Milestones without end
The good teacher is necessary for two reasons. She or he will encourage you and offer you guidance. She or he will also deny you the complacency of a plateau and urge you on to the peak of your potential and even beyond. Too often I meet people who have the confidence that comes with a spontaneous spiritual experience outside any discipline or practice. When I check them and tell them, "Not enough," they tend to become angry and to argue. Sometimes they disappear, which is too bad. So faith in the teacher is important. If she is worth her salt, she knows, and you must swallow hard and accept the fact that you probably don't have it yet.
The human tendency is to be satisfied with a milestone. But there are milestones after milestones without end. One of the great contributions of Zen Buddhism to world religion can be summed up with the words "Not yet, not enough, not yet enough!"
- Robert Aitken Roshi, Original Dwelling Place.
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