Differing sources attribute the quote below to the Buddha, to the Tao Te Ching, or just as a Zen proverb. Regardless its origins, undoubtedly you've heard:
"When the student is ready the teacher will appear."
I always took that to be referring to fate or patience. Like, "keep striving and trying, and when the time is right (I don't know...like fate or something?) the teacher will then come into your life and show you the lessons you need to learn or the way to everlasting happiness and rainbows..." or something vague and hopeful like that.
But today based on my own personal experience I had a big shift in my understanding of what that phrase is really saying. Gah, I love it when insights hit me so hard like this one!
Maybe sometimes the phrase means, "keep trying, Be patient, because one day the Teacher will come." But now I see more often THE TEACHER IS RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF US ALL ALONG, but our eyes are just to cloudy to see! "When the student is ready," is referring to ready to see clearly, ready to give up all hope in old attachments, ready to release those things they have been desperately clinging to in hopes of controling outcomes, etc.
Maybe this was all well understood by the rest of you before, but it was a big wake up for me today in working with a friend who just can't see all the answers are right there in front of her for the taking. she just can't see herself or her situation clearly yet...the student just isn't ready to see the teacher waiting before her. I guess for now her current predicament is her present teacher, if only she could hear the lesson.
Ps-the photo has nothing to do with the topic of this post. It was just to lure you in to read my thoughts... 😉Total click bait, I admit. But it is me and mine from July 2017. We almost got hit by a car in getting that shot. The police came by and made us move along. 😂