Teachers open doors; you must walk through them

I. Why lay practitioners easily depend on teachers

• Teachers speak beautifully

• Teachers practice well

• Teachers have authority

• Teachers radiate strong energy

But dependence on teachers means losing your ability to see.

II. What does respecting teachers mean?

• Reverence

• Listening

• Learning

• Gratitude

III. What does non‑dependence mean?

• Not outsourcing your insight

• Not letting teachers decide truth for you

• Not expecting teachers to walk for you

IV. Teachers only open doors

Teachers:

• point the way,

• offer perspectives,

• illuminate the path.

But you must walk.

V. Conclusion

The teacher is an outer lamp.

You are the inner lamp.

Both matter, but the inner lamp determines liberation.