in sanghas taking root in the West. For example, what should you do if you have minimal access to the main teacher of a sangha? How can you relate to them, and how is such a person to undertake all the roles the texts say a teacher must play for you? It has long been the case in traditional Buddhist societies such as Tibet, the culture one grows up in answers many of these questions naturally. This is not the case for most Western sanghas, and if we are going to build a Buddhist tradition and pass on a genuine understanding of the Dharma to the next generation of practitioners, we need a great deal more clarity than we have now concerning what we mean by the term 'teacher' in this context. This handbook will be the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way all one needs to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart"--
