Mark 6:1-6a: He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
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The Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (aka Thay) writes, “The first source of energy is faith. When you have the energy of faith in you, you are strong. In the Gospel, Jesus said that people with faith could move mountains…Faith is having a path that leads you to freedom, liberation, and the transformation of afflictions…If you have some experience that this path leads in a good direction, you will have faith in your path…If you use a method of practice and find it effective, if it brings you mindfulness, concentration, and joy, then faith and confidence are born from this…If we look carefully, we can see that the energy of awakening, compassion, and understanding is already there inside us. Recognizing these energies as an inherent part of your very being, you have confidence in these energies. And if you know how to practice, you can generate these energies to protect yourself and to succeed in what you want to do” (The Art of Power, p. 15-16).
Buddhism speaks of both the outer teacher and the inner teacher. The mission of the outer spiritual teacher is to help the student awaken to their own inner teacher. As Thay says, “Compassion and understanding…[are] an inherent part of your very being.” Similarly, Jesus tells the people that they are the children of G-d; there is an inherent goodness within them. It simply needs awakening. If there were no possibility of this inner awakening, Jesus would be senseless in his attempts to teach the crowds.
Jesus may have been the perfect teacher, but, even for him, in his hometown, “He could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them” (Mark 6:5). No matter how pure and genuine the teacher or the teachings, for a teacher to be effective, the listeners must be receptive. If the student has no faith in the teacher and refuses the outer teacher’s teachings, there is no possibility for inner spiritual transformation; the inner teacher will remain dormant and asleep.
Contemporary spiritual and religious teachers are far from perfect, some of them are quite flawed, and far too many have abused their power and brought terrible harm to trusting students. As spiritual and religious students, we must exercise great care, being aware of signs of danger or abuse. And those who follow the path of being spiritual or religious leaders must be ever watchful of their own wily egos and ever mindful so as to avoid doing harm as teachers or through the teachings.
When we find a “path that leads in a good direction,” our inner teacher can dance with the worthy teachings of the appropriate outer teacher(s). If we find a spiritual or religious teacher whose teachings resonate with our inner teacher, we may find ourselves in the sacred dance between the outer and inner teachings. To protect ourselves from harm, however, Thay cautions that we must always put our greater faith in the inner teacher. When we are on a path that leads to “freedom, liberation, and the transformation of afflictions,” then we may have faith in the path.
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Jesus was known as a great healer, but his healing is quite limited in his hometown because people simply do not accept that this carpenter’s son is now a great healer and teacher. Our inner teacher only enters the sacred dance with the outer teacher if and when our inner teacher chooses to get on the dance floor.
Caution and care must be exercised in selecting our outer teachers. Jesus says elsewhere, you’ll know a worthy teacher by the fruit of their teachings (Matthew 7:15-20). Thich Nhat Hanh concurs: Do the outer teacher’s teachings invite you into practices of mindfulness, concentration, and joy? Are you on the path towards freedom, liberation, and the transformation of afflictions? Do the teachings put you on a path of awakening, compassion, and understanding? If you have such a path, such methods of practice, “you can generate these energies to protect yourself.” With the energy of faith in such a path, you will be strong.
(Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Circle of Life.” )