The true Dharma teacher has no idea he actually is teaching anything, nor that what he has to offer is a perspective of the Dharma.
The best teaching of the Dharma is always coming out of the mouth from the one who has no self-approving feedback on what he believes to be a well-taught sample of the Dharma.
FJ Fev 2022
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Notes & Silence 
I will take Dharma to mean a path of balance and insight. It would be inappropriate for me to seek to give the term a technically correct meaning that applies to the structured philosophy of others.
The best teacher learns from, and during, the act of teaching. Therefore, to study a path more deeply, with no thought of intellectual authority, is to teach a fellow student and oneself together.
Perhaps, then, we should say it is best to teach what one does not know.
J’aimeJ’aime
Hello Simon,
Dharma is a double-meaning word — or, I would say, a single-meaning word dressed up as such.
It refers to both the path taught by the Buddha and the Reality of things (Laws of Realities ?)
This latter being eventually nothing else but what the Buddha taught.
I do not claim perfect understanding of those notions nor do I have the pretension to explain anything at all : I simply dip those notions in the practice pool.
I strike the chord of notions and see how harmonics resonate in the posture cathedral.
—
« philosophy of others »: I do not believe the genitive case finds its place here.
What is, is.
The core teachings within all traditions do not differ. As long as we’ve entered the Realm of Silence, as long as we’ve passe through the filtering doors, leaving words and concepts outside…all conceptual tools engineered to bring us in front of those doors vanish.
Beyond the doors, there is no such thing as a « philosophy of others », This is a « pre-door debate. », like any debate, after all.
LIke any word content, on this blog and elsewhere. This is the reason why all teachings, ultimately, are silent.
( The Buddha / Mahakashyapa )
I do agree with you, though, that we should remain warned of the dangers of syncretism, potentially blurring the lines of paths in the eyes of pilgrims, leading them to nowhere..
——–
« Teaching what one does not know. » = this resonates so much with my professional life, Simon.
Thank you for phrasing it so smartly.
I never love my teacher job so much than when I can hear myself say something to students I totally ignored the before stepping in class.
Mirror learning, I guess.
Students allowing the teacher to give birth to himself.
Reversed maieutics.
(what is going on at this very moment, thanks to this comment of yours)
– I do regret not having the time to answer a s thoroughly as I should —
Can you post a link to your content on WP in a future comment, as it seems I can’t access it via the »reader » platform… ?
Thank you,
Have a nice day
f
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne
And I should have said thanks for the explanation of Dharma.
Take care.
J’aimeJ’aime
I didn’t mean to ‘explain’ anything,
simply sharing the understanding I have.
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne
Well, that is not entirely outside the definition of « to explain »…
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne
not entirely outside means partly wrong though.
And partly wrong is partly right
Then partly right means worth sharing.
I guess you’re right in the end.
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne
If you factor in an element of irony, maybe it becomes a more difficult judgement, I suppose. Though, if it is remembered that no opinion can be vouchsafed as entirely correct, then the partly right must be worth the effort. But, given that one can learn from error, maybe it need not even be mostly right – let alone partly.
After that, I need my lunch…!
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My homepage is https://introspectionsja.wordpress.com/ – I’ve copied that via my mobile, so hope it works correctly. There are links to poetry and photo pages, and to an index page for blog posts. It’s very much a work in progress, somewhat experimental and relatively recently commenced, so please be patient!
Turning to the above, I find myself treading a strange path. I do not want to impinge upon thought specific to Buddhist practitioners. I suspect there will be ideas that make sense primarily within that framework. Hence « philosophy of others ». The wording may be clumsy, but was an attempt to make clear that I do not pretend to speak for anyone save myself.
What is? That is a whole subject in itself for endless speculation, probably of little use other than intellectual curiosity.
I too am running out of time, and having some interesting issues negotiating the WordPress app. I somehow lost this reply, started redrafting, then found it again. I hope you get one response, but it is possible you will see this and one partial draft.
J’aimeAimé par 1 personne
Thank you, the link works perfectly fine…
Yes replies sometimes seem to disappear on WP but eventually are found gently waiting as drafts in the comment interface.
J’aimeJ’aime