Levels and learning and cultivating according to your level.

Talking about levels and the mistake of teaching higher levels to students who are not yet up to that
level.

For example, if a student is not up the high standards of morality, and still not that kind and liable to
get angry and bite back at others, or extremely promiscuous and desirous of fame and money etc.
and we start teaching them higher teachings of non-duality such as there is no difference between
giving and not giving, or it doesn’t matter whether you help someone who needs your help or not
from the ultimate standpoint, because they are both worldly actions empty of reality.

If we teach such things to someone with a lower standard of morality, then they will consider that
they don’t need to be moral or good or kind or helpful because everything is non-dual in any case
and none of it matters what I do. All I have to do is consider emptiness in everything and I can act
and behave as I please. I do not have to change my character and become virtues. I guarantee,
someone with this philosophy will not develop. Morality, virtue and pristine character are a
requirement for spiritual development. An immoral person may sneak into some higher states of
mind, or develop some energy but they will fall, and the fall will be immensely painful. Simply
speaking, higher wisdom of non-duality and emptiness cannot be achieved without high levels of
virtue because it would go against the nature of the universe.

Because of this we have to be careful to whom we give teachings to and what level we teach at.

In fact, it will be harmful to that person if you teach them non-duality when they are immoral, and
they cause a further downfall to the person and harm to those around them.

So, it is important that the higher teachings be taught only to those at that level. The ancient
masters would only teach the higher teachings to few disciples that they tested and found had the
right qualities of character to hold the higher knowledge. Else, it would be a curse to the disciple and
harm them.

Someone who is not virtues and does not hold to higher principles of morality, cannot develop into
higher levels of tranquillity, cannot develop into the higher levels of wisdom. Before wisdom of
states of no-duality arises, before tranquillity that allows wisdom to arise one must have virtue.
Virtue itself is an energy, it is a power. A person with virtue can walk without fear. The most
dangerous creatures in the darkest forests will not harm a being with great virtue. It is said that
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will not let anyone develop on the path or develop higher knowledge and
higher powers, because they know that such people with such powers would not only create havoc
for others but also be damaging for themselves.

Knowledge of the higher teachings are easily available through all sorts of media. Disciples are
confused regarding where to start and how to go about cultivating. The highest hidden knowledge is
available at the click of a button. It is all a hodgepodge of information and misinformation, all out of
context, and the student who has aroused the desire for cultivation, must come through all of this.

One must be humble and stay to one level and perfect it without rushing on and wasting time and
damaging one’s chances of progress, then becoming despondent.

The teacher must know that this student needs morality, and not non-duality. This student must
know to restrict themselves in terms of how they behave. They must become mindful of their
thoughts and intentions. What are they seeking wealth in the world, are they seeking power and
fame? Are they seeking through the dharma to earn money or make a living or increase their self-
importance? Whatever the motivations are, they must be checked.

They must watch how they speak and react in themselves and to each other. They must change.
They must never say things to harm others, do things to harm others, and practice to such an extent
that do not even think things to harm others. They must become tender hearted and gentle with
themselves and the world around them. Then only can they teach the highest wisdom of non-duality
to reach any true benefit for them. Otherwise, non-duality can be taken on as some kind of
perception that the immoral student applies to the world. A perfect excuse for laziness and unwise
non-action. Real non-dulaity can only be understood with the depths of tranquillity and true
tranquillity can only arise with morality.

If people are not taught to their level, they become confused, they won’t understand the true
meaning of the teachings. They end up harming themselves and others and the dharma itself.