The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

134 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYINGmyself a trust in you so deep, deeper than I'd ever imaginedpossible."Finally a computer operator in his forties said: "You havebeen such a wonderful mirror for me, and you show me twothings: the relative aspect of who I am, and the absoluteaspect of who I am. I can look at you and see—not becauseof who you are but because of what you are mirroring backto me—all of my relative confusion, very clearly. But I can alsolook at you and I can see, reflected in you, the nature of mind,out of which everything is arising, moment by moment."These replies show us that true teachers are kind, compassionate,and tireless in their desire to share whatever wisdomthey have acquired from their masters, never abuse or manipulatetheir students under any circumstances, never under anycircumstances abandon them, serve not their own ends butthe greatness of the teachings, and always remain humble.Real trust can and should only grow toward someone whoyou come to know, over time, embodies all these qualities.You will find that this trust becomes the ground of your life,there to support you through all the difficulties of life anddeath.In Buddhism we establish whether a teacher is authentic bywhether or not the guidance he or she is giving accords withthe teaching of Buddha. It cannot be stressed too often that itis the truth of the teaching which is all-important, and never thepersonality of the teacher. This is why Buddha reminded us inthe "Four Reliances":Rely on the message of the teacher, not on his personality;Rely on the meaning, not just on the words;Rely on the real meaning, not on the provisional one;Rely on your wisdom mind, not on your ordinary, judgmentalmind.So it is important to remember that the true teacher, as weshall see, is the spokesperson of the truth: its compassionate"wisdom display." All the buddhas, masters, and prophets, infact, are the emanations of this truth, appearing in countlessskillful, compassionate guises in order to guide us, throughtheir teaching, back to our true nature. At first, then, moreimportant than finding the teacher is finding and following thetruth of the teaching, for it is through making a connectionwith the truth of the teaching that you will discover your livingconnection with a master.