Do we need a "mentor" -- a.k.a. master -- to teach us how to awaken to Buddha nature? It's a hot topic.
If the answer is yes, who exactly is our mentor? Shakyamuni? Nichiren? Life itself? None of the above?
The following commentary appeared in an earlier edition of BuddhaJones:
A Perspective on the Mentor-Disciple RelationshipIn Buddhism, the teachings are passed from a teacher (mentor) to a student (disciple) who in turn becomes a mentor to others. This all began with Shakyamuni Buddha, who attained enlightenment then taught others and so on and so on.
For the most part, people readily understand the fundamentals of a teacher/student relationship. We recognize that others have more skill or more knowledge in some way, and we gladly learn from them. The mentor-disciple relationship in Buddhism, however, is a bit more intense.
Buddhism can be thought of as a technology for enabling all people to overcome suffering. A mentor has used this technology in his or her own life and can teach it to others. This is where it gets more intense: it is also true that the mentor is this technology.
A mentor is one who has walked the path of Buddhism and has worked on him- or herself to such an extent that he or she embodies vision, energy, skillful means, compassion, wisdom and courage. He or she has become the vehicle (that is, the vehicle of the Lotus Sutra) as well as the occupant of the vehicle, as well as the path on which the vehicle travels.
At the same time, he or she remains an ordinary human being to whom we can relate. After all, in Buddhism there is ultimately no separation between an ordinary person and a Buddha, or an ordinary person and the Mystic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
It could be said that a mentor is a person who has realized a radical "oneness." This is a state of consciousness -- a state of life, really -- that all people can realize. It's not just for certain, special people.
On one level, a mentor is a sensible human being who, because of his or her disciplined practice and study, sees the world clearly. This person can help the student distinguish what is real and what is illusion. In this sense, a mentor is like a parent and the disciple is like a child. This is not meant as an insulting or infantilizing analogy. Rather, the parent-child analogy is meant to illustrate the deep, mutual trust and heartfelt bond between mentor and disciple.
On another level, a mentor is more like a skilled physician who can prescribe the right remedies for spiritual suffering and confusion. The disciple is like an adolescent who has great potential and headstrong ideas and who wants to develop his or her capacity and understanding. The mentor provides a kind of supervision. The mentor understands the disciple's struggles and relates with the disciple's strengths as well as weaknesses, challenging him or her.
On still another level, a mentor is a profound mirror to the disciple and acts in totally unpredictable ways. The mentor enables the disciple to see his or her misperceptions or neuroses so the disciple can work through his or her own "demons." The mentor's function is not to make the disciple feel comfortable, but to throw him or her off balance.
At this level, the disciple is like an adult learning how to handle situations (spiritual and otherwise) on his or her own. In this way, the disciple can develop into a mentor.
A mentor-disciple relationship is characterized by total communication in which nothing is held back. Some people say that a person we have never met or someone who has passed away can serve as our mentor. For example, many people find inspiration and instruction in the writings of Nichiren, Emerson and Gandhi, to name just a few.
There are pitfalls, however, to having a mentor that we can't interact with in real time. If there is no give-and-take, the relationship is very one-sided and subject to distortion by our imagination, fears or wishful thinking. It's likely, then, that we'd be projecting our own neuroses onto the mentor, thus intensifying rather than unraveling these neuroses.
So, while mystical bonds exist among people, a mentor in life is someone with whom we have an opportunity interact.
Among various schools of Nichiren Buddhism, there is some disagreement regarding who a mentor (or the mentor) should be. Many Nichiren Buddhists regard Shakyamuni Buddha or Nichiren Daishonin as their mentor. Some regard fellow practitioners as their mentors. Some regard the Gohonzon as their mentor. Others feel that while Nichiren is their eternal mentor, SGI President Ikeda is their mentor in this lifetime.
Only you can decide who your mentor is. The mentor-disciple relationship begins with the seeking spirit of the disciple. There is a saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
Generally, it's true that we can learn from anyone and anything. But our mentor in life is the spiritual home or foundation on which our learning is built. That's why the mentor-disciple relationship is said to be the heart of Buddhist practice, and why it's important to be extremely careful when choosing a mentor.
