Would a wise and compassionate person advice one to figue things out by oneself?

Question

If actually knowing the way to liberation, would one with ability to teach or knowing where to get taught, send another out to find out for one self?

If someone is doing so, send you into the dessert, what can be the reason for such?

Why would, if, a wise and compassionate person, possible avoid to send you out, relaying just on your own?

And why would a unwise and attached person desire to guide or bind others?

(This question(s) arose while reading this answer, and note, it's a question, not a judgement of a certain case at fist place, since preoccupations could distract proper attention easy and fail to, reflect and answer.)

[Note: This question is a gift of Dhamma, not meant for commercial purposes and other low wordily gains by trade and exchange.]

Answer 1

If actually knowing the way to liberation, would one with ability to teach or knowing where to get taught, send another out to find out for one self?

If someone is doing so, send you into the dessert, what can be the reason for such?

"It's one thing when I tell you the answer, and it's a totally different thing when you figure it out by yourself." - a quote from my Zen Master. Indeed, liberation only comes from first-hand experience. The truth must be reinvented by every student. So a good teacher gives just enough instruction to set the student in the right direction, but never tries to give the final answer, because it would be meaningless. Just like a good father does not try to live his son's life but allows him to make mistakes and learn.

So good teacher does a lot of work: motivates, shows the nature of the mind, helps see obstacles, gives confirmation when things go well, says "no this is wrong" when they don't and so on.

There are some students that receive all explanations and instructions, and even understand all the logic, but still can't make the final jump. In this case the teacher sends the student away forever, to live, meditate, and recreate the teaching in one's life - until the truth is found.

Answer 2

From a Theravadin Buddhist point of view, the answer would be a clear no. From a Theravadin point of view, (1) the only cause of the cessation of suffering is to gain psychological insight into the historical cause of one's own suffering and (2) this personal insight is difficult to acquire. A wise and compassionate person would know this and try to provide some advice on how to acquire the required insight. The nature of the advice would depend upon the psychological state of the individual and the wisdom of the advisor.

Answer 3

For me, it is not so necessary to judge or criticize another as "unwise" or "uncompassionate".

Instead, the answer referred to in the question is simply not a Buddhist answer but a philosophical approach more similar to the Tao Te Ching or Krishnamurti.

Maybe, for some people, this approach is more beneficial because, even in Buddhism, although the Buddha clearly expounded the path, not every Buddhist has penetrated & realised the path.

Answer 4

If actually knowing the way to liberation, would one with ability to teach or knowing where to get taught, send another out to find out for one self?

I think no. If one knows the way to liberation, he would always strive to give advice that would help that person reach liberation.

If someone is doing so, send you into the dessert, what can be the reason for such?

Maybe someone is not yet ready to hear the Dhamma, so what else can you do other then to let them go their path on their own? You can't help if somebody does not want to be helped or if he/she does not need help.

Why would, if, a wise and compassionate person, possible avoid to send you out, relaying just on your own?

A wise would avoid to send you out if he sees:

1. he can help you and
2. that you can be helped and
3. you want to be helped.

If all three of the above conditions are met, he would avoid to send you out.

If only condition 2 and 3 are met, he would send you somewhere else to get help, possibly to some other teacher or on a path that would help you.

In any other combination of the above three conditions, the wise would let you go on your own. What else could he do if he sees that he can't help you? What else could he do if he sees that you can't be helped? Or if he sees that you don't want to be helped?

And why would a unwise and attached person desire to guide or bind others?

There are many reasons why would an unwise and attached person desire to guide others.

But what is the core, what is the reason, what is the cause an unwise and attached person would desire to guide others?

It is craving.

When there is craving, there is becoming. That which becomes, is considered as "I". What is considered as "I" is self.

Suppose this self lacks self-esteem, feelings of importance, lacks joy, happiness, sense of achievement, purpose in life, etc. This all creates suffering for that self.

When self suffers, there is only one medicine that cures the cause of the disease of suffering: REALIZATION OF ANATTA.

When anatta cannot be realized due to strong hindrances (panca), there remain only two medicines to alleviate the symptoms of the disease of suffering:

1. Become devoted to sensual pleasures (craving for desires)
2. Become devoted to self-affliction (craving for no desires)

These are the medicines. Other than that, there are no others. If there are others, they all stem out of one of these three.

If anatta cannot be realized, self will use either medicine 1. or 2.

The bigger the suffering of the self, the more it will use these two medicines.

Now, some selfs have unpleasant feelings of inadequacy or lack of importance or similar. To get rid of such unpleasant feelings, they can take medicine 1. Thus, they start desiring to have feelings of adequacy or similar. Since they can't get these pleasant feelings by mere wishing or fantasizing, they decide to become experts in some field, for example, in the Dhamma and they start teaching the Dhamma and guiding others in the Dhamma. By teaching the Dhamma, gaining followers and guiding them, they get the pleasant feelings of adequacy and the unpleasant feelings of inadequacy cease. These pleasant feelings of adequacy can be any feelings, like feelings of being proud of oneself, or having pride, or being important, or feelings of entitlement, or feelings of being superior, or smart, or wise, etc. But since all feelings are impermanent, the pleasant feelings of adequacy sooner or later cease. Once they cease, the inadequate self is revealed, and unpleasant feelings of inadequacy arise again. Again, the desire for feelings of adequacy arise, and the cycle repeats.

