How to Become a Student: Interview with Acharya Eric Spiegel (Part 3)

by Patrick Groneman

Interested in going deeper with your spiritual practice?  This week I continue my interview Acharya Eric Spiegel, one of IDP's three "lineage mentors", who explains what the process of becoming a student in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition is like.  Part one of his interview is available here,  part two here.

I've also interviewed Sharon Salzberg, who spoke about her experience with the mentorship dynamic in Theravadan Buddhist schools and Roshi Enkyo O'Hara who spoke about  practicing at the Village Zendo.

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Interview with Acharya Eric Spiegel (Part 3)

Q: Your title is Acharya, which I've heard means something like "master teacher" in Sanskrit. are there other levels of teacher in Shambhala? what are the differences?

Acharya Spiegel: The word “Acharya” is Sanskrit. It literally means “Teacher". But it doesn’t just mean that you’ve set up shop and hung out a shingle and now you’re a teacher. It assumes that you’ve gone through some fairly extensive training. Within the Shambhala mandala there are many many teachers. That is part of the way we train, taking our seat in the oral tradition stream of transmission which flows from the Buddha himself. When I was quite young, living in Boulder, I was asked to teach a class, and it began. I honestly knew approximately zero at the time, but perhaps that was one approximation more than the next person, I suppose. In any case, it was the beginning of my training.

There are about 30 Acharyas worldwide in Shambhala. Although there are many other teachers in Shambhala, only the Acharyas have been appointed by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche to directly represent himself and the Shambhala lineage. That is really the main distinction, since some of the other teachers are certainly as good in every way.

The next level of teacher in Shambhala is “Shastri”. Shastri is also Sanskrit and means "teacher learned in the texts and commentaries". The Shastris are generally the senior teachers in a given Center. IDP’s Ethan Nichtern is the Shastri for New York. Although he travels as much as I do, it seems, technically he is based in NY and I am location-less.

Since we are an older community (by western Buddhist standards) quite a number of people have had time steep in the dharma and become excellent teachers. They are often called “Senior Teachers”. So then Acharya is really just “Even More Senior Teacher”… or possibly “Most Incredibly….”? Although saying Master seems like good shorthand, it is not really in the Sanskrit.

You will find Acharyas in some other Tibetan based communities. Shambhala is somewhat unique in that all of the Acharyas are western raised and trained. The same word in Tibetan is “Loppon”. Sometimes you will hear this title in certain sanghas – Her Eminence the Venerable Khandro Rinpoche has appointed several western students as her Loppons. The title is the identical to Acharya, and confers the same level of dignity or honor.

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Eric Spiegel is an Acharya (Senior Teacher) in the Shambhala Buddhist Tradition who studied with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and studies currently with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. He teaches frequently at the Shambhala Meditation Center of NYC, and is available for interview by contacting the center's front office and requesting an interview.  His teaching schedule is available here.

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