The following is quoted from a Buddhist book. You will find the situation amazingly similar in Feng Shui.
"Buddhism was regarded as an educational system, and
not a religion when it was first introduced into China. Regretfully, about two hundred years ago, the practice of Buddhism had taken on a more religious facade.
Buddhism is a special kind of knowledge; it is not a religion. In order to derive true benefit from it, we have to understand its true nature.
Buddhism is the teaching of Buddha Shakamuni as he was
its founder. We call Him the "Original teacher". The relationship between Buddha and ourselves is a teacher-student relationship, which is not religious in nature. The relationship between a Bodhisattva and ourselves is a senior schoolmate-junior schoolmate relationship.
A teacher can only educate us about the principles, tell us of his/her experiences in practice and attainment, and suggest various methods for our attainment. The rest ultimately depends upon us."
Well, well, in Feng Shui education, what we learn is the teaching of the great masters in the past. We are learning from the great masters themselves through their written work. A teacher is responsible to educate his/her students about the principles, and tell them of his/her experiences in practice and attainment.
The first part is fundamental. The second part is only a guideline and sharing experimental results.
A good teacher must teach the fundamental principles and his/her experiments (practices) must be based on these principles. It is not sufficient to say that this is what my teacher told me and he is the most experienced teacher today.
Anything not based on principles is not worth trying because it is dangerous. An experiment is only to verify a theory. We should not practice anything blindly without a theoretical background. Statistical results inspire us to formulate a hypothesis. Further results will confirm the theory.
So, when someone tells you with arrogance, "I don't care about theories. They are useless. My teaching is the best as it is supported by my experience." Beware.
Joseph
"Buddhism was regarded as an educational system, and
not a religion when it was first introduced into China. Regretfully, about two hundred years ago, the practice of Buddhism had taken on a more religious facade.
Buddhism is a special kind of knowledge; it is not a religion. In order to derive true benefit from it, we have to understand its true nature.
Buddhism is the teaching of Buddha Shakamuni as he was
its founder. We call Him the "Original teacher". The relationship between Buddha and ourselves is a teacher-student relationship, which is not religious in nature. The relationship between a Bodhisattva and ourselves is a senior schoolmate-junior schoolmate relationship.
A teacher can only educate us about the principles, tell us of his/her experiences in practice and attainment, and suggest various methods for our attainment. The rest ultimately depends upon us."
Well, well, in Feng Shui education, what we learn is the teaching of the great masters in the past. We are learning from the great masters themselves through their written work. A teacher is responsible to educate his/her students about the principles, and tell them of his/her experiences in practice and attainment.
The first part is fundamental. The second part is only a guideline and sharing experimental results.
A good teacher must teach the fundamental principles and his/her experiments (practices) must be based on these principles. It is not sufficient to say that this is what my teacher told me and he is the most experienced teacher today.
Anything not based on principles is not worth trying because it is dangerous. An experiment is only to verify a theory. We should not practice anything blindly without a theoretical background. Statistical results inspire us to formulate a hypothesis. Further results will confirm the theory.
So, when someone tells you with arrogance, "I don't care about theories. They are useless. My teaching is the best as it is supported by my experience." Beware.
Joseph
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