teacher

Zen Teachers

Do we need a Zen teacher?

Zen meditation is like a still pond where the mind is reflected. With each practice, the water becomes clearer and thoughts grow calmer. We can find our inner balance and experience the beauty of the moment more deeply.

It is not necessary to be a disciple in order to attend a sesshin or zazenkai. Both disciples and non-disciples participate in sesshins with them, and books and online resources offer valuable information about Zen philosophy.

But many aspects of Zen practice are subtle and difficult to express in words. A good teacher can help you grasp these nuances and bring a new dimension to your practice. He or she embodies Zen philosophy in his or her life. Through observation and interaction, you can develop a deeper understanding and be inspired by their experience.

Especially in the practice of Zen koan, a teacher plays a crucial role. The master or teacher embodies the Dharma and serves as a guide to enlightenment. Through one-on-one meetings (dokusan), students can receive direct confirmation of their realizations. A teacher can support you in recognizing and letting go of your own patterns and attachments, because Zen is not just an intellectual exercise, but a path to personal transformation.

Zen meditation can be like a journey into unknown territories. Without proper preparation and guidance, you can get lost in the thicket of thoughts, or even lose your psychological balance. A Zen teacher can guide us like an experienced captain through the stormy waters of the mind, helping us find our own inner compass.

Read more about the zen masters and teachers of the bodhisangha:

On Becoming a Disciple

It is not necessary to be a disciple in order to attend a sesshin with AMA Samy or one of his successors. Both disciples and non-disciples participate in sesshins with them. How­ever, if you want to go deeper into zen, it is important to become a disciple. Becoming a disciple is a serious commitment, do not take it on lightly. And it is very important to choose the teacher with great care.

To become a disciple is to listen to the heart and to the call of the bodhicitta. Discipleship means "following": it involves learning to listen, learning to “put on” the heart-mind of the Teacher. The focus, however, is not the teacher as such but the Dharma, Dharma as realized with and through the Teacher. You come to the dharma through the teacher, in order to go be­yond the teacher and, embody the dharma in yourself, as your very self. It calls for self-renunciation and self-transformation for the sake of the world.

In 'following' the teacher, you also enter the sangha. Sangha is the community of the disciples with the master/teacher; it is the relationship of the master and the disciple(s) and the relationship among the disciples them­selves, in and for the dharma. The Three Treasures, buddha, dharma and sangha are bound together and interfused, one cannot be without the other. You are called to realize and embody the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Conversely, it is not so much you, but it is the bodhicitta realizing and actualizing itself in and through you.

Sesshin timetables