Meeting a Zen master for the first time the beginner is struck by their seeming confidence. But is this real confidence born of one who has seen their true nature or is it just a superficial kind of confidence?
For a beginner it is hard to tell.
False confidence can be convincing but the confidence of a Zen teacher who has actually arrived at Mind’s ultimate source is much different. The true Zen teacher has seen the unconditioned Mind firsthand. In this regard, they are capable of teaching us how to clarify the mind, a mind that is constantly agitated; a mind that has never stilled itself to see its true nature.
I was one of those who had a very confident teacher but also a teacher who was uninformed about Zen. I was more struck by his confidence and manner of behaving. He could have easily told me that Zen is about seeing one’s true nature which is pure and luminous. But he didn’t. As I look back a lot was missing—most of what Zen is about.
It it not that modern Zen is entirely a confidence game. Modern Zen teachers tend to show a confidence that is without awakening. Following a teacher who exudes confidence could very well be our own undoing. Rather than place so much trust in a teacher it is better to have deep abiding faith that we can find our true nature. But it requires of us to remove, personally, what is hiding it.
"Modern Zen teachers tend to show a confidence that is without awakening. Following a teacher who exudes confidence could very well be our own undoing."
Indeed, much like the confidence in the face of someone who is about to pull the trigger.
Posted by: MStrinado | December 13, 2016 at 09:06 AM