Abbot's Teaching
The Teacher-Student Relationship
by Michael Zenkai Taiun Elliston Sensei,
June 6, 2000
Today we are going to talk about the teacher-student relationship, and I will try to cover many questions about it which members and disciples have brought to my attention aspects about which they are confused. We will examine Dogen-Zenji emphasis on finding and following a true teacher, with some references from others from history, and some reflections on the state of the art today.
I will begin with a quote from Joshu which one of our members mentioned in dokusan. Paraphrasing, "I will teach a Zen Master or learn from a baby. Which would you say is the most confident, or the least arrogant phrase?" If you say the former, remember that a genuine Zen Master is taught by everyone indiscriminately. The Zen Master sees only the action of the Buddha-nature, even in the total ignoramus. But seeing the Buddha in the baby requires profound insight.
Do you remember the story of Nan-in's teacup? This story of a high-ranking gentleman who visited Zen Master Nan-In, illustrates the attitude of many students. In this story, Nan-in prepares tea for his visitor in the traditional manner, while the gentleman proceeds to expound his understanding of Zen at great length and in great detail. When the tea is ready, Nan-in continues in silence, pouring the visitor's tea. When the tea-bowl is full to the brim, however, Nan-in continues pouring, the tea running over onto the floor. Recoiling in shock, the visitor exclaims, "Can't you see that it is already full?" Nan-in replies, "Just like this teacup you are so full of your own opinions about Zen that there is no room for me to put anything in!" The moral of the story is that we have to first empty our cup before a teacher can help us.
When I first began practicing Zen in the mid-sixties, most visitors to the Zen Temple knew very little about Zen, and so were open and eager to listen and learn. Sensei was always very patient, and tailored his teaching to the level of experience of the people coming to practice with him. I would appear at public talks with him, and field the questions that people raised afterwards, as he liked the way I answered. Because the audience was fairly unsophisticated, I found it relatively easy to satisfy their curiosity, and to clarify some of the subtler aspects and seeming contradictions.
Nowadays, however, many more newcomers to the Zen Center are well read and some have experience under other teachers. Like Nan-in's visitor, they seem to be seeking confirmation of their own view, rather than seeking to understand a different one. And when they find a teacher who disagrees with them, they tend to reject the teacher! I have read that this lamentable situation is true in the martial arts as well, where many teachers disgustedly give up on true training and end up selling black belts.
I understand that there was once a tradition of working with three teachers through the progress of a student's deepening practice: perhaps one for initiation, one for thoroughgoing training, and one for final authentication of realization. We read of incidents in history of a teacher sending someone to another master whom he feels to be more suited to the individual's temperament. We hear of a student's grasping the grandmotherly kindness of the first teacher only when enlightened with the second.
When Zen teachers came to America, however, they were few and far between. So one teacher had to do for all three stages. My teacher, Matsuoka-Roshi, was and is my only teacher, and performed the role needed to help me in all stages of training. He always encouraged us to learn from any teacher, however, and was never defensive or jealous of the relationship. Now, with the explosive growth of Zen, there may be enough qualified teachers to revive the tradition of rounding-out the training under the influence of different masters. This is already happening informally.
But we should avoid raising expectations about this, or demanding a preconceived relationship with a teacher. As Shakyamuni is said to have said to the young man who insisted that he answer ten particular questions, otherwise he would not consider him his teacher, "You are under no obligation to me and I am under no obligation to you." Dogen-Zenji cautioned that one should not see oneself as anybody's teacher, or as anyone's predecessor.
Students of Zen, however, should also take care not to view various teachers and traditions as being in competition for their loyalty, or fall into the trap of comparative thinking with regards to teachers. As Sokei-An said, "Those who come here are welcome; those who leave are not pursued." Zen is like a sitting mountain. Anyone can come to and climb the mountain, but the mountain will not come to them. Some readily question the motives, judgment, commitment, or competence (or all of the above) of a teacher. This kind of attitude has long been recognized in Zen as a kind of transference of projection of self-doubt upon the person of the teacher. All of Buddha's teachings are designed to focus doubt back on the self, and are not intended to be used to criticize others. Of course, if you are looking for chinks in the teacher's armor, you are sure to find them. Any teacher is only human, just like you.
