Who do I learn from? Relying on a Teacher or based on my own experience? Why?

1

“Lama Tsong-kha-pa spent his first few years of study broadly acquiring the doctrines from various sects. At a little over the age of twenty, he entered Tibet [Lhasa] and within a few years, he became a prominent figure there, due to his thorough understanding of the teachings. He was an extremely intelligent person who beseeched the virtuous teachers of his time to teach him, and he learned from them all with sincerity. He extensively mastered the teachings from all teachers, and he attained his encompassing realization.” - Master Jih-Chang
Global Lamrim 2, Lecture 0012
BW Monastery 吉祥宝聚寺 — Lecture No. 0012

Lama Tsong-kha-pa, an extremely intelligent person, still felt the need to seek teachings extensively. What is the common tendency that most of us have when we learn a certain skill, such as baking ,driving or Buddhism practice? Do you tend to learn fully from the teacher or do you learn it based on your own experience?

1 Like
2

We should learn from a qualified teacher instead of our own experience. If we do not see the benefits of learning from a qualified teacher, it is our natural and habitual tendency to rely on our own experience because we have been relying on our own experience for the past ‘n’ number of years and infinite life-times. So we need to increase our understanding of why it is important to learn closely from the qualified teacher.

1 Like
3

I think there is a strong compulsion to learn without relying on a Teacher because of the proliferation of content available online.

It is so much easier to just pick and choose what content suits oneself rather than listening to a Teacher.
And this makes the learning skew towards that formed from one’s own experience.

We are lucky to have encountered the Teachings of Lama Tsong-kha-pa in this age of information clutter!