Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Wise teacher doesn't see elephant?

A few days ago I had this image of a wise teacher standing on the train tracks. A train is rushing towards him, ready to end his life. The teacher was spouting off pearls of wisdom. I admire their focus on the subject at hand. And I admire how they apparently put aside the reality of their situation — that what they teach will in no way avert the train on its path. I'm also disappointed that, in spite of their great wisdom, they are unable to stop the train.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't see the elephant either, just kidding. Great wisdom, worth pondering in this blog. H.

Paula Gable said...

Wise teacher stays and talks. Even wiser teacher shuts up and gets out of the way, since s/he's paying attention to the reality at hand.

Reflections on Talks on Buddha's Lists

During a recent Appamada Intensive our students gave talks on Buddha's lists. Here are my reflections on their talks.