When one truly realizes anatta, there is no way a person will use medicine 1 or medicine 2 to alleviate unpleasant feelings. Instead, wisdom will be used, which comes from own personal experience and insight, which goes like this:

From craving as a condition, comes becoming.

From becoming, come unpleasant feelings.

With the removal of craving unpleasant feelings cease.

That's why a wise has no unpleasant feelings or, to be more precise, a wise has unpleasant feelings when he allows them to arise. For example, he could see pain, but he would not be in pain until pain is allowed to arise. Or he could see fear, but he would not be in fear until fear is allowed to arise. He has mastered feelings to perfection. He knows what is feeling, what is its cause and what is the way to its cessation.

Knowing thus, the wise helps, when he is capable of helping and the person needs help and the person wants to be helped. Knowing thus, the wise also doesn't forget to help himself, as only by helping himself, he would be able to help others.

Answer 5

Let’s look at this question from a different perspective with this analogy: Let’s imagine you know a car mechanic that works on race cars--let’s say Lamborghinis. You tell him you want to build one and he says, “Sure! Look up the information yourself.” Having never done any car repairs, how confident would you be in your finished product? Your question is not really so different. Without a teacher, you don’t even know enough to know what you don’t know. You also won’t know what you might have misunderstood or failed to grasp. While Buddha said to question what you are taught and ultimately decide for yourself if it rings true with you, (Kalama sutra AN 65 Book of 3s pg 280 B. Bodhi ed) there is much to be gained from a teacher. A deep and personal relationship can encourage knowledge and a sense of humility. He can skillfully shape you the way a carpenter shapes a masterpiece, and he is an experienced guide in the vast and often overwhelming Buddhist terrain. I don’t find any Pali cannon references specifically saying you have to find a “teacher”, but many times the Buddha extolled the benefits and importance of having a “good friend” (Kalyāna mitta in Sanskrit--which basically IS a spiritual friend/guide/advisor/teacher) as being an essential part of the spiritual process. This person will keep you on the correct path and get you through times of discouragement. When his disciple “Ananda” said good friendship is ½ the Holy life, Buddha responded: “Not so, Ananda! This is the entire holy life, Ananda, that is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a Bhikkhu has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path.” SN45:2. B.Bodhi ed. Pg.1524-1525 I will objectively say a rare person will find enlightenment on his own, but the vast majority need skilled help. Best of luck with your efforts!

Answer 6

The Kalama sutta tells the Kalamas to "know for yourselves" which qualities are skillful and unskillful. The context and questions is intended to help them decide which path to follow, help them to decide that "lack of greed, following the four precepts, lack of aversion, lack of delusion" are skillful qualities (and perhaps a "path" to follow); but (unlike this answer you referenced) it doesn't tell them to follow their own path.

However --

You yourselves must strive;
the Buddhas only point the way.
Those meditative ones who tread the path
are released from the bonds of Mara.

When I was learning Maths at school, that first half of each lesson would be the teacher explaining a new technique or theory, and how to use it. The second half of each class would be exercises which each student would practice, while the teacher walked around the classroom helping anyone who needed it -- in other words we were expected to "figure out for ourselves" how to practice something ... but not without having been taught.

Answer 7

How could someone remove the blinds of the eyes of a seeker such as you, to help you to gaze upon the Truth? Currently the world today is at crossroads to discern what the Buddha really taught as opposed to what had been practiced in the last 1000 years or more. What if at close examination a person gets to find that all forms of the Buddhism, which the general masses worldwide practice does not represent truly what the Buddha taught?

I am asking this question aloud as what if it is that for more than 1000 years, a misrepresented and a modified version derived from Buddha desana got adapted as Buddhism, and had been accepted and practiced in place of what the Buddha taught? If this is so, then due to such practices the doors to Nibbāna could remain sealed and inaccessible. However, the pristinely pure Buddha dhamma and desana would have existed since the days of the Buddha uninterruptedly for a while.

Could this True Dhamma be remaining to be hidden by dhammathāwaya? When will we ever get to remove the blinds of our eyes and gaze upon the truth and be the judge? These are all questions that no one seem to have any answers. Now I have answered your question with more questions.

Answer 8

This question(s) arose while reading this answer

What he knows he did not find it by himself, something lead him to that. Even tho that is the case he thinks he found out by himself.

The technique that is meditation he did not learned by himself and even tho that is the case he totally dismisses of learning anything that might not come from him.

He then proceeds to follow the school of thought that follows no school of thought. And all he learns from meditation is true and that is the only way to be enlighten.

If actually knowing the way to liberation, would one with ability to teach or knowing where to get taught, send another out to find out for one self?

If he knows the way and has the ability to teach then he will teach. He might also believe he knows but that is different. And he won't tell you to find by yourself, what he can say is that you have to find it for yourself. If he does that he is teaching but that is not the question. So the answer is no he will give the answer.

If someone is doing so, send you into the dessert, what can be the reason for such?

If he gives you a method then that is the way, if the method is only that then that is it. But that is a answer. Unless there is no method, but he that knows that path to liberation will if he is able to give you an answer.

Why would, if, a wise and compassionate person, possible avoid to send you out, relaying just on your own?

Liberation means unconditional love for everything. If that is the case is because that is better for you.

And why would a unwise and attached person desire to guide or bind others?

Reasons are endless...

Would a wise and compassionate person advice one to figure things out by oneself?

If he advised you how to do it then it is not like you found out by yourself. That points out to a method. And it means that he is not that wise because it's contradicting itself...