Care to comment?
8 comments
"But our mentor in life is the spiritual home or foundation on which our learning is built."Nice piece, Beryl. But "spiritual home?" The mentor? I don't think so. At least not for me. My home is here and now--eternally. Chanting awakens me to this. And study--of Nichiren's writings, oral teachings, and the Lotus Sutra primarily. No one person serves as my "home"--spiritual or otherwise. That comes from within me.
... I do, however, take as my Buddhist mentor, mentor in life, if you will, the person that I personally believe has, with all his faults (as have we all), lived up to the intent of the Lotus Sutra to spread its ideals far and wide. This person's writings inspire me--especially when I can read them at face level and deep levels and not get caught up on my mentor's imperfections. I find that when I'm stuck there--hung up on his or anyone's imperfections--what I really am doing is avoiding dealing with issues or imperfections of my own. I'm feeling powerless, so I start looking outside of me for reasons for my angst instead of doing the hard and necessary work of creating benefit out of whatever it is I'm dealing with. I'm forgetting that I'm a Buddha and therefore not limited by anyone or anything--including orgs or people of perceived authority. This all has been my hardest lesson. But to be a truly happy person and complete my life's purpose I believe I must fully get it.
that the only good teachers are the Lotus & Nirvana Sutras.
I personally favor the small "m" definition of mentor - a person who can guide me in learning to develop a particular skill or skill set, in a one-on-one, face-to-face personal relationship. I don't require this person to be a paragon of all virtues, I just need him or her to be accomplished at the skills I wish to learn or develop, and willing to teach and coach me in those skills.I don't believe I need a capital "M" Mentor to align my entire life with; I have (as Robin posted) Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra to provide such overall guidelines. I need someone who can see what I am doing in detail and in person, and point out where I may need to adjust my viewpoint, or approach, or attitude, etc. This only works if a personal, one-to-one relationship is able to develop between the mentor and I. This definition of mentor applies whether we are talking about learning a new software tool at work, a method of developing my mangement skills as my responsibility grows, or my Buddhist practice.Just my 2c, of course; Your Mileage May Vary.Namaste, Engyo
That is what I would say too. Another way to approach that; there are Principles, Concepts, and Methods. The first two can be learned from written texts; provided one has basic learning skills. Methods, I agree, are harder to teach and learn in writing. They can be described, but that is a bit like describing the technique of smiling. Pictures and drawings help, but, if imitated that is still a facsimile or affectation of a smile, not a real one.
My son learned swimming strokes from pics in his boy scouts handbook. I learned how to swim underwater without a SCUBA tank by listening to his description of it. To me this illustrates that learning methods are fluid--there is no 1 way to learn something, not even a very specific skill like swimming.Re mentor, however, if we are to believe Nichiren, and I do, then the original mentor is the the Law itself, which is NMHRK. But, again originally, which is to say in truth--since time is itself is illusionary--this Law had/has no name. This all brings me back to my basic belief that ultimately life itself--my life--is THE mentor. This thinking, when I'm doing it, leaves no room for blame or feelings of powerlessness.
When I think of this concept and how it has had an impact upon my life, there have been so many: the Greek Rhodes Scholar professor who taught me something about writing in English, George W. Williams who routinely showed us how to turn the impossible into the possible and, even to expect that. Mr. Ikeda when he is/was teaching sense and compassion. Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda who said once: "Life is a creative endeavor. It can only be experienced by the method of trial and error. The important thing to remember is to never repeat foolish mistakes." Mr. Gandhiji, of course, and Mr. King, Mr. Mandela, Jesus Christ, Shakyamuni, Dengyo Daishi, T'ien tai, Nichiren the Daishonin, the Prophet Muhammed, Nichikan, the reformer. Who says we need just one?Armchair
I became a lot better golfer because of hands on coaching. I did everything right in principle and concept, but my technique had a flaw, I pulled up on my swing. A coach noticed that, and told me to keep my feet firmly planted; to envision driving my feet into the ground. That advice was for me specifically; it would not necessarily work for others. Others tended to hack down too much, and need to follow through more.