You can be your own teacher

You do and experience.  If you can rise above yourself (your ego) and observe the doer and the experiencer, you can learn and be your own teacher. 

You are not just the one who is living your life, like most think.  You can be the one who observes you living your life, and understand why you feel as you do, think as you do and act how you do.  You can see you being the cause from this vantage point, and you can see how you can release yourself from pain.