A clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West.

All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth.

Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.
The Guru Principle: A Guide to the Teacher-Student Relationship in Buddhism, Shenpen Hookham, Shambhala, Paperback, 208 pp, $17.95

Shenpen Hookham is a Buddhist teacher who has trained for over fifty years in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Her teachers include Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, HH the Sixteenth Karmapa, and Tsultrim Gyatso Rinpoche. She has spent over twelve years in meditation retreat. Lama Shenpen produced a seminal study on buddha nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism, for which she was awarded a PhD from Oxford University, and her doctorate was published as a book, titled The Buddha Within. She lives in North West Wales, spending most of her time in semi-retreat and working with her students and on her writing.

CONTENTS: The Guru Principle
Introduction			1
1.	Introducing the Guru Principle		11
		The Need for a Human Guru	17
		The Guru as a Person	18
		Guru and Lama	20
		Lineage and Adhishtana	21
		Is Chitta Heart or Mind?	23
		Connection ( Samaya and Tendrel)	24
		Transmission	25
		Finding a Genuine Transmission Lineage	26
		Why Western Teachers Tend Not to Call Themselves Gurus	27
		Traditional Accounts of the Qualities of a Guru	29
		The Meaning of a Relationship	33
		The Roles a Teacher or Guru Might Play	37
		Who Is Qualified to Be a Buddhist Teacher?	40
2.	Spiritual Authority in Buddhism		45
		Spiritual Authority	45
		How to Choose a Spiritual Teacher	49
		The Process of Working with a Genuine Teacher	51
		The Importance of Dialogue	55
		Validation of Our Experience	55
		The Yogic Network	56
		How Unenlightened People Can Protect a Transmission Lineage	58
		What Role Does Scripture Have in the Validation Process?	59
		The Present Situation in the Western Buddhist World	60
3.	The Roles of the Teacher		63
		Role 1: Setting a Good Example	63
		Role 2: Transmitting the Adhishtana of the Lineage	64
		Role 3: Accepting Offerings	73
		Role 4: Giving Pointing-Out Instructions	76
		Role 5: Authenticating Experience and Authorizing Teachers	84
		Role 6: Teaching Dharma Doctrine	96
		Role 7: Giving Practice Instructions	100
		Role 8: Giving Personal Spiritual Advice	105
		Role 9: Giving Vows	112
		Role 10: Conducting Rituals	114
		Role 11: Sangha Building	115
		Role 12: Acting as Vajra Master and "Challenger" Guru	118
4.	Practices Related to the Guru or Spiritual Friend		131
		The Meanings of Spiritual Friend	131
		How to Practice Recollecting the Buddha (Buddhasmrti)	139
		Guru Yoga in Vajrayana	140
5.	Commonly Asked Questions		145
		What Is the Significance of the Story of Milarepa	145
		What about the Traditional Three-Yana Model?	146
		Are There Distinctively Vajrayana Practices	150
		What Is a Root Guru	150
		Isn't the Dalai Lama Like the Pope of Buddhism?	152
		Aren't Gurus Supposed to Have Special Powers?	153
		Aren't We Supposed to Always Obey the Guru?	158
		What Does Breaking Samaya Mean?	161
		Does Commitment to One Guru Need to Be Exclusive?	163
		Is It Wrong to Criticize the Teacher?	164
		What Does It Mean to Say Someone Is My Guru?	165
		Does Devotion Have to Be Overtly Emotional?	168
		Can You Comment on Abusive Situations?	169
		Should Lamas Have Done a Three-Year Retreat?	174
		Aren't Tulkus the Most Qualified Gurus in Tibetan Buddhism?	175
		Don't Monastics Have a Special Status among Buddhist Teachers?	176
		What Are Ngapas and Are They Always Teachers?	178
		What Do Successor, Regent, and Lineage Holder Mean?	178
		What Does It Mean to Be a Rinpoche?	180
		What Does the Title His or Her Holiness Mean?	181
		Can We Take All Beings as Our Guru?	181
		Is It Really True That When the Student Is Ready, the Teacher Will Appear?	182
		Concluding Advice	182
Bibliography			184
Index			185
About the Author			197

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