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**EliteFranceska** · 04-14-2012, 06:26 PM

From my experience most of the masters/gurus are self proclaimed

I think people can get the title 'master' or 'guru' in different ways. Sometimes it can be announced by their own teachers after a length of time of study and practice.

It can also happens through official 'tulku' birth followed by intensive instruction in childhood and adolescence - as in the Tibetan Buddhist system. (and this status is strengthened with the specific practice of 'Guru devotion' by their students, mentioned by plwk in #2)

People can also be proclaimed 'master' or 'guru' by their own followers, especially those who have extensive PR and media coverage, videos etc and who write (or have their students put together for them) popular books.

I don't know of any Buddhist 'masters' who are self proclaimed, apart from maybe one or two people who might post on the internet. We had someone who joined here once and then announced that he was a "Buddha" !

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04-14-2012, 06:26 PM	#13
EliteFranceska Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 463 Senior Member	From my experience most of the masters/gurus are self proclaimed I think people can get the title 'master' or 'guru' in different ways. Sometimes it can be announced by their own teachers after a length of time of study and practice. It can also happens through official 'tulku' birth followed by intensive instruction in childhood and adolescence - as in the Tibetan Buddhist system. (and this status is strengthened with the specific practice of 'Guru devotion' by their students, mentioned by plwk in #2) People can also be proclaimed 'master' or 'guru' by their own followers, especially those who have extensive PR and media coverage, videos etc and who write (or have their students put together for them) popular books. I don't know of any Buddhist 'masters' who are self proclaimed, apart from maybe one or two people who might post on the internet. We had someone who joined here once and then announced that he was a "Buddha" ! .
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