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ChatGPT: Here is the image that captures the essence of a profound spiritual journey, illustrating the diverse paths converging towards the realization of anatman or no-self, with figures representing contemporary and historical teachers from different traditions.
Someone said: "This has been my realization as well. I have been having a hard time finding many who espouse emptiness teachings. Obviously Buddha, but the only major practitioner I can find any info on or videos by is Greg Goode. "
That's because you've been reading Advaitin authors so far, in which case the I AM and one mind realization features prominently.
I can list many, many contemporary (and many more who are dead) teachers and masters and practitioners who have realised anatta. I even wrote that there's 60 who realised anatta through the AtR blog. I'm not kidding, and I'm not making this figure up, I actually have all the names on a notepad. But it goes to show that anatta realisation is actually quite attainable with the right pointers and guidance and practice.
But as for teachers who realised anatta, here's a list of contemporary teachers who realised anatman:
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, most famous Buddhist master in the world after the Dalai Lama (who also himself wrote about anatman a lot), passed away last year -- must read: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/07/no-nouns-are-necessary-to-initiate-verbs.html
Dzogchen teacher Ācārya Malcolm Smith www.zangthal.com , consistently clear about anatman in the teachings I received from him. I recommend him as a dharma teacher to all who are interested and resonates with him and Dzogchen. You can watch this YouTube video (highly recommended) for an introduction to Acarya Malcolm’s Dzogchen teachings that was recommended by Sim Pern Chong on the atr group: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2023/09/talk-on-buddhahood-in-this-life.html . Also Malcolm’s writings can be found here https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2014/02/clarifications-on-dharmakaya-and-basis_16.html - a very good compilation of his writings, which also shows why Dzogchen is different from Advaita realization. His student Kyle Dixon/Krodha also realised anatman and wrote about it here: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2014/10/advise-from-kyle_10.html , https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2012/03/a-sun-that-never-sets.html
If you wish to attend his teachings, you can send a message to https://www.zangthal.com/contact
Zen teacher Venerable Jinmyo Renge Sensei who offers long distance training program https://wwzc.org/long-distance-training-program and her teacher Ven. Anzan Hoshin roshi also clearly realised anatman and is another teacher I recommend. Why do I recommend these two in particular (Malcolm and Jinmyo)? Because they offer online teachings. Of course there are many other teachers who realised anatman, you just have to search around, but they may or may not offer teachings online (they may be stationed at a local dharma center or monastery, for example).
Zen teacher Alex Weith, who is a member of this group, went through I AM to one mind to anatman realization. He realised I AM/one mind and his realization was confirmed by Advaitin teachers and asked to teach by them, but later on he discovered Buddhist realisation of anatman goes deeper. You can talk to him if you wish: https://www.facebook.com/groups/571719226202845/user/100060380903800 , and read his article which is well written (must read!): https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2011/10/a-zen-exploration-of-bahiya-sutta.html
Another dharma teacher who underwent similar journey from Vedanta realization (confirmed to be deep and profound by his Vedanta teachers and asked to teach) before going into Buddhist realization is Archaya Mahayogi Shridhar Rana Rinpoche, you can read about his bio and articles here: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Acharya%20Mahayogi%20Shridhar%20Rana%20Rinpoche
Zen teacher Hong Wen Liang - very deep insights on anatman/total exertion/emptiness but he teaches in Chinese, but I translated some into English, highly recommended reading: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Zen%20Master%20Hong%20Wen%20Liang%20%28%E6%B4%AA%E6%96%87%E4%BA%AE%E7%A6%85%E5%B8%88%29
Angelo Dillulo/Angelo Gerangelo -- an admin of this group also and a teacher, https://simplyalwaysawake.com/ and has a youtube channel and a book
Thrangu Rinpoche -- books highly recommended, he recently passed away and attained Buddhahood and rainbow body: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2023/11/thrangu-rinpoche-attained-buddhahood.html
Zen teacher Ven Chi Chern -- teaches in Chinese
Zen teacher Ven Hui Lu -- teaches in Chinese , some translations at https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Zen%20Master%20Hui%20L%C3%BC
Zen Master Dogen and many other olden days Zen masters starting with Bodhidharma, who all realised and taught anatman, please read: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/10/some-zen-masters-quotations-on-anatman.html
