Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Forum for discussion of Tibetan Buddhism. Questions specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
mint
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:45 pm

Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by mint »

Hello,

I currently consider Chogyam Trungpa and Pema Chodron to be my teachers because I live about four hours away from a teacher. Charlottesville, VA is the closest place to me that seems to have a strong Tibetan Buddhist presence. I know, at least, that the Ligmincha Institute is there. Traveling four hours to meet a teacher seems like a big waste of fuel, though I am sure I would treasure the experience even if I never met with a teacher ever again in my life. Plus, even if I were willing to travel the four hours, I don't know when I could go. Life is so incredibly busy for the foreseeable future that I don't know when I might be able to schedule an opportunity during the week or otherwise to make such a pilgrimage.

I am planning on flying up to Chicago during Christmas so my fiance can visit with her family. I am sure that there are a huge amount of teachers in and around Chicago, but even if I were to find one I would interested in meeting, taking refuge with, and perhaps take annual or semi-annual teachings from, I really haven't the foggiest idea how to go about arranging a meeting. Plus, since we're flying and saving money by not renting our own vehicle, we'll be pretty dependent on walking and public transportation.

I have given thought to receiving the Direct Transmission from Namkhai Norbu and becoming one of his disciples, but Tselgyegar East apparently is understaffed and hasn't responded to any of my e-mails or phone calls about any preparatory work to be completed before receiving the Direct Transmission on November 20th of this year.

My reading of Chogyam Trungpa and listening to Pema Chodron has really helped my practice, but I read both here on Dharma Wheel and in my studies about the benefit and necessity of having some sort of teacher. Any advice will be appreciated.
User avatar
Josef
Posts: 2611
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:44 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Josef »

I wish my teacher lived four hours away.

Direct transmission via Namkhai Norbu is highly recommended. You dont really need to worry about Tsegyalgar at this point.
Just tune in to a webcast.

Direct transmission includes refuge and all that stuff.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
User avatar
heart
Posts: 6290
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:55 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by heart »

It is well worth traveling for days to meet your Guru. If you are interested in ChNN you should go and see him before impermanence makes it impossible.

/magnus
"We are all here to help each other go through this thing, whatever it is."
~Kurt Vonnegut

"The principal practice is Guruyoga. But we need to understand that any secondary practice combined with Guruyoga becomes a principal practice." ChNNR (Teachings on Thun and Ganapuja)
Chaz
Posts: 457
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:23 am
Location: South Carolina

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Chaz »

Nangwa wrote:I wish my teacher lived four hours away.
Same here! My Guru i 1/2 - way accross the country.

@mint:

Keep this in mind - finding/meeting the guru will happen when it's time. You can't really force it. Your relationship to the guru is beyond meeting and parting. Time and distance are meaningless. The blessing and kindness of the guru extends to you even now.

If Namkai Norbu is The Man then you must go to him. If not, go to him and recieve his teaching anyway.
pemachophel
Posts: 2228
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:19 pm
Location: Lafayette, CO

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by pemachophel »

Mint,

I suggest you continue doing what you're doing until such a time comes when the need for a living Teacher becomes so pressing, so immediate, so necessary that traveling anywhere in the world would be a small price to pay. From your post, I don't think you're there yet. Meantime, there will be great blessings listening to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's webcasts whether he is your karmically destined Root Guru or not.

Good luck and best wishes.
Pema Chophel པདྨ་ཆོས་འཕེལ
User avatar
mint
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:45 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by mint »

pemachophel wrote:I suggest you continue doing what you're doing until such a time comes when the need for a living Teacher becomes so pressing, so immediate, so necessary that traveling anywhere in the world would be a small price to pay. From your post, I don't think you're there yet. Meantime, there will be great blessings listening to Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's webcasts whether he is your karmically destined Root Guru or not.

Good luck and best wishes.
I appreciate everyone's advice thus far.

I think you're right, pemachophel, I don't feel pressed at the moment to have a guru. I am content at the moment learning from Trungpa Rinpoche's and Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's books and Pema Chodron's audio CDs. My practice is going good. What has spurred my search is a general sense of "peer pressure" - that is, as I've mentioned, reading here on the forum about everybody's experience with their guru. Plus, so many suggest, "Do what your teacher recommends," but I don't have one so I have wondered, "Maybe I should get me a guru?" Maybe what people mean to suggest is that I adhere to what I've learned and what works for me best.

I am shocked to learn that so many of you have teachers who live far away. From what I read here on the board, it sounds like so many of you have easy access to many teachers. Also, given the stress that is placed on having a teacher, I imagined that weekly or monthly visits were being made.

How did some of you meet your gurus? How do these relationships get formed if you live so far away? Do you just read a book by this person and say, "I want this person for my guru"? Do you meet them on retreat? I'm very interested in how this process can work.

