Dependence Upon A Teacher & The Admiral Friend
Some may say it is not necessary to have a teacher or show devotion towards them, or that admiral friends are not the whole of the path, however, a teacher is necessary to learn the practice from and develop the skill set & knowledge to tread the path, this is the same as being an apprentice, learning the basic set of skills before finishing the apprenticeship and then setting up on their own. The Admiral friend is like another tradesman, able to advise us on where we may go wrong, or areas that were not part of the training due to a new trend, and the pit falls we may fall into by being complacent about our set of skills gained under our time as an apprentice.
Many people note that one doesn't properly learn how to drive a car until they are on their own, learning to fend for themselves in the world, the skills are honed, and sharpened, it is the same in the practice, we can not be complacent about our skill, or ignore aspects of the path just because we have learnt them once, we need to use the skill until it is part of us, and hone it so it doesn't inadvertently slacken, like a cable on a suspension bridge may need tightening and checked for wear so that it can help support the bridge properly and take its share of the load.
Being devoted to a teacher is not necessarily a bad thing, it encourages us to let go of our wants and needs to develop in line with the path, although this devotion can be misplaced and abused, this is where admiral friends come in again, pointing out discrepancies of a teacher which maybe ignored due to the devotion, although hopefully if no admiral friend (who may be someone undergoing the training or another teacher in this case) does come by, a development of discernment and knowledge of the path from outside the teachers words is useful.
There is nothing wrong with devotion, or faith, even if it can be misplaced or misused, the problem comes when these moving forces are not used to action in practise. Without this action even the best teacher and teachings would be futile.
Many people note that one doesn't properly learn how to drive a car until they are on their own, learning to fend for themselves in the world, the skills are honed, and sharpened, it is the same in the practice, we can not be complacent about our skill, or ignore aspects of the path just because we have learnt them once, we need to use the skill until it is part of us, and hone it so it doesn't inadvertently slacken, like a cable on a suspension bridge may need tightening and checked for wear so that it can help support the bridge properly and take its share of the load.
Being devoted to a teacher is not necessarily a bad thing, it encourages us to let go of our wants and needs to develop in line with the path, although this devotion can be misplaced and abused, this is where admiral friends come in again, pointing out discrepancies of a teacher which maybe ignored due to the devotion, although hopefully if no admiral friend (who may be someone undergoing the training or another teacher in this case) does come by, a development of discernment and knowledge of the path from outside the teachers words is useful.
There is nothing wrong with devotion, or faith, even if it can be misplaced or misused, the problem comes when these moving forces are not used to action in practise. Without this action even the best teacher and teachings would be futile.
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