Preachers, Teachers, and ...?

checking out carl's link per me being 'ruthless'-chapter 5 states heaven and earth are ruthless, and that this is juts the earth doing its job-funny, this is a subject i've touched on alot recently-when people have spoken of the 'terrible' hurricane, tsunami, etc...i sound ruthless when i say 'hey, dont blame nature', it's just doing what it does-it's man's inability to plan or deal with this appropriately thats terrible
I illustrate how things just are what they are by holding my coffee cup-i ask the kids, what is this-a cup, they say-then i turn it upside down, spilling the coffee all over-now what is it, I ask-they just stare and laugh at the mess-it's still a cup i say, what went wrong was the fault of the man holding it, not the cup...
somehow i'll bring this back around to how i deal with hackers and other criminals...

Comments

  • edited December 1969
    Here is a question that popped to my mind as I read a post from wisdom preacher. It won't go away, so I'll post it here... :)

    What, if any, difference is there between a preacher and a teacher? It is curious that in the West there is a long standing tradition of preachers, and in the East there isn't really... but there is a long standing tradition of teachers, e.g., sensei, guru, sage and the like...

    And then we have Taoism where... [chref=65]of old those who excelled in the pursuit of the way did not use it to enlighten the people but to hoodwink them[/chref]. Were these folks pearchers, teachers, or... ?
  • edited December 1969
    Well, I think teachers ask for questions and preachers ask for money!

    Taoists aren't preachers or teachers . . . they're guiders!
  • edited December 1969
    Preachers believe they have the answers, and go around telling people what the answers are. A preacher needs to "show" others the light.

    Good teachers believe their knowledge of the answers is irrelevant, and go around asking their students to find the answers themselves (subtly helping as needed). A good teacher needs to help others find the light.

    Not so good teachers believe they have the answers... :D

    So, a bad teacher is more like a preacher . . . Or, is a good preacher more like a teacher? Or is it the other way around? What do you believe?

    (Let's face it people, we're only talking about one letter here. :))
  • edited December 1969
    That last post seemed awfully preachy, didn't it? :wink:
  • edited December 1969
    hi Carl,
    definitely in my point of view teachers and preachers are different.teachers
    is a qualified teacher where this person is a scholar in the beggining.this person read,compile and do research normally the sacred script before he qualified for teaching where else preacher is a kind of gifted person or a guider to human being where
    this preacher sometimes have the wisdom that comes by instantly instead
    of learning and for preacher its something like a wisdom being taught by
    our taoist master directly from heaven.there are more things that we dont know as each of us have our own wisdom and practice and to share it is a kind of blessing.whether its preaching or teaching its not a problem as we
    ourselve know how to judge each individual things well.although we are far from each other but its good that we can share our wisdom together
    to further improved our ability to understand and hopefully find our true path to enlightenment as well.i can accept things which are more or less
    logical and make sense and also things which cant be seen or heard but with a good explanation and good reason.
  • edited December 1969
    hi Taonut,
    why you said preacher ask for money?probably you have seen this preacher
    after preach they asking for donation right?there are many types of taoist
    practice where each of the practice are different in different part of the world.
    so to comment things as a whole of taoist deffinitely i will not do it as i am not representing the whole world taoist community.so the important part
    is we try to accept whatever we deem proper and meaningful and we dont care where it come from or which part of the world.if you said taoist is guider
    than its fine to me as long as you can provide some explanation why
    you said taoist is a guider but not a teacher or preacher.
  • edited December 1969
    I agree with Luke: preachers lecture, teachers interact. I visualize a preacher standing at a podium, elevated from the congregation, talking down at them. Teachers are more helpful, and coaching and encouraging learners at their own level.

    Mr. Preacher, in this country we have evangelists on TV who preach that only their "truth" is the right truth and if you don't believe it, you will go to hell. Then they ask for money because it's expensive to be on TV. I've heard one (Gene Scott) say that if his audience didn't send money right then he would strike them all blind! So the word "preacher" may be tarnished here in our culture.

