Ayya Brahmavara

Say for instance I have a teacher who has seemed to me to be so great, so wonderful, so all-knowing, so wise and so good. And then he or she says or does something that strikes me as not very kind, not very compassionate. 

Maybe the person expresses some sort of view that I feel is not correct, not beneficial, that is deluded in some way. Disillusionment can arise. Again and again, if we're lucky, such disillusionment can arise around those we look up to, those we revere, those we honour. 

It would be very easy to just turn away and dismiss them and to feel, "I've lost my teacher! I've lost my path! I can't go on!"

How foolish that would be though.

If we combine our disillusionment with a real opening to the wisdom that it is and to compassion, for ourselves and for our disappointment and our upset perhaps. And also for the one who has disillusioned us, in this case for the teacher, to see, "Well OK, this person is not the perfect, liberated - nearly liberated or fully liberated person I thought they were. May I help them to continue on the Path and to be able to move forard themselves . And may I also move forward on the Path."

And not let this be a source of falling away or getting caught up in negativity for any reason.

So disillusionment is a danger if we're not awake to its benefit and grateful for the opportunity to be disillusioned. Because its a growing up process. Because its an opportunity to wake up a bit more. It's an opportunity to see a bit more clearly. 

We want to be disillusioned again and again.