Every person is born into this world without any knowledge whatsoever. All that we come to know must be learned after birth — we enter this world in a complete state of unknowing.
And if, in those earliest stages of learning, one comes to know wrongly and to understand incorrectly from the very outset, this is a matter of grave danger. Wrong knowledge and wrong understanding become a source of harm throughout the entirety of one’s life. Such is the peril of a mistaken beginning.
But if one comes to know correctly and to understand rightly from the very outset, then every breath one draws from that point forward is a gain. It is here, therefore, that the profound power of teachers and mentors begins. With a good teacher, one is saved. Without one — with a poor teacher — there is nothing but harm and setback at every turn. It is for this reason that teachers hold a value of the highest order for all of humanity.
February 6th, 2016