I am glad to hear that you all recommend learning from Chogyal Namkhai Norbu. I will plan to attend the Direct Transmission on November 20th - which I hope is beneficial without receiving the pre-Transmission transmission which Tselgyegar mentions on their website.
palchi
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:26 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by palchi »

mint wrote:I am shocked to learn that so many of you have teachers who live far away. From what I read here on the board, it sounds like so many of you have easy access to many teachers. Also, given the stress that is placed on having a teacher, I imagined that weekly or monthly visits were being made.

How did some of you meet your gurus? How do these relationships get formed if you live so far away? Do you just read a book by this person and say, "I want this person for my guru"? Do you meet them on retreat? I'm very interested in how this process can work.
I met my teacher when I took refuge - and everything fell into place for me. I formally asked him to be my teacher a few years later. By then I already lived in a different country but close enough to visit the monastary for weekend retreats 2-3 times a year. But realistically I would meet Rinpoche only once a year since he is travelling a lot. My job makes me move countries every couple of years and now it takes me some 20 hours by plane to get there - and still I'm trying to make the journey once a year. Fortunately there's also email so if I really need answers or his support I can contact him and he's always been quick to respond... :anjali:

So no easy access or weekly visits! But I know what I have to do and I know I can get his guidance when I need it - so it's ok... and it makes meeting him all the more special :smile:
User avatar
Josef
Posts: 2611
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:44 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Josef »

mint wrote:
How did some of you meet your gurus? How do these relationships get formed if you live so far away? Do you just read a book by this person and say, "I want this person for my guru"? Do you meet them on retreat? I'm very interested in how this process can work.
I met my guru on retreat. He doenst have any books and isnt very well known at all really. I went on the retreat initially because of the topic he was teaching and his late father was an incredible master.
That retreat completely changed my life.
I havent seen my root guru in person since 2009 because he lives so far away and is completely responsible for being the head of our lineage.
We maintain regular contact via email and even though he is physically 8,000 miles away I never really feel far from him.
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
Stewart
Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:40 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Stewart »

Hello,

I met my root teacher around 10 years ago, when he was relatively unknown in Europe, so over the next few years I was fortunate to spend a lot of personal time with him, and receive many public and personal teachings from him, including pointing out instructions. When he came to the UK I would take the time off and travel with him, usually 2-3 weeks per year. I also went to India to visit him.

He then became in very high demand in Dharma centres around the world, so I am grateful that I managed to connect the way I did before it became difficult. He has recently gone into retreat for 3 years 'wandering yogi' style, so I won't see him for a while, but I have plenty to do anyway in his absence. I will always feel close to him, despite distance.

I also have other teachers who I am very close to, including two who live about an hour away by car. So i feel fortunate, and I am grateful for this.

In saying all this, I am intrigued by ChNNR, and have been for many years, and would like to make a connection with him. I am considering the WWT next month, and through personal circumstances missed the opportunity to go to his Ati Yoga retreat in London last month.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

s

@ Palchi: Can't work out who your Guru is :)

@ Nangwa: Dungse Rigdzin Dorje Rinpoche? :) I get a good felling about him.
s.
User avatar
Josef
Posts: 2611
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:44 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Josef »

samdrup wrote:
@ Nangwa: Dungse Rigdzin Dorje Rinpoche? :) I get a good felling about him.
Thats my guy.

"Lord of speech,
life-tree of the teaching,
placing the tip of your feet at my crown,
I serve you, my crowning jewel."
—Jigme Lingpa
"All phenomena of samsara depend on the mind, so when the essence of mind is purified, samsara is purified. Since the phenomena of nirvana depend on the pristine consciousness of vidyā, because one remains in the immediacy of vidyā, buddhahood arises on its own. All critical points are summarized with those two." - Longchenpa
palchi
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:26 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by palchi »

samdrup wrote:@ Palchi: Can't work out who your Guru is :)
I guess one of the two who lives an hour away from you.... Akong Rinpoche. While I'm currently based in Namibia!
Pero
Posts: 2465
Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:54 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Pero »

samdrup wrote: In saying all this, I am intrigued by ChNNR, and have been for many years, and would like to make a connection with him. I am considering the WWT next month
Guys, to attend WWT you should already know what to do during it, otherwise there's not much point to it.
Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.
- Shabkar
Stewart
Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:40 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Stewart »

Yeah, I know. I am in touch with the local DC contact. Thanks anyway.
s.
User avatar
mint
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:45 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by mint »

Pero wrote:
samdrup wrote: In saying all this, I am intrigued by ChNNR, and have been for many years, and would like to make a connection with him. I am considering the WWT next month
Guys, to attend WWT you should already know what to do during it, otherwise there's not much point to it.
Please see my comments above concerning Tselgyegar's lack of response to my inquiries and Nangwa's recommendation that I attend the WWT regardless.
pemachophel
Posts: 2228
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 9:19 pm
Location: Lafayette, CO

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by pemachophel »

Mint,

In my experience, living in close proximity to your Guru is the best. I pretty much lived with my Teachers for almost 20 years. (During that time, I ran away once for two years.) It was a completely different experience than many people have nowadays with all the Gurus flying about the world and seeing Their students maybe once a year and even that often only in groups. However, if you're gonna be in close proximity with your Teacher, then you have to be totally committed to the path 24/7/365. Otherwise, you'll find the intensity way too much to handle. In Tibetan there's a saying (I think you can find it in Words of My Perfect Teacher), you need to be close enough to the Teacher to feel the heat but not so close as to get burnt.