Some express doubt about whether the teacher is practicing for himself, like they are, or is teaching only to convince others that he or she has the true dharma. It is one thing to question your teacher; it is another to truly doubt the teacher's sincerity. Even Buddha cautioned us not to take his word alone, but to see for ourselves whether what his teaching is true. But a Zen teacher is likely more fully aware of his or her own faults and inadequacies than we could possibly be, and even Buddha surely had his weaknesses. We know he had his doubters. His own cousin, Devadatta, is said to have attempted to assassinate him out of jealousy. But any doubts you may have about Buddha's own understanding is misplaced, just as any doubts about Matsuoka Roshi's teaching or mine are. Anyone who falls into the trap of seriously doubting their teacher should stop wasting time and hie thee thither to another teacher. Or resign yourself to self-enlightenment.
So for whom is the teacher practicing? Are you practicing for yourself or so that others will think highly of you? Do you enjoy the esteem you derive from your position as a disciple or teacher, or the admiration your friends have for your Zen practice? Are we looking to gain fame and respect while fooling others? As a practical matter, one of our challenges today is how to sustain any kind of a teacher-student relationship of any intensity, when we are not living in a monastic situation, and are so busy with everyday concerns. Email and telephone can help presently hold eight or nine regular (weekly or bi-weekly) telephone dokusans of a half hour to an hour each, as well as maintaining a lively email dialog. I expect this to grow. Other aspects which make it difficult are the American cult of the individual, and our resistance to any hierarchical, authoritarian model of organization, especially in the context of spiritual practice. We have witnessed all too many ugly situations which have illuminated a betrayal of trust or hypocrisy. I believe this to be a central issue in the "Americanization of Zen". If Zen does not work for you, it is not the fault of the method, protocol, ritual, nor the teacher. You can follow a teaching or a teacher without doing so wholeheartedly, convincing yourself that you are doing everything this path requires. But if you come to the conclusion that this teacher's way is not for you, you may respectfully decline to continue, and should rescind any position of authority that you may have been given in that teacher's community.
The true teacher is, indeed, all this, as one of our senior teachers said, but those who interpret this to exclude their human teacher are confused. To repudiate one's teacher while accepting a position as a member or disciple in the sangha, and claiming to have some grasp of his or her dharma, is not only contradictory but nonsensical. This is like the child rebelling against a parent. Parents may not always be there when you need them, and in too many cases parenting is in name only. But however the rebellious child reacts following the parent's directions outwardly but internally resenting and resisting; or openly defying and challenging the parent the child's behavior is still captive to the parent-relationship. Like the 108 delusions, it is only when the child can apprehend the parent relationship as-it-is that the child can gain liberation, or grow up. Same for the parent, of course.
It is most important that you find your way to the truth, which each must do alone, without relying on others. This is one meaning of the tradition of enlightenment without a teacher. It means that even if we are practicing under a teacher, when we awaken, that teacher is not the sole cause. True transmission is from Mind to mind. But this does not mean we do not recognize our debt to our teacher. In transmission, we have simply come to accord with our teacher's experience and understanding.
With Dogen, I want to emphasize, "Do one thing." Some students seem to be going about, taking something from this teacher, a little piece of this other tradition, grazing on the spiritual smorgasbord. Many want to engage in only those practices which agree with their preconceptions or disposition. We must be careful that we are not cobbling together our own Frankenstein's Monster, a pastiche of attitudes and rituals that is simply comfortable for us. In Zen, it is only necessary to do one thing completely. And it is better to find and wholeheartedly follow a teacher and tradition which may not support your initial view, but which you feel you can trust, rather than to persist in gathering your own bag of tricks, or in constructing a patchwork quilt. Although a particular teacher may exhibit a diversity of approaches, and even appear contradictory in differing circumstances, we should look beyond the surface to the underlying core. There is a single thread running through it which is leading to this one thing that must be done. Fortunately I had such a teacher in Matsuoka-Roshi. I hope that you have the good fortune to meet a true teacher, too.