Originally posted by Isis:
As the topic suggest...
any criteria and signals that we can look at?
I believe anyone can share the dharma, whether to your non-buddhist friends, or to buddhist friends on the internet or not on the internet, but to be an 'official', 'qualified' Buddhist dharma teacher, you should be 'qualified' to teach by your Buddhist teachers from the respective lineages.
Also when we talk about taking someone as our 'official teacher'/'guru'/'spiritual guide', my master say we should look out for 'ming2 shi1' meaning enlightened persons, or someone who has ming2 xin1 jian4 xing4. That means that the person has entered the noble path, has realised the true nature of reality, and therefore is able to guide others towards the noble path as well. Otherwise he can only talk and discuss, but with no first hand experience and intuitive insights, he would not be able to closely guide others along the path to enlightenment.
So definitely if you want to be a dharma teacher then you need to be highly enlightened yourself, and be authenticated by the teachers of the various traditions in Buddhism, and of course received the permission to teach by their teachers.
And other than being highly enlightened, having first hand experience and intuitive insights, of course you must have certain knowledge of the dharma, and be able to teach the dharma in a way that the students can understand and apply them.
There are many more 'criterias' like having strong morality... right motivation (compassion, and the patience and willingness) to teach.. etc etc.
Also some good reads would be:
SPIRITUAL GUIDES: Pass or Fail?,
Code of Ethics for Spiritual Guides,
THE BUDDHA AND THE QUALITIES OF A DHARMA TEACHER