Daily Dharma

In this tradition of Buddhist meditation, teachers are referred to as kalyana mitta. This is a word in the Pali language meaning "spiritual friend." The Buddha himself was known as a kalyana mitta, in that out of compassion he pointed the way to liberation.

One of the Buddha's disciples once said to him: "It seems, venerable sir, that half the holy life is having good spiritual friends." Each of us can benefit greatly from having friends who genuinely support our spiritual journey.

[...from the Insight Meditation Workbook, part on audio program by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein, pg. 7]

Comments

[RuhiWarrior19]

Alláh-u-abhá! (A traditional Bahá'í greeting)
My name is Ruhi, and I am a member of an interfaith site called AllBeliefs. I have been looking around the blogosphere for a few Buddhists who might be interested in joining and strike me as intelligent people. We have no Buddhists as far as we know, and we need some Buddhists to come share their take on many different religious topics in our discussions. This invitation is being sent out on personal basis to Buddhists who strike me as worth inviting, so please forgive my solicitation.

http://allbeliefs.com/

God Bless,
Ruhi

[Tibetan Calligraphy Student]

A little more about Sharon Salzberg

Sharon Salzberg is a teacher of Asian meditation practices, particularly vipassanā (mindfulness) and mettā (loving-kindness) methods. Her approaches also touch on the Brahmavihara meditations. All of these methods have their origins in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Together with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, she founded the Insight Meditation Society in 1974. She also co-founded (with Goldstein) the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in 1989. In 1998 they co-founded The Forest Refuge as a long-term meditation retreat center.

Her teaching focuses on vipassana and brahmavihara meditations.

[Koho]

That quote, "It seems, venerable sir, that half the holy life is having good spiritual friends," is usually attributed to the Buddha's cousin Ananda.

What's even better was the Buddha's response: "No, Ananda, it's everything."

--Koho

[Rob feels pain and suffeting]

Please let me expand on your post:

Kalyāṇa-mittatā (Pali; Skt.: -mitratā) is a Buddhist concept of "spiritual friendship" within Buddhist community life, applicable to both monastic and householder relationships. One involved in such a relationship is known as a "good friend," "virtuous friend," "noble friend" or "admirable friend" (kalyāṇa-mitta, -mitra).

Since early Buddhist history, these relationships have involved spiritual teacher-student dyads as well as communal peer groups. In general, such is a supportive relationship based on shared Buddhist ethical values and the pursuit of enlightenment.

In contemporary Western society, this concept has gained increased currency within the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) (UK) and Jack Kornfield's Spirit Rock Meditation Center (USA).