Sun, 21 Feb 2010
Meaning of Devotion
Seeing your teacher as a Buddha means that for you he performs the function of a Buddha, by teaching you the dharma. The Buddha is no longer here, and it is only through the instruction of your teacher that you will be able to appreciate the dharma. And for that, you should feel sincere gratitude. It does not mean that you see your teacher as faultless or that you rationalize your teacher's faults as qualities. It means that you see these faults as unimportant, as when someone hands you a check for a million dollars, you don't quibble that their handwriting was sloppy.
