Monday, February 02, 2009

Ultimately you are your own guru

Ultimately, you are your own guru We have the habitual tendency to always rely on others and look to them to solve our issues. In a way, we need to do this when we are still dumbfounded or feel helpless and cannot draw strength from within ourselves. We need a model, a role guide, one that will direct us excellently onto the right path. This is the reason why to become a Buddhist, one has to take refuge in the Triple Gems. The Buddha, Dharma and the noble Sangha are the best guide, teacher, role model. Only they can bring us across the ocean of suffering to the shore of permanent happiness. In this degenerate time, we are not fortunate enough to meet the Buddha in person, nor can we meet the arhats, pratyeka buddhas or bodhisattvas. So we have to put our complete faith and trust in our compassionate guru who has been very kind to us, as our guru represents all the three Jewels. Ultimately however, the guru is not the one who can cause us to gain enlightenment and leave all suffering. It is ourselves that we have to rely on. The guru is like the compass, but we have to use our own two feet to get to the destination. There is actually nothing to be obtained and there has never been anything we lost. Each individual sentient being has the perfect Buddha Nature, only that it has been clouded with our delusions and defilements. Do not just think you can rely on outer forces and influences all the time to get all you need or desire, why not tap into the wish fulfilling well of your own inner guru? This however does not mean that you should become proud or disrespectful to others, especially those who are or have been your teachers. It is a sure sign you are far from being enlightened. It also does not mean that you should disregard the advice of others, who you should keep in mind also have Buddha Nature and are probably far more enlightened than you. Be diligent in your practice and continue to serve your guru, listen, contemplate and meditate and get in touch with your inner guru.

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