Dzogchen teachers Yogini Abhaya Devi and Abhaya Devi Yogini -- https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2018/04/way-of-bodhi.html
Zen teacher Barry Magid - good read: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Zen%20Master%20Barry%20Magid
Zen teacher Madelon Bolling - good read: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2022/06/three-treasures-sangha-in-seattle.html
Zen teacher Doug Phillips - good read: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Zen%20Master%20Doug%20Phillips
Toni Packer https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Toni%20Packer and her student Joan Tollifson
Daniel M. Ingram, must watch this video on how to practice and realize anatman: https://vimeo.com/250616410
Charles Genoud - good book https://www.amazon.com/Gesture-Awareness-Radical-Approach-Movement/dp/0861715063
Charlie Singer
Zen teacher Charlotte Joko Beck https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Charlotte%20Joko%20Beck
Zen teacher Hakuun Yasutani
Zen teacher Kubota [Akira] Ji'un
Dan Berkow
Zen Teacher Shohaku Okumura - https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2018/11/my-opinion-on-shurangama-sutra.html - scroll halfway down to Update 9th June 2019
He continues to lead sesshins (intensive meditation retreats) and genzo-e (Shobogenzo study) retreats at Sanshin-ji (Sanshin Zen Community) and at various other centers in the US and around the world. Shohaku Okumura's bio on Sanshin Zen Community.
- See our livestream web site and audio page for dharma talks and other events.” - https://www.sfzc.org/teachers/shohaku-okumura
Zen Teacher Shunryū Suzuki
Zen Teacher Steve Hagen -- good read: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2010/04/buddhism-is-not-what-you-think.html
Sonam Thakchoe -- https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2018/03/tsongkhapas-epistemic-nonduality.html
Frank Yang -- check out his video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t8KvdMtT4A
Now, at this point you're probably thinking, ok you listed many teachers, but how come I've still never heard of any of them before?
Well how about Adyashanti? You must have heard of him right? Adyashanti realised anatta and total exertion only in recent years. All his books in earlier years were into I AM and one mind only. I have posted some of his recent articles https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/search/label/Adyashanti
How about A H Almaas? Have you heard of him? He also only realised anatta and total exertion only in recent years. All his books in earlier years were into I AM and one mind only. I highly recommend watching this video by him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hqUcX_D8H8
Alan Watts? Many should know him. Very clear insights: https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2019/10/alan-watts-veil-that-conceals-reality_17.html
There's also this teacher Richard from the Actual Freedom Trust, he is not Buddhist but his experience and progression is quite similar to I AM then into anatta and total exertion, however his insights has not expanded into twofold emptiness. https://www.actualfreedom.com.au/richard/articles/abriefpersonalhistory.htm
And these are just the contemporary ones, and only some of them off the top of my mind. There are plenty more I have not listed. And if you want me to list the olden/dead masters, it will be too many to list.
In addition to the various paths and teachers discussed in the context of spiritual mentorship and guidance, the significance of finding an awakened teacher cannot be overstated. As I, Soh, shared with someone recently, the teachings of the first Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma offer profound insights into this matter.
Bodhidharma, esteemed as the first patriarch of Chan/Zen, marking him as a foundational and transformative figure in the lineage and teachings of this tradition, emphasizes the crucial role of a teacher in the journey towards enlightenment. In his teachings, he states, "To find a Buddha, you have to see your nature. Whoever sees his nature is a Buddha. If you don’t see your nature, being mindful of Buddhas, reciting sutras, making offerings, and keeping precepts are not equal to it. Being mindful of Buddhas results in good karma, reciting sutras results in a good intelligence; keeping precepts results in a good rebirth in heavens, and making offerings results in future blessings — but no buddha. If you don’t understand by yourself, you’ll have to find a teacher to know the root of births and deaths. But unless he sees his nature, such a person isn’t a good teacher. Even if he can recite the twelve groups of scriptures he can’t escape the Wheel of Births and Deaths. He suffers in the three realms without hope of release. Long ago, the monk Good Star was able to recite the twelve groups of scriptures. But he didn’t escape the Wheel, because he didn’t see his nature. If this was the case with Good Star, then people nowadays who recite a few sutras or shastras and think it’s the Dharma are fools. Unless you see your own Heart, reciting so much prose is useless.
