Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche ｜ Once you take refuge in such a guru, you’ll never see the day of deliverance!

According to Jigme Lingpa, there are four kinds of gurus to avoid.

First: the guru like a wooden millstone.

He never stops talking about his family, lineage, history, monastery, and so on. Like a wooden millstone, he makes a lot of noise but grinds nothing — nothing useful ever comes out.

Second: the guru like a frog in a well.

Without any real realization or qualities, he happens to be born into a good family, good-looking, powerful, and influential because of some minor karmic fortune. He thinks he’s special — and naturally trains his disciples to think the same. Soon everyone is praising him, and a bubble of flattery is built up around him.

When he meets a guru with far greater qualities, he can’t appreciate it. Instead, he stubbornly thinks, “I’m better than him.” Just like the frog at the bottom of a well boasting to a frog from a great lake about how vast his little puddle is — completely unable to imagine the expanse of the lake.

Third: the crazy guide.

Some gurus know a bit of Dharma, may even have met genuine masters, and might display some supernatural powers. On that basis they make people think they’re far more realized than they really are, which only boosts their influence. They act in wild and erratic ways, flaunting themselves as if beyond all worldly concerns. They don’t care about benefiting others, nor whether their behavior harms people or causes them to lose faith in the Dharma. If you let a crazy guide lead you, this is exactly where you’ll end up.

Fourth: the blind captain who insists on steering you.

This kind of guru, like you, is still on the path to enlightenment — maybe with a bit more knowledge or a few more qualities than you. If a disciple is still on the path of accumulation, then following a guru on the path of preparation makes sense; otherwise, the guru won’t know how to guide the disciple further.
Some may ask, “Aren’t we supposed to see the guru as a Buddha?” Yes, once you accept someone as your guru, there’s no turning back. Before taking anyone as your spiritual guide, it’s vital to examine whether they truly have the necessary qualities. Otherwise, both teacher and student will be like ships drifting lost at sea

Examining whether a guru truly has qualities — a checklist for spotting a bad teacher

A fresh banana leaf wrapped around a stinking fish will soon smell of fish. Similarly, if you follow a non-virtuous guru, you will pick up unwholesome habits. Bad habits are contagious.

Warning signs of a problematic guru:

1. Lacks knowledge.
2. Shows no devotion to the Dharma, their own guru, or the Sangha.
3. Has no living lineage.
4. Leads you away from wholesome environments.
5. Has not disciplined body, speech, and mind.
6. Proud and hypocritical.
7. Malicious or harmful toward others.
8. Lacks pure perception.
9. Fond of criticizing.
10. Overly picky about food, drink, possessions, or lodging.
11. Ignores Buddhist vinaya, bodhisattva precepts, or Vajrayana samaya commitments.
12. Appears humble in words but constantly praises themselves in teachings.
13. Secretly belittles others.
14. Unafraid of committing wrongdoing.
15. Incapable of forgiveness.
16. Lacks shame or conscience.
17. Teaches methods that do not counteract afflictions.
18. Focused only on personal gains.
19. Displeased when you maintain discipline and practice the Dharma.

The influence of a bad guru on disciples

1. Staying with a guru who lacks knowledge will make the disciple dull and ignorant, even if they don’t participate in the guru’s foolish deeds.
2. An irritable guru breeds restlessness and anxiety in disciples.
3. A lustful guru loosens the disciple’s moral restraint.
4. A hoarding, stingy guru burdens the disciple with unnecessary baggage.
5. A distracted, scattered guru prevents the disciple from developing mindfulness.
6. A vain guru turns disciples into egoists.
7. An arrogant guru creates strong sectarian bias in disciples.
8. A jealous guru produces competitive disciples—like poisonous plants, they must be avoided.
9. A guru without renunciation raises disciples clinging to this life.
10. A guru who only teaches the conceptual view of the Buddha, without creating opportunities for practice, is like a miserly millionaire who never enjoys his own wealth.
11. An unlearned guru who refuses to admit “I don’t know” deprives disciples of correct knowledge and humility, creating an insecure environment.
12. A guru who lacks devotion to their own teacher and the Dharma causes the disciple’s blessings to vanish like thin mist.
13. An overly relaxed guru allows disciples’ virtuous conduct to decline and negative behaviors to rise.
14. A guru who despises rituals, like offerings, dulls the disciple’s inclination to perform them.
15. A guru who teaches only one method, such as meditation, limits the disciple’s skillful means.
16. A guru who disrespects the Sangha exposes disciples to the influence of unwholesome groups.
17. A guru who neglects yidam practice narrows the door to the disciple’s realization.

Further guidelines — how to tell a good guru from a bad one

A simple approach:

1. Avoid worldly, money-obsessed, vain lamas. They love handing out their business cards but won’t attend public ceremonies, fearing their seat will be lower than others.
2. Avoid lamas who flaunt letters of recognition from high lamas, or who pose for photos with prominent teachers or celebrities to impress disciples.
3. Avoid lamas who take devotees’ offerings to support their extended family’s mansions, luxury cars, and expensive watches, yet rarely make offerings to the Three Jewels.

Readers may wonder if such gurus are real.
Unfortunately, they are — and increasingly so, especially among the younger generation. Many cannot even pretend to be free of these habits. They openly flaunt Rolexes on Facebook and Instagram, show off their cars, Armani shirts, and thick wads of cash donated by Mongolian sponsors.

• Some are extremely picky about how disciples show respect or what offerings they give.
• Some are cunning, skilled at hiding their faults — sometimes even from themselves.
• Some hold grudges, proud and attached to their possessions.
• Some lack the compassion to liberate all beings.
• Some are aggressive, short-tempered, and easily provoked.

It is best to keep your distance from such lamas, especially if you are a beginner. Once you receive empowerment, there is no turning back. Even if these lamas are technically qualified, their conduct can make misfortune easy to arise.

Once you have received empowerment and accepted someone as your guru, you must remind yourself: “This is my projection.” Until you develop the capacity and realization to see it clearly, your discriminating mind will dominate, and your pure perception will remain closed.

If you cannot accept that the guru is your own projection, you may still listen and be present, but you should not receive Tantric teachings.

That said, for a disciple of the highest capacity, all the very behaviors that would normally make us avoid a lama may exactly be the reasons to follow him.