Do all those who seek Wisdom Schools or a teacher share similar attitudes and a similar sincerity to awaken?
Before we begin to respond, it is important to understand that each seeker is doing the best he can in this lifetime. Therefore, no one is to be judged for his limitations. (Note: the idea of ‘lifetimes’ is beyond the scope of our present conversation, but it will be discussed in the not too distant future.)
There are many types of seekers. Most, however, fit into one of four categories, and only one may be called ‘The Seeker.’
There is the seeker who, like the hummingbird, enjoys extracting nectar from flowers in the meadow for a period of time, and then moves on to another meadow to digest new nectar. Upon filling up in the new meadow, he moves on again to another one.
This seeker amasses knowledge, and is more than ready to talk about how much he knows to anyone who will listen.
Although this seeker has an abundance of knowledge, he is quite limited in his ability to transform his knowledge into being, for he has not yet learned the art of how to take instruction from a Teacher.
Thus, while his mind is capable of absorbing knowledge to the point where he may have successfully memorized the entire “Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha,” he remains asleep to his spiritual Self.
This person is known as ‘the wandering seeker.’
Then, there is the seeker who desires to immerse himself in a Teaching without wishing to be bothered too much with the practicing of it.
This seeker’s primary motivation for joining a spiritual group is to allow himself to go through life telling his friends that he is into Kabala, Zen, Buddhism, Yoga, Gurdjieff, etc.
This person may dress a certain way, wear a button on his lapel with his Teacher’s picture on it, burn incense, have statues of Buddha or Krishna in his room, light beeswax candles throughout his home, or serve holy water to his friends. Yet, because of his vain pursuits, he remains estranged from experiencing the Beloved.
This seeker is known as ‘the celebrity seeker.’ He simply wants to be seen and known as a seeker.
The third category of a seeker is one who, at first, may be quite sincere. He diligently studies, and practices instruction up to a ‘certain point.’
That certain point is reached when a teacher’s instruction begins to impose upon the comfort of the seeker’s social life.
When the practice of a Teaching starts to interfere with his personal life, the tendency arises within the seeker to create his own rules. This way it is he, and not the teaching, who determines how often to participate in spiritual work, as well as which exercises he will give credence to, and which he will disregard.
After a certain amount of time, this seeker’s initial sincerity to be part of a vibrant teaching, gradually loses its fervor, and the seeker departs.
This is ‘the sincere, but up to a point seeker.’
Lastly, there is the seeker who desires, with all of his heart to change his being. His motivation may be due to personal sufferings, or to the sufferings he has caused others in his life, or to an unexplained burning desire to understand the meaning of life.
This seeker, upon verifying that he has found an authentic School with an awakened teacher, considers no effort too great in order to change his present state of being and to become more awake, more loving, and more compassionate.
Over time, this person spiritual development reaches a point where his greatest joy in life is evoking the presence of the Beloved, from moment to moment.
It is this type of person may be called ‘The Seeker.’
Interesting how you caterogize Seekers. My experience tells me we all have high possibilities but we are just too asleep to realize them.
You perhaps missed a fifth group. The ‘naive seeker’, who is sincere but finds a group that somehow confirms his character traits without him/her realising it. There is an emphasis on change and valuable experiences, and change does occur to a certain degree.
However, the work is not from the bottom up, and certain base traits are never acknowledged because they are accepted by the group as normal already.
So the change feels real but is only partial, and the ‘naive seeker’ may end up worse off than before.
It is important to find a teaching that addresses the whole person, and is not subtly based on the teacher’s own weaknesses.
To Catherine
Your observation will be addressed in a forthcoming essay that has already been written, but not yet posted.
In summary: when a student no longer feels that he/she is continuing to change their being, it is certainly right action for that student to leave.
Regardless if one is naive, powerful, dominant, fearful, or vain, the decision to stay or leave is dependent upon personal verifications, and not the verifications of a group.
One would be most naive to think it is any other way.
Epictetus: “If you choose, you need blame no man.”
Thank you for writing.
Benjamin