In the oral traditions wherein teachings are handed down from master to student, these teachings were not passed from generation to generation intact, but each successive master modified the teaching not so much to the master’s individual tastes, but to accommodate the relationship between the guru and the disciple.  These teachings are not learned by rote as in Western education, but rather that the understanding of the master is transferred to the disciple as inspiration – an inspiration that stimulates the student to develop their own apprehension of the subject, however congruent to the original teaching is apprehension may be.