Hello Lair,
The English translation there, “The Good Friend” is,
““Bhikkhus, in regard to external factors, I do not perceive another single factor so helpful as good friendship for a bhikkhu who is a learner, who has not attained perfection but lives aspiring for the supreme security from bondage. Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who has a good friend abandons what is unwholesome and develops what is wholesome.”
When a bhikkhu has good friends,
And is reverential and respectful,
Doing what his friends advise,
Clearly comprehending and mindful,
He may progressively attain
The destruction of all fetters.”
1. One REQUIRES a teacher only until the Soatapanna stage is attained.
2. The teacher MUST be a Sotapanna or higher.
3. Once one attains the Sotapanna stage, one could go the rest of the way without a teacher. But, of course, a teacher at a higher level could be helpful.
I think the above translation is compatible with that.
Of course, a teacher MUST ALWAYS be at or above the Sotapanna stage. Otherwise, how can he/she instruct how to get there?