The True Student

1999-5-2 18:59:00

The Question was: What qualities in the student show that he is ready?

Angela answered:
"Being at a level lower than the teacher in the belief systems of the teacher, thereby establishing which is teacher and which is student, combined with the will to learn the belief systems of the teacher... and the choice to enter into a teacher/student contract."

I thought I'd make a few comments on this answer, since this outlook on the student teacher relationship is quite popular in the new age community. That is, many feel that if there is a student teacher relationship, it means that the student must experience the humiliation of being at a "lower level". Since this seems disgusting to many, they instead teach that there are no teachers and no leaders, but all are teachers and leaders and all are students and followers.

Unfortunately, this is an illusionary concept that interrupts evolution as all illusion does. I have already written a major article on this, and it is the first posting on Samu's website at
http://www.dlc.fi/~samu3/JJArchives.html

For those of you have not read this, I would suggest you do so in order to understand where we are coming from.

In addition to that, let us reexamine a true teaching situation: The Spanish teacher knows the language, teaching those who do not know. Does this have anything to do with belief systems?

None.

Either the teacher knows Spanish (algebra or whatever) or he does not. To attain a position of a true teacher has to do with the acquisition of knowledge, not belief.

Who wants to learn from a teacher who just has some nebulous belief system? A student willing to do so gets what he deserves.

In addition to there being true teachers, there are true students. The true student desires to acquire true knowledge, not a belief system. The true student realizes that knowledge is useful and belief is illusionary. The true student tests the teacher and makes sure that the teacher is one who is capable of leading him or her to greater knowledge.

The true student (or one who is really learning) does not see himself as on a "lower level." Instead, he sees himself as one who is progressing to a "higher level."