Learning Buddhism: Following the Dharma or Teachers?

As long as one avoids personal worship and refrains from exalting any single individual, and instead practices the Dharma through proper contemplation and realization, that is considered relying on the Dharma. Relying on the Dharma is difficult. Some profound teachings require meditative power beyond one's current capacity to realize, and at such times, the vast majority of people choose to rely on individuals—specifically, those who have already gained renown—believing that since these individuals are widely recognized by the majority, they must be correct. However, we fail to consider who this majority actually consists of, or even who the overwhelming majority really are. Is the Saha world not utterly saturated with ordinary beings? Are the wisdom and perceptions of ordinary beings truly reliable? Even those with shallow meditative insight—can their wisdom and perceptions be trusted? Are sages and absolute truth determined by popular vote? Yet, reliance on individuals remains overwhelmingly common. No matter how earnestly the Buddha cautioned us to rely on the Dharma, those lacking sufficient wisdom, merit, and meditative stability simply cannot rely on the Dharma and inevitably turn to relying on people. Naturally, prominent individuals gain great prominence.