|
The Importance of Lineage and Right Mind A lot of Western people attempt to learn Buddhism from books, by going to short courses or by asking friends. However, what most people do not realise is that to properly learn Buddhist practices you must have both lineage, and right mind. Lineage gives you permission to learn the practices; it is your direct line to the Master. Without it one will face many difficulties; with it the responses from one's practice will be much greater. Right mind means being having discipline, compassion, humility and the ability to control your desires. Many people believe that having a good heart is reason enough not to learn Buddhism. Having a good heart is a basic foundation, but without the Dharma wisdom you will never sort out all the problems in your life. This is why one must learn from an Enlightened Master. If one does not learn from a Master, quite simply one will be getting the wrong instructions and progress will be extremely difficult. Even with a Master's guidance, improvement depends upon the student's effort, so without a Master it will be a hundred times harder. However, without wisdom one may never realise this. Many groups have this misguided approach - for example the Friends of the Western Buddhists Organisation (FWBO). One of the students from our temple attended their weekend retreat. She found that the organisation did not have any Masters (and therefore no lineage). When practicing spiritual cultivation without the guidance of a Master, it can be quite dangerous because external spirits may interfere with the student. FWBO also publish a magazine called "Dharma Life" whose stated aim is to "promote Buddhism". However, they are actually misleading people into thinking they are generous, open minded and genuinely interested in promoting buddhism, as they refuse to let other Buddhist groups advertise in the magazine. How can they promote Buddhism by isolating their members from other groups and having no master to teach their students? This is just like the blind leading the blind. However, lineage alone is no guarantee of learming Buddhism properly - one must also have right mind. Students of many different styles have this problem. Despite having lineage, many who make the Bodhisattva vow will end up breaking it. Having a good heart is the most fundamental thing. So when learning Buddhism, for some people it is better to have a Master who will take time to point out your mistakes to you. At the Jen Wai Tong temple in London, Master Wong can help you learn to use the Dharma in your daily life and develop the qualities of humilty, compassion and discipline that you will need o be successful in your practice. The True Buddha School is open to practitioners of any style, without discrimination. Its founder, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu is recognised as a fully Enlightened living Buddha (by the Dalai Lama amongst others). More than 4,000,000 students around the world have taken refuge in him, including many well known and highly respected Tibetan Tulkas and Rinpoches of various schools of Buddhism. Grandmaster Lu's Vajrayana lineage Masters are: Therefore if you wish to do spiritual cultivation you can take refuge in GrandMaster Lu and seek the guidance of an Enlightened spiritual Master. Master Wong is such a Master and will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed with your practice. |