Seventy-Three

"The teacher cannot aid the student as long as the
student's spirit is contaminated.
The cleansing of the spiritual contamination is not the
responsibility of the teacher, but of the student.
It is accomplished by offering one's talent, resources,
and life to the world.
Also, to the teacher and to the immortal angels that
surround him, a healthy student can offer his pure
energy, and a depleted student can give at the very
least food, or wine, or service.

When one gives whatever one can without restraint,
the barriers of individuality break down.
It no longer becomes possible to tell whether it is the
student offering himself to the teacher, or the
teacher offering herself to the student.
One sees only two immaculate beings, reflecting one
another like a pair of brilliant mirrors."

The biggest thing teaching has taught me is that the teacher/student relationship is not a dichotomy; we are all both, all the time. We all have times of depletion and times of purity. If I am consistent in offering, even if what I have to offer varies from moment to moment, I will have done right.