[Buddha-l] Re: How to help the Dharma grow in the USA

[Mike Austin]

In message 
<EF8F4571A0077848B837BD776D91C5F94B34A6 at COMEXCHANGE.hscnet.hsc.usf.edu>, 
"Vera, Pedro L." <pvera at health.usf.edu> writes

>But this leads me to a question I have been thinking about for a while. 
>How can we judge "orthodoxy" or "authenticity" in Buddhist teachers. 
>Yes, I know about transmission of the bowl, etc, etc, but is there a 
>body in any branch of Buddhism that grants an "imprimatur" on a certain 
>teacher/lineage? I know that a preface by the Dalai Lama on any Wisdom 
>book operationally acts as an "imprimatur", but is there a more formal way?

In the Lam Rim tradition,  there is a list of certain qualities that one 
should look for in one's choice of teacher.  There are ten of these, but 
the minimum requirement for a Mahayana teacher is two:  1) he should put 
next life's benefit  before this life's benefit,  2) he should put other 
people's benefit before his own. I don't think this can be 'formalised'. 
As His Holiness says, we should 'spy' on our prospective teacher - maybe 
for 12 years. What these two qualities suggest to me is renunciation and 
compassion. I would expect a smidgen of wisdom would also be present for 
those qualities to been cultivated.

-- 
Metta
Mike Austin