Renown Is Not a Reliable Marker

Many people ask what practice they should do or what they should study, but that is not the priority.

We should first worry about finding a good lama, a teacher. The next step is to do as the lama says, and if they are an authentic lama, they will set us on the right path.

My way of thinking about this will differ from most of yours, and maybe you will feel my view on this is strange. When thinking about finding a lama, most of you will think about looking for someone well-known with a title like 'Rinpoche' or 'Khenpo'. The problem is that most of those in this category are very busy. You might be able to schedule an interview with them, and you may be able to receive the occasional teaching or transmission from them, but that is not enough for most of us to make any significant progress on the path.

So you need to find a lama who can teach you in depth. At least, that is the kind of lama I would look for.

Just because a lama is well-known doesn't mean they are a good lama. For example, I was a much better lama when nobody knew me, and I had no so-called students.

When I was unknown, I think it would be fair to say I was diligent in my practice; I would apply myself day and night. There was a period of three or four years where I never lay down. I sat upright twenty-four hours a day and put everything into the practice.

It was because of how I exerted myself in the practice that I was given the position of retreat master at the age of twenty-two.

After that, I started to become somewhat known and to guide students, and that was the start of my decline. The more students I came to have and the more well-known I became, the busier I became, both externally and internally, and the more pace and momentum my decline gathered.

This is how I can say that just because a lama is well-known, they are not necessarily a good lama. The best lamas are tucked away, probably in a remote place, entirely focused on the practice. Such lamas are nearly impossible to find, but if we can find the fortune to be taken under the care of a lama like that, there is real hope of making decent progress.

Another point where our thoughts probably differ is that I think a lama that would tell me off and set me right when I make mistakes would be preferable. But most of you probably do not want that quality in a lama.

Drupon Khen Rinpoche

Hong Kong 03.10.2023