These days, it is the unfortunate truth that a lot of deceit happens in the name of Spirituality, especially Tantra. The seat of Guru is oft abused by those in pursuit of money, fame, pleasures etc. A true Guru should not only have a strong footing in the study of the Shastras under a Sampradayavit Guru but also should have validated the truth of those Shastras by his experience through Upasana. Alternatively, his experiences from rigorous Sadhana should be interpreted through the perceptive lens of the Shastras. It is easy to note that neither is true with Charlatans who pose as Gurus and bring disrepute to Tantra. But the fault of those who undergo abuse from such ‘Gurus’ lies not merely with the charlatan but also with the victims who surrender to him blindly. Every Tantra stresses the need for the Guru to be examined critically by the disciple, before accepting and surrendering to him. And this requires for the student to have already done his groundwork to be able to evaluate the teacher.
Below is an excerpt from Patrul Rinpoche’s ‘Words of My Perfect Teacher’ (translated by Padmakara Foundation) which eloquently explains the stand of Buddhist Tantra on this topic.
In the sandalwood forests of the Malaya mountains, when an ordinary tree falls, its wood is gradually impregnated with the sweet perfume of the sandal. After some years that ordinary wood comes to smell as sweet as the sandal trees around it. In just the same way, if you live and study with a perfect teacher full of good qualities, you will be permeated by the perfume of those qualities and in everything you do you will come to resemble him.
As times have degenerated, nowadays it is difficult to find a teacher who has every one of the qualities described in the precious Tantras. However, it is indispensable that the teacher we follow should possess at least the following qualities.
He should be pure, never having contravened any of the commitments or prohibitions related to the three types of vow – the external vows of the Pratimoksha, the inner vows of the Bodhisattva, and the secret vows of the Mantrayana. He should be learned, and not lacking in knowledge of the Tantras, Sutras, and Shastras. Towards the vast multitude of beings, his heart should be so suffused with compassion that he loves each one. He should be well-versed in ritual practices outwardly, and inwardly, of the four sections of Tantras. By putting into practice the meaning of the teachings, he should have actualized in himself all the extraordinary achievements of riddance and realization. He should be generous, his language should be pleasant, he should teach each individual according to that person’s needs and he should act in conformity with what he teaches.
More particularly, for teachings on the profound essence of the Mantra Vajrayana pith-instructions, the kind of master upon whom one should rely is as follows. As set out in the precious Tantras, he should have been brought to maturity by a stream of ripening empowerments flowing down to him through a continuos unbroken lineage. He should not have transgressed the samayas and vows to which he committed himself at the time of empowerment. Now having many disturbing negative emotions and thoughts, he should be calm and disciplined. He should have mastered the meaning of the ground, path, and result Tantras of the secret Mantra Vajrayana. He should have attained all signs of success in the approach and accomplishment phases of the practice, such as seeing visions of the yidam. The well-being of others should be his sole concern, his heart full of compassion. He should be skilled at caring for his disciples and should use the appropriate methods for each of them. Having fulfilled all his teacher’s commands, he should hold the blessings of the lineage.
On the other hand, there are certain kinds of teachers we should avoid.
Teachers like a millstone made of wood – These teachers have no trace of the qualities arising from the study, reflection, and meditation. Thinking that as the sublime son or nephew of such and such Lama, they and their descendants must be superior to anyone else. Even if they have studied, reflected, and meditated a little, they did so not with any pure intention of working for future lives but for more mundane reasons – like preventing the priestly fiefs of which they are the incumbents, from falling into decay. As for training disciples, they are about as well suited to fulfilling their proper function as a millstone made of wood.
Teachers like the frog that lived in a well – Teachers of this kind lack any special qualities that might distinguish them from ordinary people. But other people put them up on a pedestal in blind faith, without examining them at all. Puffed up with pride by the profits and honors they receive, they are themselves quite unaware of the true qualities of great teachers. They are like the frog that lived in a well.
Mad Guides – These are teachers who have very little knowledge, having made the effort to follow a learned master and train in the Sutras and Tantras. Their strong negative emotions together with their weak mindfulness make them lax in their vows and samayas. Though of lower mentality than ordinary people, they ape the Siddhas and behave as if their actions were higher than the sky. Such teachers are called mad guides and lead anyone who follows them down wrong paths.
Blind guides – In particular, a teacher whose qualities are in no way superior to your own and who lack Bodhichitta will never be able to open your eyes to what should and should not be done. Teachers like this are called blind guides.
The Great Master of Oddiyana warns:
Not to examine the teacher
Is like drinking poison;
Not to examine the disciple
Is like leaping from a precipice.
You place your trust in your spiritual teacher for all your future lives. It is he who will teach you what to do and what not to do. If you encounter a false spiritual teacher without examining him properly, you will be throwing away the possibility a person with faith has to accumulate merits for a whole lifetime, and the freedoms and advantages of the human existence you have now obtained will be wasted. It is like being killed by a venomous serpent coiled beneath a tree that you approached, thinking what you saw was just the tree’s cool shadow.
By not examining a teacher with great care
The faithful waste their gathered merit.
Like taking for the shadow of a tree a vicious snake,
Beguiled, they lose the freedom they at last had found.
After examining him carefully and making an unmistaken assessment, from the moment you find that a teacher has all the positive qualities mentioned you should never cease to consider him to be the Buddha in person.