To find a Buddha have to see your nature directly. Your nature is the Buddha. And the Buddha is the person who’s free: free of plans, free of cares. If you don’t see your nature and run outwards to seek for external objects, you’ll never find a buddha. The truth is there’s nothing to find. But to reach such an understanding you need a good teacher and you need to struggle to make yourself understand. Life and death are important. Don’t suffer them in vain.
There’s no advantage in deceiving yourself. Even if you have mountains of jewels and as many servants as there are grains of sand along the Ganges, you see them when your eyes are open. But what about when your eyes are shut? You should realize then that everything you see is like a dream or illusion. If you don’t find a teacher soon, you’ll live this life in vain. It’s true, you have the buddha-nature. But without the help of a teacher you’ll never know it. Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher’s help. If, though, by the conjunction of conditions, someone understands what the Buddha meant, that person doesn’t need a teacher. Such a person has a natural awareness superior to anything taught. But unless you’re so blessed, study hard, and by means of instruction you’ll understand.
People who don’t understand and think they can do so without study are no different from those deluded souls who can’t tell white from black.” Falsely proclaiming the Buddha-Dharma, such persons in fact blaspheme the Buddha and subvert the Dharma. They preach as if they were bringing rain. But theirs is the preaching of devils not of Buddhas. Their teacher is the King of Devils and their disciples are the Devil’s minions. Deluded people who follow such instruction unwittingly sink deeper in the Sea of Birth and Death.
Unless they see their nature, how can people call themselves Buddhas they’re liars who deceive others into entering the realm of devils. Unless they see their nature, their preaching of the Twelvefold Canon is nothing but the preaching of devils. Their allegiance is to Mara, not to the Buddha. Unable to distinguish white from black, how can they escape birth and death?
Whoever
sees his nature is a Buddha; whoever doesn’t is a mortal. But if you
can find your buddha-nature apart from your mortal nature, where is it?
Our mortal nature is our Buddha nature. Beyond this nature there’s no
Buddha. The Buddha is our nature. There’s no Buddha besides this nature.
And there’s no nature besides the Buddha."
Also, Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche said:
"If you wish to eradicate your afflictions, you must follow your teacher and study for a long time. Otherwise, studying for only a few days will not have any significant effect ... Some people today are not willing to study or reflect on the Dharma, but they are enthusiastic about meditation. They believe meditating all day with their eyes shut is the ultimate practice. I do not think much of this. Although there are people of the highest caliber who attain enlightenment without study or reflection, are you of such caliber? Therefore, you cannot live in a cave or another completely isolated place when you first start to practice. Instead, you should be with a qualified Dharma teacher and earnestly receive the Buddhadharma; it is best if you are always engaged in study, reflection, and practice. Of course, I am not asking you to study and reflect for a lifetime without ever practicing. But to spend an entire life in blind meditation without any study or reflection is also the wrong path!"
Zen teacher Ven Jinmyo Renge Sensei: "Sometimes students really can't
understand why they can't just sit at home, by themselves, without
instruction. After all, the Buddha did that. Bodhidharma did that. May I
point out that you are not the Buddha and you are not Bodhidharma.
You're also not Einstein and you're not going to come up with anything
like the theory of relativity – not without countless years of
instruction and study and probably not even then. You're not Bach and so
it is highly unlikely that you will write music like his, not without
countless years of instruction and study. Sorry if this is the first
time anyone's pointed this out, but things are not all equal, they're
not all fair, we do not all have the same starting point and you are as
you are, not as someone else is. Or was. Start from where you are and be
willing to learn from others.
You might not like what I just said, but do you understand why I said it?
I
once asked the Roshi about Teachers – if two people who had nothing in
common Woke Up and became Teachers, would they somehow come to agree
with each other about everything? He said "No, but they would understand
why the other was saying or doing what he or she was saying or doing.""
