QUESTION (resumed) :
Are there ways of discovering whether your teacher is true to the way.
QUESTION (original) :
Are there ways of discovering whether your teacher is true to the way.
My teachers actions go very much against the precepts (sexual misconduct, etc)
ANSWER :
The first thing to do to be able to judge a master is to know which was his master, how long he followed him, with which intensity, from whom he received the ordination, from whom he received the shiho ( transmission of the Dharma), and finally if he continues the practice with strength like
his disciples. If he only stays in his room, just having talks with his disciples, it's a bad master.
Some very great masters in China and Japan were fond of making love, drinking alcohol and eating meat. This is secondary if they are true masters and are stronger than their passions.
If the master is authentic , you should have to judge him, you have to look at yourself.
If the master is zero, even if he perfectly follows the precepts and is completly patterned after the american puritanism, he will still be zero.
KOSEN!