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Manjusri Bodhisattva, revered as
the teacher of the seven ancient Buddhas,
when he came to Sakyamuni Buddha had to
pay him homage and ask him to bestow his
wisdom. Kumarajiva,[1]
a Mahayana Buddhist, and his teacher, a
Theravada Buddhist, respected and
learned from each other, for which they
have been praised from generation to
generation. ¡§When one is deluded,
liberation is attained only through a
teacher¡¦s guidance; when enlightened,
self-liberation becomes possible,¡¨
observed Hui-neng, later the sixth
patriarch of the Ch¡¦an School. Praised
by the fifth patriarch, Hung-jen, this
maxim has been passed down the ages.
When the masters and disciples of the
Lin-chi division (one of five Ch¡¦an
divisions) engaged in heated and witty
conversations, their voices of truth
were not thereby obstructed. Instead,
their discussions became conundrums (koan)
upon which later Buddhists focused in
order to attain inner unity and
illumination. Thus, ¡§three parts
guidance and seven parts friendship¡¨
applies to individual maturity as well.
Self-reliance without guidance does not
work, since no one can see the truth
without proper direction. And habitual
dependence on others makes one stupid
and ineffectual.
Parents who treat children with
¡§three parts guidance and seven parts
friendship¡¨ find in them both their
flesh and blood and their friends. These
parents share the joy of a child¡¦s
growth. Teachers who embrace the
broad-mindedness of ¡§three parts
guidance and seven parts friendship¡¨
find that their pupils are both their
juniors and their contemporaries.
Exchanging views and thoughts, each
learns from the other. Supervisors who
employ ¡§three parts guidance and seven
parts friendship¡¨ find in their
subordinates both colleagues in work and
comrades who share their joy and sorrow.
Husbands and wives who carry out ¡§three
parts guidance and seven parts
friendship¡¨ find mutual respect and
tolerance. How wonderful is the good
affinity in ¡§three parts guidance and
seven parts friendship¡¨!
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[1] [343 ¡V 413 C.E.] One of
the ¡§four suns¡¨ of Mahayana
Buddhism, of which he was the
earliest and most effective
propagator in China.
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