- https://wwzc.org/book/export/html/1017
The master of the intimate instructions that possesses the vajra meaning has a positive attitude, is skillful in teaching, has obtained the empowerments, applies the meaning of Secret Mantra, understands all the inner and outer activities, is inseparable from the meditation deity, remains undistracted in samadhi, is knowledgable in the secret tantras of Secret Mantra, possesses the meaning of the intimate instructions of the Great Perfection, engages in all outer and inner sadhanas, [18b] never leaves the meaning of the view, gives up outer, inner, and secret activities, is endowed with qualities like a precious jewel, and enjoys an inexhaustible treasury. With the cord of compassion unsevered and the stream of affection uninterrupted, the master and disciple are thus connected.
A “master” to avoid is described as follows:
A master lacking a connection with a lineage of scholars, who is self-important, stupid, literal-minded, who does not understand the meaning of Secret Mantra, has harsh words for others, is boastful, has entered false paths, has not seen the mandala of the empowerment, disregards samaya, [18/a] is unable to answer questions, has little learning, and great pride — such an unexamined master is a māra for the disciple. He is not a master who can teach Secret Mantra and is unable to teach the Great Perfection, Ati. Do not associate with such a person.
Jigme Lingpa comments on the above excerpt regarding the unqualified teacher:
As it says, do not get involved with such a demonic master.
Longchenpa, in his own response to the above excerpt from the rig pa rang shar (regarding the unqualified teacher), states:
Accordingly, I advise you to avoid them.
The kun byed rgyal po tantra states:
The inauthentic master teaches scripture like a monkey, his false path beset with concepts.
And regarding the qualified teacher it goes on to say:
The master who displays the truth is a precious treasury worth an inestimable price.
Jigme Lingpa continues:
This tantra [rig pa rang shar] also speaks of six characteristics:
[i] having put all samsaric phenomena behind him, [ii] having few desires and being content, [iii] being skilled in practice and having had experiences, [iv] being learned in the meanings of the tantras and having striven to accomplish them, [v] being learned in the meaning of the view and being completely capable with it, and [vi] having great compassion and being happy in renunciation.
One with the complete set of these qualities is said to be necessary. If, on the other hand, he is merely an effigy of whom it is said This one is a wonderful source of miracles, This one holds an unsurpassable rank, and This one is a sacred object of worship and harmony with worldly people, then he is not [a genuine teacher].
More from Jamgon Köngtrul:
Avoid a master whose traits are discordant with those of a true teacher; But since a fully qualified master is rare, follow the one who is replete with good qualities.
A teacher whose traits are discordant with the characteristics of the [true] master stands outside of the Buddhist doctrine and connot be taken as a spiritual teacher. Consequently, even though the teacher may be very famous, active, etc., the discriminating student should be aware [of these shortcomings] and detach him or herself [from the teacher]. This should be done even if a teacher-student relationship has already been formed. If one has not yet formed such a relationship, one should avoid doing so, right from the beginning. Sakya Pandita states:
Detach yourself from the spiritual teacher
Who does not conform to the Buddha's teaching.
We should learn how to recognize [bad teachers] from the many descriptions given in the scriptures and then shun them. For example, the Condensed Tantra [of the wheel of Time] states:
Proud, subject to uncontrollable anger, defiant of pledges, guilty of misappropriation, ignorant [of the doctrine], willfully deceptive of students, having failed to enter the state of supreme bliss, uninitiated, a slave to wealth and enjoyments, careless, rude in speech, and obsessed with sexual desire: wise students who wish full awakening should shun such a teacher as they would hell.
Because we are living in a [degenerate] age, we very rarely meet a teacher endowed with all of the necessary qualifications. Since we may never meet such a teacher, we should accept a master who has many good qualities and very few weaknesses. [Pundarika's] Ultimate Familiarization states:
In this age of conflict, spiritual masters will exhibit both faults and virtues; not one is absolutely irreproachable. Therefore, examine well even those who excel in virtue before beginning to study with them."
