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| Hi, I live in Sweden and I want to find myself a teacher of meditation. I've read a few books about buddhism and yogis in india etc, and I've practiced some meditation by myself. Everywhere everybody says you have to get a master-student relationship in order to advance. I would be very surprised to find an enlightened master in my country, or even anywhere in the west.
What could one settle for instead of traveling to ancient india in order to find someone? One on one teachers seems to be lacking? Also, everybody charges you money for it here in the west. Does a real master actually charge you money? I don't think I'll find someone who will give me lessons for free, so how much money would you say is reasonable if you took lessons from a teacher? |
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| Dear Moltar: Since you made a statement as given below, I am also going to ask you some questions. If you wish, you may answer.
1. All the books or audio/video material that you used: Did it cost you? What was the total amount you actually spent?
2. Also, the above study you performed must have incurred your time. What was the approximate time involved in the above total study?
3. What is the approximate value of your time. That means, if you get an average work for your skills, how much would you be paid?
4. The 1, 2, and 3 above shall give you the total investment you have done so far in your Meditation Study. Please tell that amount.
5. Then, let me know how much you are ready to spend next on the Meditation study, in terms of money and in terms of actual practice time. Including travel time, etc.
6. And, from your study let me know: Whether you have understood what the Enlightened master means to you?
Best Wishes.
moltar - 2008-07-30 3:08 PM
Hi, I live in Sweden and I want to find myself a teacher of meditation. I've read a few books about buddhism and yogis in india etc, and I've practiced some meditation by myself. Everywhere everybody says you have to get a master-student relationship in order to advance. I would be very surprised to find an enlightened master in my country, or even anywhere in the west.
What could one settle for instead of traveling to ancient india in order to find someone? One on one teachers seems to be lacking? Also, everybody charges you money for it here in the west. Does a real master actually charge you money? I don't think I'll find someone who will give me lessons for free, so how much money would you say is reasonable if you took lessons from a teacher? |
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| I haven't spent that much money on the study I've done, especially not if you consider how long it took me to read it through. Also, I've borrowed from libraries. I should point out that I am fairly new to this.
I'm a student so I haven't worked much, but I do some freelance work, and my hourly wage is pretty high, but the preparation time makes the pay substantially lower. This preparation time however, is beneficial to my artistic development and studies. I've never asked for a price, and I would've done it for free just for the learning experience and how much I enjoy doing it. I am greatful however for the money I get paid, that I will need to survive and live a normal life.
A master is probably working freelance as well, and I understand that the hourly wage must be higher than for a normal steady job. I've seen some ridiculous prices though.
I guess I would pay somewhere between 30 - 50 dollars for an hour. My conception of a true enlightened master, free of all material needs, I think should require less though. And he would not be asking for the money himself, but rather I pay him/her out of respect and gratitude.
Can someone like that be found in the west? |
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| Dear Moltar: I like your answers very much. This is my response to your original question as well as my response to your recent response.
1. Yes, ideally it is possible to find such a person. However, of course, the chances are slim. That does not mean one can feel no hope.
2. In the West, as you mentioned the place for finding, you shall have to travel quite a bit. That can involve time and expense also.
3. The biggest difficulty will be: your conception of enlightenment should be solid so that you can actually judge whether a particular person you are watching meets that criteria or not. Otherwise, you shall be going in search of something that needs to be re-searched well.
Of course, above is my response to your query. And, not a suggestion to perform such a search. |
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| Thanks for your answers. I can't say my goal is to become enlightened myself, I just want the truth and the real thing, so that I can develop myself, and become more free. The thing is, if I won't find an enlightened true master, I wonder if it would help to see someone who is not enlightened. Or would it be better to just pursue this meditation on my own? |
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| I like your questions. You are good. You need enlightened master if you are pursuing enlightenment, otherwise not. But if you get one, you can pursue any goal with that master. Actually, if you get such a master, and pursue non-enlightenment, it shall be like working for Bill Gates for 5 dollars an hour.
If you have certain thing in mind, whatever that is, that is your goal. Not having a goal is also a goal. Being peaceful is one of the loftiest and essential goal in the Yoga meditation.
Now, you should find a master who is master of the goal you are trying to reach. That shall be of utmost help in the quicker results.
You can see some of my clips on the youtube, related to meditation.
moltar - 2008-08-01 8:39 AM
Thanks for your answers. I can't say my goal is to become enlightened myself, I just want the truth and the real thing, so that I can develop myself, and become more free. The thing is, if I won't find an enlightened true master, I wonder if it would help to see someone who is not enlightened. Or would it be better to just pursue this meditation on my own? |
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| Be very wary of guru's who ask for your money. A true guru never seeks followers. I found my path by "accident". I was searching for years for something that i now call "the truth". Your own path will come to you if that is what you desire. Have some patience. You will know in your heart when you have found an authentic teacher/master/guru. You will have a moving experience inside that can not be denied. It happened to me and I have been on that path for 14 years. Good luck. |
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| Thanks again for your inputs. What would you say about, say if I found a master I fully believed to be a true enlightened one, who have lots of followers, so he has centers all over the world where there are different teachers. Could those teachers be trusted and be of any help on my path, or is direct contact with the master who stand behind these centers the only way? |
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| Dear Moltar: I do not know whether your question is addressed only to Ram. My input is as follows:
1. You have access to only those who are accessible by you. And, therefore, even if there is one sitting on the top of clouds, you do not know it. So, make use of what is available.
2. What you need to make sure is 'what is available' meets your needs.
3. Either you can have a gut feeling that it meets your needs or you have to try them.
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| moltar - 2008-08-04 8:42 AM
Thanks again for your inputs. What would you say about, say if I found a master I fully believed to be a true enlightened one, who have lots of followers, so he has centers all over the world where there are different teachers. Could those teachers be trusted and be of any help on my path, or is direct contact with the master who stand behind these centers the only way?
That's a great question and the answer is YES. You can trust their teachers if those teachers are training under the same master. It's about energy flow my friend. Those teachers have had a lot of contact with the masters and they are their to help. I know in my practise this has been the case.
The bottom line is you have to determine anyone's authenticity yourself. Once you get established on a path your intuitive abilities will be developed. |
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| Thanks alot! Your replies have helped me alot and I feel more courage to seek someone out now. As you say, I have to be the judge myself, and I really like the idea of that energy flow you speak of. |
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Finding a master