On the other hand, there are plenty of stories of simple practitioners who only met their Teacher once, got a single practice, and then went off and really practiced that practice for years, ultimately achieving its result. In fact, Trungpa Rinpoche felt that the modern propensity of Tibetans (and, by extension, many of us Westerners) to gather lots of different practices and Deities is a problem. Another saying in Tibetan goes, Mi chik, lha chik, one person, one Deity.

In any case, take your time. Do what feels right for you, and make haste slowly. Don't worry too much about what others are doing or what we all suggest. Each person has his or her own path and only they can tread it.

Good luck and best wishes.
Pema Chophel པདྨ་ཆོས་འཕེལ
Terma
Posts: 556
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:07 am

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Terma »

Many good responses this far, but I'll add mine too and It may echo some of what was said previously.

Firstly, if you are serious about finding your Guru, then try to start making serious and heartfelt aspirations if you have not already. This goes a long way!

I suppose for some it may be "trial and error" in the sense that they might meet a few teachers or attend a few teachings and find a suitable teacher based on that. But I think most times, it happens in different sort of circumstances. For me, I received a teaching and transmission, and instantly through the practice I felt a great connection, and I just knew right then. Not to say I did not have a few obstacles in going to visit this teacher, but sometimes I think that is all part of the aspirations that I mentioned above, not to mention how badly one want's it, as was suggested earlier. For me it was sort of a test when it came time, having to travel a great distance to do so, and a few other factors. And by the way, I had never heard of this teacher before as he is not well known in the West at all, although he is quite famous in his own country. Perhaps for me this was a good thing, as it was the result of the practice that was the tell tale sign (although I know looking back that it was all due to the teacher's realization).

But don't worry, things are based on conditions and I think you at least have the aspiration to find a teacher and practice Dharma, so that is very positive and I think a good result will come from that!

But I do feel that these "relationships" we have with our Guru transcends time, and is not always a case of finding a specific teacher that one has heard great things about. Affinity is quite important. Even if I want to be the student of a certain teacher, I feel the affinity and karmic connection must be present. But having said that, even receiving some teachings can help to establish a connection with a certain lineage or teaching which is also a good thing.

PS, Some people may be lucky to live only a short distance from their teacher, and even 1/2 way across the country is pretty darn good too! Mine is half way (okay, most of the way) around the world and is always extremely busy. But then again, we are only talking physical distance here, as I think one's Guru is always present...

PS, It may not hurt to recite the "calling the Guru from afar" prayer either...

I hope you may find your teacher swiftly...

:namaste:
Stewart
Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:40 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Stewart »

@ palchi; yes Akong Rinpoche :) do you know him? The other is his brother Lama Yeshe Rinpoche. I lived with them at Kagyu Samye Ling for 3 years.
s.
Pero
Posts: 2465
Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:54 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by Pero »

mint wrote:
Pero wrote:
samdrup wrote: In saying all this, I am intrigued by ChNNR, and have been for many years, and would like to make a connection with him. I am considering the WWT next month
Guys, to attend WWT you should already know what to do during it, otherwise there's not much point to it.
Please see my comments above concerning Tselgyegar's lack of response to my inquiries and Nangwa's recommendation that I attend the WWT regardless.
He said webcast. I took it to mean a webcast of a teaching retreat. Unfortunately Tsegyalgar often has some problems (they're understaffed as I remember) and a lack of response doesn't mean you now don't have to know what to do during a WWT. But there should be a webcast of a teaching retreat in Tenerife starting on 11th of November and another from Margarita (Venezuela) starting on 27th of December and others after that.
Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.
- Shabkar
palchi
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:26 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by palchi »

samdrup wrote:@ palchi; yes Akong Rinpoche :) do you know him? The other is his brother Lama Yeshe Rinpoche. I lived with them at Kagyu Samye Ling for 3 years.
Yes, Akong Rinpoche is my teacher and of course I know Lama Yeshe Rinpoche too.... wonderful that you spent three years in Samye Ling - it is one of the places I consider 'home' though I've always been just visiting.....
User avatar
mint
Posts: 436
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 6:45 pm

Re: Logistics of Finding a Teacher

Post by mint »

I'm in contact to find out about becoming a Shambhala Buddhist. Seems like a good way to start.
Post Reply

Return to “Tibetan Buddhism”