Buddha/Pali Tipitaka as the only Teacher?

[mindfullmom]

Dear SamKR,

I totally understand what you are saying, I think. You want your direct experience of the Dhamma to be pure,to be your direct experience not based on someone else's perception or their direct experience then translated for you. Is that right?
I sometimes think the same thing and I am very mindful of how other's ideas effect my own, but then I came to realize that my ideas are not really my own anyway.

So here is my advise:

Recieve all teachings with an open heart, attach to none.

[SamKR]

Could you explain why you feel overwhelmed?

Simply because different teachers have different approaches/methods, and interpretations of the same suttas/teaching.

But as I said earlier, I have come to realize that I need guidance of experienced living teacher(s). How fast this mind changes...!

[SamKR]

Recieve all teachings with an open heart, attach to none.

Right

[Peter]

I too have found it overwhelming. The dhamma isn't simple. It has many intertwined parts. But I think it does come together eventually. And even if it hasn't all come together, there are still things one can do to develop small parts of the path.

Just my opinion. I don't think it's anything to stress about. Bit by bit we can chip away at the defilements.

[Mothra]

This is a very helpful and interesting thread. I too am struggling with trying to distinguish what teaching is "authentic" and what is misguided. So far I've gone the route of trying to study the Tipitaka on my own but I would probably benefit a lot by studying with an experienced teacher. There is a Vispassana retreat offered where I live but it is too expensive for me.

[Dan74]

From my skewed vantage point as a Zen (Son) Buddhist practitioner, it seems unwise to practice on one's own without direct guidance of a living teacher. Not because the Pali Canon is missing something but because it is very easy to misunderstand and misapply the teachings.

In meditation it is very easy to reinforce the self or a subtler version of it, rather that see into the whole charade. In study it is very easy to convert the suttas and their knowledge to just another "feather in the cap", spiritual materialism or what have you, instead of using the pointers therein to see into delusion and deconstruct habitual attitudes and ways of seeing, thinking and acting. In life, it is too easy to misuse the teachings and distance yourself from the pain and unpleasant stimuli under the pretext of equanimity, become aloof and indifferent, instead of clear-headed and compassionate.

In short, the defilement are many, their roots run deep. To cut the defiled mind with defiled mind is risky business indeed. The Dhamma is a sharp sword but who is wielding it?

_/|\_