user151: What teachers of Buddhist meditation can guide students skillfully? I mean, teachers who are lay or monastic, teachers who are alive, teachers who have died but left skillful dhamma works to guide students and teachers of any tradition that follow the Buddha's words from the three baskets. 
*I am basically asking about teachers that might not be we'll known but the few students that do know always praise the teacher's approach as skillful.

Edited from:
It seems there are some great and unique meditation teachers out there that aren't as popular as some teachers, possibly because they shunned publicity, didn't allow teachings to be recorded, lived far from the world in hard to get to places and so on. 
.    So the questions are:
1- What tends to be the differences between the more  charismatic or popular teachers and the less known but master   teachers?
2-What hard to find master teachers of Buddhist meditation are out there and what is there approach to teaching?
Thank you :)
It seems there are some great and unique meditation teachers out there that aren't as popular as some teachers, possibly because they shunned publicity, didn't allow teachings to be recorded, lived far from the world in hard to get to places and so on. 
.    So the questions are:
1- What tends to be the differences between the more  charismatic or popular teachers and the less known but master   teachers?
2-What hard to find master teachers of Buddhist meditation are out there and what is there approach to teaching?
Thank you :)

user295: When looking for a skilful teacher you have to look at:

Instructions
Teaching

Instructions

easily understandable 
easily actionable without abstraction or philosophy
theory backed by practice - Dhamma is to be realised at the experimental level. If there is too much theoretical teaching which is not matched with practical experience this will be a issue as your understanding will be flawed

Teaching

Teaching should be traced backed to the Suttas
Should be taught through what has been practice and experienced
Should deal with the following in some stage of advice:

Calming the fabrications - actionable and practical instruction to do so
Being equanimous to sensations with the understanding of its true nature
Practical and actionable way to reduce perception / view as means to calm the creation of fabrications
Analysis of mind and matter, aggregates, faculties with a view to understand and clam the fabrications
Develop understanding of cause and effect
Identify fabrications, how they are created and how they dissolve



user2143: As far as my curiosity managed to spread to far, I think Ajaan Fuang is a great example. Not much is known about him except for a few transcribed talks and some quotes here and there, and some stories told by his students of their experiences with him.
One thing I remember about him, as far as being different goes, was that one time some Thai Monk Magazine (or something along those lines) went after him, trying to get an interview. When he heard about this, he avoided them at all cost. Finally they managed to pin him down somewhere, and asked him, "Could you give us a dhamma talk?" His response was, "Yes. Today's dhamma talk is one word: 'buddho.' If you can't keep this in mind, there really isn't any point in my telling you anything else."
Another great quote is,

If I have to explain everything, you'll get used to having things handed to you on a platter. And then what will you do when problems come up in your meditation and you don't have any experience in figuring things out on your own?

I highly recommend the book Awareness Itself available for free at DhammaTalks.org.

151: <p>What teachers of Buddhist meditation can guide students skillfully? I mean, teachers who are lay or monastic, teachers who are alive, teachers who have died but left skillful dhamma works to guide students and teachers of any tradition that follow the Buddha's words from the three baskets. </p>

<p>*I am basically asking about teachers that might not be we'll known but the few students that do know always praise the teacher's approach as skillful.</p>

<hr>

<p>Edited from:</p>

<p>It seems there are some great and unique meditation teachers out there that aren't as popular as some teachers, possibly because they shunned publicity, didn't allow teachings to be recorded, lived far from the world in hard to get to places and so on. 
.    So the questions are:</p>

<p>1- What tends to be the differences between the more  charismatic or popular teachers and the less known but master   teachers?
2-What hard to find master teachers of Buddhist meditation are out there and what is there approach to teaching?
Thank you :)
It seems there are some great and unique meditation teachers out there that aren't as popular as some teachers, possibly because they shunned publicity, didn't allow teachings to be recorded, lived far from the world in hard to get to places and so on. 
.    So the questions are:</p>

<p>1- What tends to be the differences between the more  charismatic or popular teachers and the less known but master   teachers?
2-What hard to find master teachers of Buddhist meditation are out there and what is there approach to teaching?</p>

<p>Thank you :)</p>
 295: <p>When looking for a skilful teacher you have to look at:</p>

<ul>
<li>Instructions</li>
<li>Teaching</li>
</ul>

<p>Instructions</p>

<ul>
<li>easily understandable </li>
<li>easily actionable without abstraction or philosophy</li>
<li>theory backed by practice - Dhamma is to be realised at the experimental level. If there is too much theoretical teaching which is not matched with practical experience this will be a issue as your understanding will be flawed</li>
</ul>

<p>Teaching</p>

<ul>
<li>Teaching should be traced backed to the Suttas</li>
<li>Should be taught through what has been practice and experienced</li>
<li>Should deal with the following in some stage of advice:
<ul>
<li>Calming the fabrications - actionable and practical instruction to do so</li>
<li>Being equanimous to sensations with the understanding of its true nature</li>
<li>Practical and actionable way to reduce perception / view as means to calm the creation of fabrications</li>
<li>Analysis of mind and matter, aggregates, faculties with a view to understand and clam the fabrications</li>
<li>Develop understanding of cause and effect</li>
<li>Identify fabrications, how they are created and how they dissolve</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
 2143: <p>As far as my curiosity managed to spread to far, I think <a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/fuang/" rel="nofollow">Ajaan Fuang</a> is a great example. Not much is known about him except for a few transcribed talks and some quotes here and there, and some stories told by his students of their experiences with him.</p>

<p>One thing I remember about him, as far as being different goes, was that one time some Thai Monk Magazine (or something along those lines) went after him, trying to get an interview. When he heard about this, he avoided them at all cost. Finally they managed to pin him down somewhere, and asked him, "Could you give us a dhamma talk?" His response was, "Yes. Today's dhamma talk is one word: 'buddho.' If you can't keep this in mind, there really isn't any point in my telling you anything else."</p>

<p>Another great quote is,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If I have to explain everything, you'll get used to having things handed to you on a platter. And then what will you do when problems come up in your meditation and you don't have any experience in figuring things out on your own?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I highly recommend the book <code>Awareness Itself</code> available for free at <a href="http://www.dhammatalks.org/ebook_index.html" rel="nofollow">DhammaTalks.org</a>.</p>
