Dung-based Authority

From Foyan:

>Nowadays there are many public teachers whose guiding eye is not clear. This is very wrong! How dare they mount a pulpit to try to help others? Showing a symbol of authority, **they rant and rave at people without any qualms**, simply pursuing the immediate and not worrying about the future. How miserable!

>See how many phony "Zen masters" there are, degenerating daily over a long, long time. **They are like human dung carved into sandalwood icons; ultimately there is just the smell of crap.**

Wannabe teachers position themselves as authority figures. They invent rules and rituals to assert their self-declared authority over you.

If you dare question their views, you will be bullied and harassed while they accuse you of bullying and harassment. The gaslighting Zen police - how miserable!

What should we do with these people? What is their role?

>I will settle something for you right now: **the ultimate rule is to see your own mind clearly**. This is what Buddhism is, as far as I am concerned.

JUST SEE YOUR MIND CLEARLY. That's it. That's the rule. Everything else is secondary. Or doesn't matter at all.

>**I will not allow people to oppress the free**...If you recognize this, that is up to you. If you say you also see this way, that is up to you. If you say that everything is all right according to your perception, that is up to you; If you say your mind is still uneasy, that is up to you...

>I urge you to examine closely enough to effect an awakening. If you do not yet have an awakened perspective, then approach it in a relaxed manner; do not rush.

What else could there possibly be?