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Guidance
on Finding
revised
2013 March Teachers in the Buddhist Tradition Buddhist Titles & Credentials: A Glossary Questions to Ask When Considering Involvement with a Teacher or Group -- Finding and Relating to a Teacher -- Buddhist Ethical Statements & Standards -- Organizations Developing Teacher Registries -- Finding a Teacher in the Real World, by Leland Shields -- What Are You Looking for in a Teacher? by Ken McLeod -- Do You Need a Teacher? and The Teacher-Student Relationship, by Ken McLeod |
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Teachers in the Buddhist Tradition Each Buddhist tradition has its own structure, culture, and language. Judging one tradition by the practices and standards of a different tradition is a source of great confusion and conflict. If one is sincere about resolving conflict, it is essential to begin from a place of understanding. There are many different Buddhist traditions, each with many lineages and institutions. The basic classification of Buddhism into Thervada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Pure Land, etc is a great simplification of what are essentially hundreds of lineages that practice and teach thousands of methods. Because of the diversity, and the many different cultures and languages, there is no single comprehensive source of information that explains their training methods or credentials. Most traditions have a formal training process but have also engaged in quite informal methods of transmission as well. In addition, most Buddhist lineages are now being spread across the world, and new institutions are being established, each with their own methods, and each with their own standards and criteria (or lack of standards and criteria) for teacher training. What used to be a clear and limited title of authority indicating completion of a specific course of training may now be used as an informal title of respect. And new programs of teacher training are being organized that may not be recognized by the traditional authorities of that tradition. It may be helpful to consider how Buddhism is organized and taught. One classification that might be useful is to realize that there are
Teachers are regarded differently in various Buddhist traditions, and by different students within those traditions:
To some extent in all Buddhist traditions, the teacher should be at least to some extent an exemplar of ethical behavior, an inspiration for training in meditation methods, and an embodiment of the understanding that is the fruit of Buddhist practice. Alexander Berzzin's book Relating to a Spiritual Teachers: Building a Healthy Relationship (Snow Lion Publications, 2000) provides a detailed discussion of the traditional and modern issues involved in the student-teacher relationship. While his discussion is based on the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, most of the issues and dynamics also apply to the other traditions. |
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Buddhist Titles & Credentials: A Glossary While the differences between the traditions go deeper than language, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of the language used. Some of the terms used are informal honorifics used out of respect; other terms are indicators of seniority in monastic systems; other terms are titles of authorization bestowed upon particular students by their teacher, or credentials earned by completing a program of training. Different lineages use terms and titles differently, and the meaning of terms has evolved over time. The wide variation in how teachers are trained and authorized makes it difficult for a student to judge the legitimacy of a teacher. Perhaps the first step is to have a basic undestanding of the terms used in different Buddhist traditions. Here is a preliminary lists for the Zen, Theravada, and Tibetan traditions: From the Japanese tradition unless noted otherwise. Various Zen lineages use these terms in different ways. Daishi: great master;
posthumous title. Jukai: lay ordination
ceremony for taking or renewing precepts. Theravada Theravada terms may be from the languages of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Laos, and India. Acharya (Skt):
teacher or instructor of dhamma or doctrine. (Originally the
acharya was distinguished from the upajjhaya
instructor in moral precepts). There are four main Tibetan schools: Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug, each with their own system of training and authorization. Ani: Literally, aunt.
Used as a title for nuns. |
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Questions to Ask
Since the teacher training and certification of the different Buddhist schools and lineages vary so greatly, and in the absence of an agreed registry of qualified teachers, the sudent is left on their own to decide who to study with. Fortunately, there are numerous articles, books, and other resources that offer guidelines and guidance for choosing a teacher and for differentiating legitimate spiritual groups from cults. You are responsible for yourself as a student of a particular Buddhist teacher or as a participant of a Buddhist group. Observing a teacher and their students before getting too involved with them is the ideal, but even if you have been involved for a while, and feel something is not quite right, ask yourself, the teacher, and their students some questions.
For a discussion of these questions, see Do You Need a Teacher? and The Teacher-Student Relationship by Ken McLeod. |
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Not every unqualified teacher, or even every charlatan, is operating a cult. But the consequences of getting involved in a cult can be so serious, and the psychic and emotional damages so difficult to repair, that the cult phenomena deserves close consideration. We don’t need to get lost in the various criteria for whether a group is a cult, and an organization doesn't have to be seen as a cult by everyone to be experienced as a cult by an individual. Michael Langone, editor of Cultic Studies Journal, has compiled a Checklist of Cult Characteristics that covers includes these danger signs:
Other observers have observed similar behaviors by cults. Arthur Deikman identifies four basic cult behaviors:
As Deikan explains, it is not necessarily easy to identify a cult, and many organizations that would not typically be identified as cults exhibit some of the same manipulative and coercive traits (see Arthur Deikman's website and his book The Wrong Way Home: Uncovering the Patterns of Cult Behavior in American Society). The bottom line is that it is the student's responsibility to decide when an organization has crossed a line with which the student is not comfortable. Robert J. Lifton's eight criteria for thought manipulation include:
These are discussed in Lifton's book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. See an excerpt at the REVEAL website. Tobias and Janja Lalich define a cult as "a group or movement exhibiting great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing, and employing unethical manipulative or coercive techniques of persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility or subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency upon the group and fear of leaving it), designed to advance the group's leaders, to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community" (from Captive Hearts, Captive Minds: Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Other Abusive Relationships, by Madeleine Landau Tobias, Janja Lalich, and Michael Langone). Nor does a group have to satisfy all of the criteria of any one of the systems proposed. What if it satisfies half, but does so really strongly? Again, the student's judgement is the ultimate criterion. |
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Finding and Relating to a Teacher Spiritual Bypassing by Robert Augustus Masters Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path by Mariana Caplan Halfway Up the Mountain by Mariana Caplan At Personal Risk by Marilyn Peterson The
Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and
Scarves Do
You Need a Teacher? and The Teacher-Student Relationship Finding
a Teacher in the Real World Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Safe Harbor: Guidelines, Process and Resources for Ethics and Right Conduct in Buddhist Communities. Sex and the Spiritual Teacher by Scott Edelstein. Wise Student, Wise Teacher (previously published as Relating to a Spiritual Teacher), by Alex Berzin (also online). Establishing Healthy Relationships with Spiritual Teachers by Alex Berzin. Avoiding Confusion in the Spiritual Student-Teacher Relationship by Alex Berzin.
Resources on Abuse of Power
Resources on Cults Definition
of a Destructive Cult Them and Us by Arthur J. Deikman
Buddhist Ethical Statements & Standards Against the Stream Teacher Code of Ethics
Boundless Way Zen Sangha
Ethics Code Chobo-ji Sangha Ethics Policy Clouds in Water Zen Center Ethical Guidelines Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji Ethical Guidelines Dharma Rain Zen Center Precepts and Ethics in Sangha Relationships Diamond Sangha Teachers Ethics Agreement Kwan Um School of Zen Statement of Ethics Minnesota Zen Meditation Center Statement Of Ethical Conduct and Precepts San Francisco Zen Center Ethics and Ethics & Reconciliation Council Shambhala Care and Conduct Shao Shan Ethical Guidelines Soto Zen Buddhist Association Ethics Statement Spirit Rock Ethics & Reconciliation Council and Teacher Code of Ethics Victoria Zen Centre Ethics Policy
Organizations Developing Teacher Registries American
Zen Teachers Association |