Is it a bad heavy karma to criticize or give up your guru?

Question

"However it is said in the Guhyasamaja Root Tantra:"

"If sentient beings commit an action As grave as the five heinous crimes He [still] can attain the superior Vajra Vehicle, But who from within disregards his master Shall never attain, even if exerted."

"That means having given up your guru, criticized the guru, or having heresy or broken samaya with one’s guru. It is not possible to explain how heavy the negative karma is from these things. One who criticizes, hurts, or belittles one’s guru from the heart will not achieve anything in this life; even if one practices one won’t achieve anything."

https://www.lamayeshe.com/advice/killing-ones-parents

Does asking a sceptical question count as criticism? Such as why the guru is charging x-amount for teachings? And giving up a bad guru is it bad? Does it matter if the guru is buddhist or not? Perhaps this only applies to certain types of buddhism?

Answer 1

Heavy bad kamma is always a matter of strong wrong view, and ingratitude is such especially if it's toward real and lasting help: Toward one's Gods, Parents, people of goodness.

Much done.

It's how ever not bad if based on right view and if the relation is a more or lesser good trade with the world, it would be even good to seek for leaving, correct of course and not just for another similar way.

[Not given for trade, exchange, stacks and what ever relations not dedicated toward real liberation]

Answer 2

This is a complex subject and I will defer to those who practice vajrayana, but from what I understand it is the giving up of vows that incur the very heavy karmic cost.

Briefly, when someone with full understanding of what they are getting into, chooses to take the vajrayana vows with regard to a particular guru, then if they break those vows ... there is very heavy karmic cost.

The solution is simple: if you are at all unsure - whether the guru might be bad, whether they have your best interest at heart, whether you are capable of keeping the vows, whether they are capable of keeping the vows, whether the vows are worth keeping even if the guru manifests utterly reprehensible non-dharmic behavior... don’t take the vows. Period.

Trouble comes when the student and/or the guru are not ready. So be ready and completely sure you are ready and your guru is ready before you embark.

Answer 3

It's kinda simple logic: if guru does something that is ultimately beneficial, but in your confusion you think it's wrong, then by denying the guru you are shutting the door to that goodness, hereby creating bad karma.

If guru is bad then you're not. But how do you know, if by definition he is the more enlightened, not you, so how can you have capacity to correctly judge him?

In Vajrayana "type of Buddhism" there is unique situation when the guru may do crazy stuff on purpose to provoke you and create the teaching moments. So in that school it is even harder to trust your guru but also that much more important to trust, so you two can keep working.

In other "types" it's simpler in the sense that you can follow basic guidelines like the guru is not supposed to do anything immoral, so that makes it easier to identify what's what.