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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 47

is going to help you in your life and path, to transform, one of his gurus were to do something he thought was
you realize the answer is: “nothing”. On the other hand, wrong he would say so, and it would do no harm to his
you may listen to someone whose speech is in a kind meditation.
of monotone, is a bit difficult to hear, kind of boring,
but what they are saying, the meaning, when you really To think, “since my guru did it, abuse, stealing, lying,
listen, is exhilarating, profound, and very useful indeed. must be good, so it’s okay for me to do, too” would be
completely wrong.
Fundamentally what I look for is a good person, kind
Are there Buddhist texts you can suggest a Buddhist
hearted and wise, who has a very good understanding
to read in order not to blindly follow a guru, and
of what I want to know.
how to spot one who is a fake?
[The Four Reliances as taught by HH The Dalai Lama
are (1) Do not rely upon the individual, but rely upon the Besides the traditional sources I have mentioned
teaching. (2) As far as the teachings go, do not rely upon above, there is the article “Relating to a spiritual
the words alone, but rely upon the meaning that underlies teacher: Building a Healthy Relationship”, by Dr Alex
them. (3) Regarding the meaning, do not rely upon the Berzin. I think you will find that very useful. There is
provisional meaning alone, but rely upon the definitive no substitute for learning the Buddha’s teachings from
meaning. (4) And regarding the definitive meaning, qualified teachers and from texts by well qualified
do not rely upon ordinary consciousness, but rely upon masters, such as HH the Dalai Lama. The more you
wisdom awareness.] know, the better you can tell from what the masters
say if they are genuine masters. In short, the answer to
Pure morality is essential. With that quality at least this question is: study the texts I’ve mentioned, keep
they can guide you to a good destiny after this life. the Four Reliances in mind, rely a bit on your heart to
HH Dalai Lama says: get to know them by attending know who is a good person, and remember HH the Dalai
their teachings like a student attending the professor’s Lama’s advice to start out with the perception of oneself
lectures. Then, once you are confident that this is the attending a professor’s lectures.
right person, you commit yourself to a guru-disciple
Any further advice to a new Buddhist on how best to
relationship.
relate to a spiritual teacher?
If one realizes that one’s guru has not been ethical
in his/her ethical conduct, what is the correct Once the relationship of teacher/guru and student/
approach a student should take out of compassion disciple has been established, the phase during which
for the guru? one checks the guru has to come to an end. From
then onwards we focus on the qualities and kindness
This is a very complex question. Extremely complex. So of our teacher. Lama Yeshe once said to me, “I never
it’s quite difficult to say much. think of myself as better than my teacher”. When the
relationship is healthy, anything is possible. With strong
As followers of the Buddha, we strive to maintain a faith, things can happen very fast that might otherwise
positive, kind, warm attitude to all beings, even the have taken a thousand years. EH
most evil person in the world - especially the most evil
person in the world. So of course we need to maintain a
positive attitude towards our gurus, whatever it is they
have done or been accused of doing. HH Dalai Lama says
on this that having made the guru-disciple connection,
if things don’t work out then we put our mind into
neutral mode about them. I’ve also heard him say that if