without a teacher

[wenwu]

ok this is my first real post, the internet over here has been difficult for a while and i have been able to post anything, anyway

 

a few years ag i met a great person, a pure chance meeting turned into a special frinedship turned into me finding a very special teacher, someone i would sit for hours with this person and talk about all things.

 

life has turned a few corners for me and her now and we are on seperate sides of the earth i have had a lot of time to get used to not having her around but sometimes i really feel like i need her help and advice but there is nobody there

 

in this life can you learn without a teacher?

[Pero]

in this life can you learn without a teacher?

 

Hmmm, depends I guess. On what are you trying to learn, what kind of capacity you got, what`s your previous knowledge etc. Some things can`t be done without a teacher at all (like vajrayana). A lot of things you can learn without one, but the thing is, then there is no one to correct if you`re doing something wrong, you can`t ask for advice and such. Of course that shouldn`t discourage you from learning. But, obviously, you should use common sense and great care when learning on your own. The good thing is, that there are a few places on the net like this forum, where some of your questions might be answered. So even if you have no teacher, you can still find others that could help you. And don`t despare, it`s said that a teacher comes when the student is ready. Doesn`t mean you should stop searching though.

[sean]

Everything is teaching you. There is an ETERNAL teacher speaking to you right now. Listen. Listen with the same quality of attention you listen to your human teacher speak. The power of a teacher to transmit truth is proportionate to the degree that they make space for this real teacher. Of course there is a unique quality and power to being around great human beings who have cultivated space for the truth. Just also be aware that there is something unchanged by any experience you have. Something still and silent. Something within which teachers and sandwiches and foggy days and mirrors and cups of green tea and Internet forum posts and your birth and death come and go without concern. Doesn't mean you should stop searching though.

 

Sean

[Japhy Ryder]

wenwu, Pero and Sean are both right on target. What do you want to learn?

[Wayfarer64]

I feel ya JR,

 

You've already read much of what I would want to say to you here. But let me add a broader stroke...

 

In philosophy there have been many who talked the talk but just didn't have the experience to be of any help at some levels. Marx never had a working-mans experience to help him make his points workable in the real world. Similarly with Buddha who had little experience with the slings and arrows of life. He thought he could address suffering, when for the most part, his suffering was self-imposed. He went from spoiled rotten to total avoidance of the mundane. etc etc.

 

Many great thinkers are just that- but they don't have a clue about living a life. Theorou was a miserable scrooge to his family. Artists are even more screwed-up as a rule, creating both great beauty and much mayhem in their lives. Van Gogh was also a miserable sob, but many people now get great joy from his art-work. He, by the way spent some years trying to be a lay-preacher.

 

So sharing ourselves with each-other takes many forms. I am sure you will find other dear friends in your life, but hanging onto the past joys that are not available now will not serve you well. It would be like trying to hang onto life itself when you die, which some believe to be what hell is. The futility of many of our wants cause suffering, the attainment of our desires gives us great if temporary joy.

 

Don't give up on your ability to make new loved-ones any day of your life. Be conscious of your need for another heart to open up to and one may show up. And please, do not hold any prejudice - it may be a 400 pound street person that smells very bad... Ya just never know...

 

Try throwing the coins with the Yi Ching. Meditate a bit on yr issues -(one at a time) and see what comes up... Or even just try to clear yr mind , throw the coins and see how what comes up applies to yr life.

[Pero]

Doesn't mean you should stop searching though.

 

Sean

 

Lmao, are you making fun of me?

 

I`m so happy. :D:

(not related haha)

[sean]

Lmao, are you making fun of me?

 

I`m so happy. :D:

(not related haha)

No, not at all. Agreeing with you and trying to bring my post full circle.

[Pero]

:)

[wenwu]

hey guys

 

thanks for the replies, i guess what you tld me makes sense but sometimes i really just feel lonely.

 

As to what i am wanting to learning, i am not sure how to put a name to it. it is too late right now to write my life story and it isn't very interesting anyway.

 

when i was speaking to my friend she alway focused on me losing ym ego and becomeing a simpler person the lessons i learnt from he still ring tue with me and i try to follow them all the time. where i am looking for next is learning how the universe wroks for people and being able to control my mind a little more. i guess that is in a nut shell

 

thanks for all the help

[Wayfarer64]

Hey ya get lonely, use lonely... like the lemon/lemonaid deal... This life is no bowl of cherries and none of us get through without our hearts breaking. Only the hard-hearted lose-out. So take the knocks with some good humor as best ya can.

 

Introspection and getting to know yr own strengths and weaknesses will last the rest of yr life, and I think that is the best/hardest part of our early adult life-lessons; we get to know ourselves.

 

You can always stay on line with us -we are a pretty funny bunch sometimes! It may not be huggable love-the one yr with, but the vibe is there and caring in cyberspace should be enough to remind you of the potentials this wonderful world offers us...

 

So buck-up me hearty. Yr not in some prison for having the wrong last name the last time ya tried to fly somewhere.

[Leidee]

Hey Wenwu

 

I feel what you are saying.

 

It may be good to know that everyone you interact with potentially has a lesson or experience to share with you. Your friend sounds like she was a very good influence and perhaps rather than mourning or focussing on that lack now, you could perhaps learn how to emulate her a little bit within yourself ?

 

It is trite to say "put a smile on your dial" or it isn't so bad as any other kind of experience (and I don't direct this particularly at Wayfarer's post but these kinds of words get thrown around when ppl feel low for whatever reason and I personally don't agree with this point of view), because (I am guessing here and going from personal experience) for you, this feeling of loneliness is absolutely real and present and is not comparable to any other person's experience.

 

Lastly, I would say that it isn't such a big thing to know how the universe works for other people...it is more important to work out for yourself your place within your reality. My experience has been that the only way I could do that was basically to totally disregard any consideration of anyone else for a period of time. Become totally independent of any other opinions or worries about acceptable behaviour etc etc and just find out what worked for me.

 

All the best

L

[Wayfarer64]

Hi all-

Leidee, I'm sorry I was so unclear my message was to delve into the lonelyness and find out more about one's self through understanding one's inner resources.

 

Maybe that wasn't clear through the well wishing for the process, but the process was to go with whatever you are subjected to in life and learn from it, not obfuscate or paint over it...

 

I was using fruit images as a try at humor, laughing at one's self is also pretty cathartic at times. But the message is suffering is good for you if you can ride it out and learn from it. I am not a buddhist in any way. I do not believe in transcendence as avoidance.

[Leidee]

No worries Wayfarer - I probably missed the subtleties of what you were saying I seem to miss much of late...

 

L

[lino]

Miyamoto Musashi, the sword saint of Japan, did it without a teacher.

 

I think that I'm going to do it without a teacher too. It's kind of distracting when I have to pay attention to a guided meditation CD (so I don't think that it'll help me to actually have somebody in the flesh guiding me), and trying to pay attention to my own body and breathing at the same time.

 

I'll end up doing trial runs and taking notes in order to internalize so that I can go full speed and see where it goes.

[Ian]

where i am looking for next is learning how the universe wroks for people and being able to control my mind a little more. i guess that is in a nut shell

 

thanks for all the help

 

How the universe works? Everyone has a different view. Very few of these views are based on direct experience. I wouldn't even go there if I were you - you'll just get more and more and more to think about.

 

Controlling your mind is a different matter. There are techniques and you can test them. I suggest not trying to fight with thoughts. They will win. My technique of choice is to let the thoughts think and try to inhabit the sensation of the body.

 

Whatever method you choose, be patient with it and relax as much as possible, that's what I'd say.

 

Maybe let go of your old teacher to make room for a new one.