Choose a lineage and a teacher wisely

Learn how the schools differ, then examine a teacher over time — ethics, motivation, honesty — before entrusting yourself to them.

Warum es wirkt

In Vajrayāna the teacher matters more than in most traditions: Dodrupchen explains why the teacher is regarded as a buddha, a central tenet of the Vajrayāna, and texts on samaya warn of the dangers of criticising a teacher from whom you have received empowerment. That is exactly why Alexander Berzin insists on examining a teacher well before committing: the relationship is not like the army, and choosing should not rest on who runs the local centre, on fame or on charisma. He lists the qualities that matter most — ethical conduct, a sincere wish to help students, more knowledge and experience than ours, and honesty without pretence — and suggests reading them like ripples that reveal a fish: watch how a teacher treats ordinary students, not only patrons. On lineages he urges a non-sectarian attitude, without a “football team” mentality.

So gehst du vor

1. Learn the broad differences first: Dzogchen in the Nyingma, Mahāmudrā in the Kagyu, Lamdré in the Sakya, the graduated path in the Gelug; Bön as its own tradition.
2. Attend open teachings at more than one centre if you can, and notice which teaching style and practice you actually keep up.
3. Before committing to a teacher, watch over time: their ethics, how they treat ordinary students, whether they are honest about what they do not know.
4. Ask other students about their own experience of the teacher, and weigh it with your own observation.
5. Do not seek empowerments or samaya commitments until you have examined the teacher; the texts treat these commitments seriously once made.
6. Be wary of exploitation of money, fame or sexual favours, and of anyone who discourages you from checking.

Evidenz

Berzin’s seminar on finding a spiritual teacher gives the list of qualities, the ripples analogy, the warnings about choosing by fame or charisma and about exploitation, and the advice to check before committing. Lotsawa House’s texts on following a teacher include Dodrupchen on regarding the teacher as a buddha and guides to samaya. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey’s overview of the traditions and Berzin’s essay on how they differ give the characteristic teachings of each school and the non-sectarian advice, and Lotsawa House’s lamrim and Lamdré series place those teachings in their schools. Study Buddhism’s glossary places Vajrayāna within Mahāyāna, Berzin explains what Tibetan texts mean by “Hīnayāna” tenets, and Kapstein’s Very Short Introduction is a scholarly overview of the whole tradition. (anecdotal)

This page cannot assess any particular teacher, centre or lineage, and the checks here are general prudence drawn from one teacher’s advice, not a school’s formal criteria. Each school teaches more than the one emphasis named for it.

Quellen

• Berzin, A. Finding a Spiritual Teacher (seminar, with questions on qualities and checking a teacher). Study Buddhism (Berzin Archives).
• Lotsawa House. Following a Teacher series (Dodrupchen on regarding the teacher as a buddha; texts on samaya commitment).
• Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, trans. Sharpa Rinpoche and Alexander Berzin. Overview of the Tibetan Traditions and Their Lineages — from his commentary on Opening the Door to the Dharma. Study Buddhism (Berzin Archives).
• Berzin, A. How Do the Tibetan Buddhist Traditions Differ? (monastic lineage, study, ritual and meditation, emptiness, perception). Study Buddhism (Berzin Archives).
• Lotsawa House. Lamrim series — the graduated path introduced to Tibet by Atiśa and adopted by all schools, especially the Kadam and Gelug.
• Lotsawa House. Lamdré series — texts on the theory and practice of the Path with Its Fruit (lam ’bras).
• Study Buddhism Glossary. “Vajrayana” — the vehicle, within Mahayana, that makes use of the tantra methods.
• Berzin, A. The Terms Hinayana and Mahayana. Study Buddhism (Berzin Archives).
• Kapstein, M. T. (2013). Tibetan Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions). Oxford University Press.

Häufiger Fehler

Committing to the first charismatic lama you meet, or taking an empowerment because it is being offered, before you know the teacher. The tradition’s high regard for the teacher is the reason to examine first, not a reason to skip examining.