Once you have learned the importance of teachers and described what to look for, let me tell you a secret: The process of finding a teacher can be as mysterious as the spiritual journey itself. For some people, it's a lot like finding a lover or a mate - it involves a complex mixture of luck, availability, and chemistry. For others, it's simply a matter of following the counsel of a friend or showing up at the right place at the right time. I met my first teacher after looking up "Zen" in the local phone book. Other people I know met their teachers in dreams before encountering them in the flesh. In the words of a popular Indian expression, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

Ultimately, you need to trust your intuition, your own inner knowing, when choosing a teacher - it's the only reliable equipment you have for navigating in this flawed phenomenal universe of ours. There is much truth to the following phrase, and it is said that the “the true guru is inside you.”


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