
Truth: This is not true. To be a teacher in the New Kadampa Tradition, one has to have some personal experience of the teachings and meditations in order to be most effective in helping others spiritually.
This complaint generally arises in the minds of those who feel that all Dharma teachers need to be Geshes who have studied for decades in monasteries, or the nearest Western equivalent. However, the NKT never claims that its teachers are already fully trained or perfect. They are students themselves. Until they attain enlightenment, NKT teachers are in training, making effort daily to improve their own moral discipline, concentration and wisdom, as well as their compassion and love for their students (which are also the minimum commitments for a Mahayana Spiritual Guide as explained in Lamrim, the stages of the path).
When most people go to local yoga classes, for instance, they do not insist on being taught only by those who have perfected every yoga asana over many years’ training. Their only expectation is for their teacher to know more than them, and to be a few steps ahead.
Some teachers in the NKT have been studying and practicing for decades and have a vast depth of knowledge and experience. Others have been studying and practicing for only a few years. However, although there are a variety of NKT teachers, all of them are the same and effective insofar as they are acting as spiritual friends, simply teaching pure Dharma to help students find a happy life in accordance with the tradition of Buddha Shakyamuni, Je Tsongkhapa and Atisha as presented in the West by Geshe Kelsang.