    I certainly seem to have a bias. :?
  • edited December 1969
    Hi Lynn,
    let me explain further and hope you can understand more.i did told you that to accept or reject other wisdom is not within me to do it but its all up to
    each of you all to judge it.as for your comment regarding this kind of preacher you should know well he cant blind all of us as he doesnt have the
    power to do it unless you really beleive in him.so dont take one bad apple
    and assume all the other apple are bad.please open your mind and heart
    so that the truth will flow into it. i dont mind whether you are bias to preacher or not as my mission is not to convert anyone but to let others know that there is always and answer to all question and how to survive and
    find our truth path to enlightenment.there is one reason why i need to preach all this but i am not going to tell it now as its not the time yet
    as you havent come to that level of understanding.its nice to correspond to you but if you find its not what you searching for we can always jump to other topic and i can assure you that i will clear your doubts regarding
    anything that pop up in your mind.
  • edited August 2005
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]...preacher is a kind of gifted person or a guider . . . [he has] wisdom that comes by instantly instead of learning . . . something like a wisdom being taught by our taoist master directly from heaven.
    Hmm. How does a preacher know s/he is gifted? Wisdom is a very personal thing, i.e., judging whether one has wisdom (or how much) is a very subjective judgement. So judging your own wisdom is sort of dogdy, don't you think?
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]i can accept things which are more or less
    logical and make sense and also things which cant be seen or heard but with a good explanation and good reason.
    Similar point as my last . . . how can one tell the difference between seeing something as it is and seeing something that your mind is distorting or making up?
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]hi Taonut, why you said preacher ask for money?
    That was mostly meant as a joke.
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]you said taoist is guider. than its fine to me as long as you can provide some explanation why you said taoist is a guider but not a teacher or preacher.
    I will take the liberty of explaining this for Tao Nut. A 'true' Taoist would follow the teachings of the Tao Te Ching, right? That is, he practices the teaching that uses no words, and resorts to no action. [chref=43][ch.43][/chref] Also...

    Of old those who excelled in the pursuit of the way did not use it
    to enlighten the people but to hoodwink them.
    [chref=65][ch.65][/chref]

    On another note, it can be said that everyone has an internal wisdom by default, or at least the capability for it . . . they just can't use it [because of their biology?] . . .

    Everyone in the world knows yet no one can put this knowledge into practice. [chref=78][ch.78][/chref]
    [cite] Lynn:[/cite]I agree with Luke: preachers lecture, teachers interact.
    Of course, this is a sweeping generalization, and certainly there are many teachers who are like preachers and vice versa. Plus, the preacher fills an important role in some people's lives. Some people don't want to be asked to think, they just want to be told what to do or think, etc. That's where the preacher comes in. I don't think people really learn much from a preacher, but hearing their "sermon" makes them feel good, or sometimes can stir the listener to think inward, but rarely is that the case, I think. (Note that I never said a preacher can "impart" wisdom on a congregation!)
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]as for your comment regarding this kind of preacher you should know well he cant blind all of us as he doesnt have the power to do it unless you really beleive in him.
    Interesting point: "unless you really beleive [sic] in him". I have never been superstitious and always thought the idea that believing in something will make it come true is stupid . . . however the more I think about things, and the more I discover the incredible power of belief (not as a power that can change other things or people, but as a power that shapes our own thoughts) the more I can see where that comes from. It's like the placebo effect . . . believe and something and you will make it happen, whether or not it really did. OK, next point . . .
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]as my mission is not to convert anyone but to let others know that there is always and answer to all question and how to survive and find our truth path to enlightenment.
    Friendly suggestion . . . I hate to say it, but I think a lot of CenterTao viewers are going to be skimming or skipping over your posts, simply because they are so hard to read. I would hate for someone to miss out on something they would find useful simply because they couldn't understand your writing. If you really want to help others find the true path to enlightenment, I might suggest working on your grammar a bit. Capitalize your sentences. Use more commas. Proofread your post before hitting "Submit". Perhaps you could try composing your posts in Microsoft Word to make use of its spelling and grammar checkers. Anyway I think it would help others to understand the wisdom you're trying to convey.
    [cite] wisdom preacher:[/cite]i am not going to tell it now as its not the time yet as you havent come to that level of understanding.
    What level of understanding? Your level of understanding? How can you (when I say "you" I mean anyone) judge someone else's level of understanding? This harkens back to my first comment... (Ooh, we went in a circle! How nice! :yinyang:)

    [Note to wisdom preacher: Sorry if it sounds like I'm coming down on you . . . don't let me scare you away! I'm just trying to understand, discussing what others understand, and having fun... :)]
  • edited December 1969
    I was explaining to you the different nuances of the two words, preacher and teacher, in this country. I am not saying this biased impression is the definition. I was just trying to explain something you may not know about our primarily Christian culture here in the USA. Words take on meaning beyond their original intent based on the mental constucts our culture creates around them.

    I find you are very arrogant. You might consider reacquainting yourself with beginner's mind.

    You think I do not understand because I don't agree with your beliefs. You are wrong. Or perhaps all this is one giant language barrier.
  • edited December 1969
    :shock: I just had a thought...perhaps this wisdompreacher guy is NOT for real! Maybe it's just one of us playing devil's advocate. Although the bad English would be hard to imitate.

    You know how people go on message boards just to stir up trouble? Maybe this is one of those people.

    Just a thought...

