Where is the Master made a student?

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Michael Renovich
Devon, England
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Dear Peter,
My first query pertains to the relationship between the student and teacher within yourself:
In your position, how do you manage to preserve "beginners mind?" Where is the place "you" are humbled? Is there really nothing worth learning from Eastern arts and Healing techniques that you implied were really nothing more than just made up by somebody? (Spring Newsletter). Could you not benefit from a living teacher or contemporary or tradition? Or does direct experience itself eventually become the teacher?
Secondly:
I am aware of the view that tradition is merely a representation, static, not the dynamic force, the
source. However traditions, arts, techniques help reveal that source. No matter how unique, isn't that the same thing Cheng Hsin does? Or would Cheng Hsin translate as simply direct experience? Even so
there are techniques of Cheng Hsin involved in eliciting this experience. Wouldn't that technically make it a tradition (only less traditional)?
Michael

Michael,
It's hard to answer easily. But I'll start by saying that I have no problem being humbled by the very art and source of Cheng Hsin. Simply contemplating reality is humbling, and I have no problem finding"beginner's" mind all over the place. Is there something yet to learn? Yes. But what I learn will likely not come from Eastern arts or any of the traditions. Of course, I do learn from others, and this is usually in the form of free thinking and creative people discovering for themselves something that they share. I have studied many traditions for over four decades, and more than that, I have investigated what is true beyond and independent of any hearsay. I've also trained hard for decades to achieve a mastery in the things I've discovered and to prove or disprove for myself -- in an experiential way beyond mere opinion or belief -- what is true about other people's contributions, including the traditions.
I am always glad to have someone understand what I understand and experience what I experience. But in essentially every case, this only occurs as a function of teaching them.
All "arts and traditions" are only -- and will always and only be -- made up by somebody. This is simply so. Where else would they come from? A stone won't do it and the trees don't care. We might think that some such invention is somehow produced by nature itself, or by a divine source. But regardless of the inspiration or intent of a system of beliefs, it is only what some human or humans have invented.
You do lean closer to my situation, however, when you ask if direct experience becomes the teacher. It is and always has been. There is no substitute for a skillful facilitator to help in attaining insight, or
understanding principles, mastering techniques, or even having enlightenment experiences. But the facilitator can't do it for you in any case. It always comes down to one's own experience. And to tell you the truth I find no one that I am interested in studying with, or who has anything to share that truly interests me. The good news is that, at this point in my life and studies, it is unnecessary. I learn and grow simply through my own work, which is immense and continues to impress me. The commitment of Cheng Hsin is not to any belief or hearsay, but to a direct and clear consciousness of the truth. This is plenty to keep anyone busy.
Peter

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