You should not accept as your Vajra Master anyone who is arrogant, filled with self-pride, ignorant, false, or does not have bodhicitta. The “Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” do not apply to false gurus, only to virtuous masters who abide by the precepts and understand dharma principles.
Erroneous View No. 72: Acknowledging a conceited, arrogant, and overbearing person as a Vajra master. Some people have huge self-pride. They arrogantly boast of themselves. They are completely ignorant of the Buddha-dharma and do not understand dharma principles. They do not abide by the precepts, do not have bodhicitta, and do not possess holy realization. All they have is arrogance, and all they do is deceive their disciples. You should not acknowledge such a person as your vajra master. If you do, you are on a wrong path.
Erroneous View No. 73: Acknowledging that following the “Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” requires one to pay respect to a fake holy master. Since the publication of “The Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion,” numerous people no longer dare to oppose their master. Because “The Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” has such a rule, people think they may not oppose their master regardless of whether he is good or bad. You must now clearly understand that this is exactly where you get trapped. Although “The Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” provide that you must respect your master, you must first determine whether your master is acting in accordance with the dharma and whether he truly possesses the qualifications of a master. If he follows erroneous views or even evil views, do you still want to follow him? Wouldn’t you leave him? If you do not leave him, you will be stained by that same dark karma. If you do not leave right away, you will be doomed. You should not respect false “holy masters.” “The Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” requires you to respect true holy masters, not false ones. Therefore, using “The Fifty Stanzas of Guru Devotion” as the basis to demand that you respect false “holy masters” reflects an erroneous view.
Erroneous View No. 74: Acknowledging acceptance of a master who has forsaken bodhicitta. If your master no longer has bodhicitta and does not cultivate himself based on bodhicitta, it is wrong for you to still follow and approve of him. No matter what status he may have, such as that of a dharma king, venerable one, great rinpoche, or great dharma master, he is not a good master if he does not have bodhicitta. He is a false person of holy virtue and has fallen into erroneous views.
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