It’s probably safe to say that there can’t be a proper guru-student communication if the guru never steps down from the throne, unless the guru is a completely enlightened omniscient being who can communicate through telepathy, light, or supermagical powers. The guru is supposed to act like a doctor, and the disciple is the patient. How can a doctor treat the patient if he doesn’t know what’s wrong? He has to know some of the symptoms in order to diagnose the disease. If there is no communication, or if the communication is staged, formal, or rehearsed, then invariably, it creates a distance between the doctor and the patient, making the chances of a proper diagnosis slim—unless the guru is an omniscient being or his stethoscope is fifty feet long. So when you are looking for a guru, it’s good to consider how approachable he or she is, how much communication will be possible.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

from the book The Guru Drinks Bourbon?

Read a random quote or see all quotes by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Further quotes from the book The Guru Drinks Bourbon?:

• Celebrity Gurus
• Vajra hell
• The path is practical
• The quest for a guru
• Seeing a student’s potential
• The whole purpose of the outer guru
• Merging with the guru’s mind
• Practicing Dharma requires sacrifice
• Devotion is supreme
• Advice on selecting a guru
• No one can please everyone
• Samsara
• Experience is like a mist in the morning
• Gurus Don’t Fish for Devotion
• Why can’t the Guru be perfect?
• Your decision is now taking the lead
• The moment there is devotion
• Beginning to subdue and outshine appearance and existence
• Controlled by circumstances
• Sooner or later, you will have to check