It’s not always easy to know what skills a guru has. Some very academic gurus can tell you which page number you should read in which edition of a text, and can remember exact dates. This is impressive if you are a university student, but if you’re following a spiritual path, it may not be what you need. What you need is someone who can actually turn knowledge like that into something useful for your path, someone who can teach you how to learn. A guru must also have the skill to work with your temporary defilements, because even though the defilements are temporary, they have existed since beginningless time, and they will not be easy to eliminate.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
from the book The Guru Drinks Bourbon?
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Further quotes from the book The Guru Drinks Bourbon?:
- The very essence of the Spiritual journey
- The guru is like the horizon
- Humble Gurus
- Modern Buddhadharma
- Guru
- Look beyond titles and hats
- Cultivating trust in simplicity
- Outer display of guru devotion
- Dharma without devotion
- Abundance and variety in the teachings is so important
- Check how the guru handles criticism
- Peeling of our patches of samsara
- Guru devotion and pure perception
- Hearing the Dharma
- Teachings don’t just rain down
- The authentic guru lineage is indispensable
- A proper guru-student communication
- A different interpretation of austerity
- Going beyond Rational and Irrational Devotion