Nothing To Teach but This

As long as we haven't become a Buddha, there will always be areas to work on and improve. Since most of us are blind to our own faults, we need someone to point them out to us – a lama.

Unfortunately, many lamas nowadays don't fulfil this role. Even when they do, they often do so indirectly by repeating what the texts say without addressing the student directly, as if it were just general information. This is particularly true for how lamas teach Western and Chinese students. Lamas are sometimes even advised not to criticise their foreign students to avoid potential conflicts. In essence this is like telling a lama not to teach the Dharma to Westerners or Chinese people.

If I’m your lama, I believe it's my responsibility to help you recognise the areas where you can still develop by pointing them out to you. If I were to stop doing this, I would have to stop teaching you, since I have no other dharma to teach than this. Until that happens, I will continue to strive in what I know to be the role of the lama. Even though it may not always be easy.

11 January 2023, Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal