Senseis

None of us is ever exclusively a student or a teacher. We are always both at the same time, and must always think of ourselves as such. A teacher can get you started on computers, but no one can teach you everything you need to know. At a certain point, you must teach yourself through trial and error, looking over other people's shoulders, futzing around, figuring out what methods work best for you. The same is true in life. A teacher can guide you, but in the end, you have to make your own way.

As you figure things out on your own, you share what you've learned with others. This is the Japanese idea of the sensei. We often see the word translated as "teacher" in English, but literally it means "one who has gone before". In that regard, we are all senseis to somebody.

Zen masters say, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." This means two things: When you're ready to learn, all things appear before you as teachers. And when you're ready to teach, the teacher within you appears. The more you recognize the help you've received from those who gave ahead of you, the easier it becomes to give of yourself to those coming up behind.

~Philip Toshio Sudo