Chris wrote:hello enkidu,
When you say "realized masters" .. do you mean contemporary ones? And, if so, how do you truly know they are "realized" and what, exactly do you mean by the term? And how would you differentiate this from a 'fan club' forming around a contemporary teacher?
metta
Chris
I was specifically referring to the lineage masters of old in particular, like Mike mentioned, those who had assembled the Tipitaka and its commentaries.
When I say "realized masters" if referring to more contemporary times, what comes to mind is actually Maitreya's 10 Qualities of a Mahayana Guru, but I believe these qualities are expressed by Theravada masters as well--there's nothing strictly Mahayanist about this list of 10 qualities as far as I can tell.
10 Qualities of a Mahayana Guru
Lama Zopa Rinpoche wrote:
1. Discipline as a result of his mastery of the training in the higher discipline of moral self-control;
2. Mental quiescence from his training in higher concentration;
3. Pacification of all delusions and obstacles from his training in higher wisdom;
4. More knowledge than his disciple in the subject to be taught;
5. Enthusiastic perseverance and joy in teaching;
6. A treasury of scriptural knowledge;
7. Insight into and understanding of emptiness;
8. Skill in presenting the teachings;
9. Great compassion; and
10. No reluctance to teach and work for his disciples regardless of their level of intelligence.
Most loosely, "realized" refers to having more realizations than me, which is to say, any. Most strictly, "realized" refers to having attained the ultimate fruit of the Path.
So, can there be contemporary teachers with these qualities? Yes. There must, otherwise, the Buddhadhamma is no longer functioning.
If there can be no contemporary teachers with these qualities, what hope have I of developing such qualities, what hope have I of achieving any progress on the Path? If it is possible for me to make any progress, then it is necessarily so that others have the potential to assist me, having gone before, and are eager to relate their experience.
How do we judge a teacher? Firstly by measuring them against the 10 qualities listed above, and secondly by measuring their teachings against at minimum these reasonable criteria set by Dharmakirti and elaborated by Maitreya:
Alexander Berzin wrote:
The Four Sealing Points for Labeling an Outlook as Based on Enlightening Words
1a) All affected (conditioned) phenomena are nonstatic (impermanent).
1b) All phenomena tainted (contaminated) by confusion entail problems (suffering).
1c) All phenomena lack nonimputed identities.
1d) A total release from all troubles (Skt. nirvana) is a total pacification.
2) Correct implementation of its instructions by qualified practitioners must bring about the same results as Buddha repeatedly indicated elsewhere.
I'm not sure if fan clubs are problems in and of themselves. But you should be able to observe the fruits of the Path in the students of a qualified teacher.
Again, please pardon my Gelug perspective, but I am not so sure these assumptions are unique to the Mahayana lineages, and assume these qualities and criteria may be equally applied to the Theravada lineage masters and their commentaries.