How Two Journeyed Into Darkness & Light The Daily Enlightenment Buddhist Inspirations (since 1997)

The first step of learning
is to recognise evil,
so as to avoid evil.
Without this first step,
what learnt might be evil.

Her Journey Into The Darkness Of Delusion

Since young, she was taught by her seniors that her guru (spiritual teacher) is equal to the Buddha, thus not capable of any misgivings. Being unenlightened, and as a beginner, she was assured, of course it is natural for her to occasionally have some doubts about this… but they must be let go of, since the guru is always right, even if for profound reasons she still cannot understand due to her shallowness. Anyway, since the guru is perfect, there is no need to find fault with the guru. In fact, it would be her own fault if she sees any fault, which is due to her impure perceptions and negative karmic obscurations. She will have to repent further, till her doubts disappear.

If she is to dwell on her wrong thoughts, she was warned, they will only grow, and she will drift further away from enlightenment, even possibly creating great negative karma for rebirth in the deepest hell, with slander of her guru on her mind, or even in word and action. For her own good, she must ‘[S]ee the [B]right side and [I]gnore the [D]ark side’ (SBID), suggesting that she rationalise for all wrongs perceived and suppress all doubts arisen. Being impressionable, she gradually gave in to such cultural pressure, to become brainwashed, as another one of the guru worshippers with blind faith. When older, she became one of the seniors who teach the new juniors as above.

His Journey Into The Light Of Awakening

Since young, he was taught by his seniors that all gurus (spiritual teachers) are supposed to do their best to represent the Buddha, though they are still not actual Buddhas. (Even if they are manifestations of Buddhas, they will still not manifest to be perfect.) Thus, they are capable of misgivings. Being unenlightened, and as a beginner, he was assured, of course it is natural for him to occasionally have some doubts about the guru and what learnt… but they should be clarified, as the guru is not always right, and is also a learning student. Anyway, if a guru is really perfect, any fault found will be explainable directly, while all good gurus encourage good questions.

If he is to dwell on his doubts without clarifying, he was warned, they will only grow, and he will drift further away from enlightenment. Even the Buddha strongly encouraged all to question his teachings. Asking of reasonable questions is after all not slander at all. For his own good, to realise the complete truth, he must ‘See Every Single Side’ (SESS), and not rationalise for any wrong perceived or suppress any doubt arisen. Being reflective enough, he immediately saw great wisdom in this, and embarked on his mind-purifying journey away from the darkness of delusion, towards the light of awakening. When older, he became one of the seniors who teach the new juniors as above.