[chef] How does a definition know which file or template to use?

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I have a definition that uses several files and templates to build a tomcat
base skeleton. When I call the definition from a recipe in another cookbook it
can not find the files nor templates as it is looking in the callers cookbooks
instead of the definitions. 

Can I direct the definition to look in the correct place or is there an
idiomatically chef way of accomplishing this?


Thank you 
Jono