Before teaching others, first cultivate yourself.

Achieving some level of success in cultivation,

you will reach the point where your behavior speaks

more loudly than mere words.

Usually when finding something we like we want to tell others about it. It is the same with Buddhadharma. And often, it seems the newer we are to the practice, the more we want to tell others about it. Very understandable, but if we cannot yet do something how can we teach others how to do it?

If we do not yet find a lessening of our anger and a sense of calmness through the practice, how can we teach others to accomplish these?

If we speak of letting go of worry and fear, but are often anxious, how can we convince others to let go of worry?

When we try to teach before we do, others will resist us. And understandably so. When we are more firm in our cultivation, our behavior will reflect our words. We will be viewed as experienced and trustworthy. And we will then be able to truly teach.