    I, for one, am done responding to him. I have enough challenges here at home. :wink:
  • edited December 1969
    Hi Luke,
    First of all I would apologise for my grammer spelling and also the quote.Frankly I am not english educated but I will try to correct it.Your question is how we know we are gifted or not.Well I might as well explain from my experience such as can you really changed your overall behaviour in just a couple of months or sometime in overnight such as from a non talkative to a talkative state or from hot temper to a less temper person in such a short time.Well its happening to me and due to this I never give up my mission and my master mission to achieve it.So in other words the gifted one is something like your karma has ripen and the effect will take place.Sometimes some of us have this experience but we never realised it.
    For those who practiced good virtue they might experienced some sort of
    blessing such as sometimes when such person talk or say things,the wisdom will come in a speed of light and you might end up saying something that you are not aware it but oeverall this kind of speech is for goodness sake.There are also some experience a very strong sense ahead of it that something will happen and this is called six sense but to me its not called six sense but the intervention by deities or angels to
    be more exact.For your second question question we can actually know its
    a powerfull wisdom or not by having our third eye and to have this we need to practice it.The next question is I will only correspond to the level you are in and will not go beyond what yuo havent know or hear yet as its the same
    as I will not preach something in secondary before you gone through the primary.There is more then what you really know and here is what I would like you to ponder.This is ONE statement that I confuse many of them.Do you beleive that what you learn now will be totally different when you progress further in your quest for truth.For example whatever things you say now is black but eventually it will turn white later or true become false
    and false become true.So to understand this you need a higher level of
    practice and that is why there is always a level of understanding in each of us.You willnot scare me away but probably I will scare you away when you know further of me.
  • edited December 1969
    Hi Lynn,
    Its quite dissapointed that you judge me as liar or arrogant but nevertheless
    I always forgive them as my master always taught me to forgive rather than
    have grudge or revenge as this will not make us better but make more enemy where in terms your life will be in more troublesome state. And that is why we are facing a lot of problems if we never practice the true wisdom.Hope you find your own true path to your destiny.
  • edited December 1969
    This is just a lighthearted response to Carl?s original question and has no bearing on any teachers or preachers mentioned in the above posts (so if you're not into that kind of thing, skip this). I base my opinions on the words preachers and teachers as defined, separately, by Webster?s (So, brothers and sisters, if you will kindly join me by turning to the relevant pages in your dictionaries?). Anyhow, I would say that it is a clever preacher who disguises him or herself as a teacher, but a poor teacher who thinks he or she will get anywhere being a preacher (Luke 1:6, - Post 1, Line 6-. Amen, brother!). Remember this is by strict definition only. Thus, I can preach to you about revolution, but I can?t teach you to take part in it (I can trick, or shall we say, persuade you into joining up, but that?s another story). By the same token, I can teach you to bake a cake, but I could preach to you about it from here to tomorrow and that still wouldn?t put dessert on the table (unless of course you come up with your own recipe, which of course has been known to happen. Hence, the first cake in history. Well, Carl, that would certainly be egg on my face...).
  • edited December 1969
    [cite] Wen-zhong:[/cite]So, brothers and sisters, if you will kindly join me by turning to the relevant pages in your dictionaries?

    Well, Ok, I 'cheated' and went to the dictionary to see what it said. It is always interesting, especially the root ORIGIN of the words. Take a look at what I found, if you like:

    preach >v. 1 deliver a religious address to an assembled group of people. ->publicly proclaim (a religious message). 2 earnestly advocate (a principle): my parents always preached tolerance. ->(preach at) give moral advice to (someone) in a self-righteous way.
    -DERIVATIVES preacher >n. preachiness >n. preachy >adj. (-ier, -iest).
    -ORIGIN ME: from OFr. prechier, from L. praedicare 'proclaim', in eccles. L. 'preach'

    teach >v. (past and past part. taught) 1 impart knowledge to or instruct (someone) in how to do something, especially in a school or as part of a recognized program. ->give instruction in (a subject or skill). ->cause to learn by example or experience. 2 advocate as a practice or principle.
    -DERIVATIVES teachability >n. teachable >adj. teachableness >n. teaching >n.
    -ORIGIN OE t?can 'show, present, point out', of Gmc

    Now, all we need to consider is the difference between 'proclaim' and 'show,...'. To me 'proclaim' has an active Yang feeling, e.g., superior, bold, higher ranking, self-righteous even. On the other hand, 'show,...' has a passive Yin feeling, e.g., humble, meek, [chref=61]lower position[/chref], self-reflective.

    So, I'd say a preacher more likely 'proclaims' the truth to others. A teacher more likely 'shows, presents, point outs', a path of discover for another to consider. A teacher dispassionately knows that understanding must arise from within each person. A preach passionately feels that he can impart the truth to each person.

    Personally, I expect we are a bit of both. The preacher in us (driven by emotion) keeps us on our quixotic quests. The teacher in us (informed by experience and reason) helps keeps us humble and pragmatically focused on what actually works.
Sign In or Register to comment.