![]() ![]() And he didn’t like the idea of laypeople wearing robes either. He liked the title Ch’an Adept I don’t really know why. My teacher didn’t like the terms that everyone else uses like priest, monk, and master. He referred to me as a ‘Master’ and said that I should be wearing robes and a rakusu and calling myself a Ch’an Priest. Recently, I was talking to a Dharma teacher named Yao Xin Shakya. The story is that he went into hiding so jealous students of his teacher wouldn’t attack him, but maybe he just didn’t feel ready. What if Bodhidharma spent nine years sitting alone in a cave because he didn’t know if he was ready? I wonder if Bodhidharma was plagued by insecurity, just like me? Also, Huineng went into hiding after he received Dharma transmission. I imagine him being afraid of the responsibility to spread the Meditation School into a foreign land, wondering if he was really capable, afraid of screwing it up. The story is that the students he found were really unworthy, so he went to live in a cave and spent nine years staring at a wall until a worthy student just showed up. The story is that Bodhidharma arrived with the teachings of the Meditation School. And, in a way, we never stop learning on the path. I’ve reached out to other teachers to see if I can learn from them because although I received the dharma seal, I still thought I should have more training. I’ve felt unprepared to share the teachings that I’ve received. Me? I think I have more in common with Bukowski than Buddha, but that’s probably just pretentious writer nonsense. how could I be a qualified teacher? Me, a lineage holder? How can I be trusted to spread the Caodong Ch’an lineage or any lineage? I’m supposed to set an example for other practitioners to follow. What does it mean to be a lineage holder in the modern world? Especially since I think Buddhist lineages are largely fictional anyway.Īnd me, with my two divorces (two kids with different moms), slight alcoholism, anxiety, tendency to always give in to temptations, brokenness, and a touch of the autism spectrum…. I’ve been reflecting on that transmission ever since. The internet has brought a lot of teachers and students together. There are lots of people trying to do it now, and I think it’s pretty clear that it is working. There’s still debate in Buddhist circles about whether the student-teacher relationship can occur over the internet. That’s the thing about receiving teachings through correspondence-your teacher can just disappear. He told me he was done teaching me and then he was gone, vanished like a cloud. Proceed as you see fit.”Īnd just like that, I was a lineage holder. I had been studying with him for a while when he suddenly dropped it on me: “I’m transmitting my lineage to you. Me? I think I have more in common with Bukowski than Buddha, but that’s probably just pretentious writer nonsense.īy Daniel Scharpenburg I thought my teacher was crazy I still do. ![]() Me, a lineage holder? How can I be trusted to spread the Caodong Ch’an lineage or any lineage? I’m supposed to set an example for other practitioners to follow. ![]()
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