tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post2107720946843547449..comments2023-12-08T01:00:57.240-08:00Comments on My Buddha is pink: Debating a monk is dukkhaRichard Harroldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02943119066949899198noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-13061087466489812602012-05-10T20:25:56.433-07:002012-05-10T20:25:56.433-07:00Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think I agr...Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think I agree with what you are saying, and that is most people have a notion about kamma that is too simplistic, plus they tend to view their current condition from a self-centered perspective. "I am white and Western, so I am lucky and must have good karma." Whatever is what I say ;)Richard Harroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943119066949899198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-7793113817652848712012-05-10T02:48:43.329-07:002012-05-10T02:48:43.329-07:00Hi Richard,
Thank you for this post!
Two or thre...Hi Richard,<br /><br />Thank you for this post!<br /><br />Two or three years ago, I attended a Buddhist Youth Conference in Sydney where monk explained the 'logic' of karma by suggesting that, when a boy gets run over by a car, that it is because of his previous bad karma. Similarly, in the same conference, a women in the audience asked a question to the panelists which first included an expression of gratitude for being born a White Westerner, because this was a symbol of good karma (by extension, implicitly implying that anyone who was non-White or non-Western have less-than-good karma)... assumptions that went unchallenged by the monastic folks on the panel.<br /><br />Anyway, it seems to me that part of the issue here is that the Buddha himself was never particularly intent on being a social reformer. His commitment was to personal transformation; and the Sangha that he built was an exterior apparatus to encourage the core work of interior transformation...<br /><br />Thus, part of the problem here, as I see it, is that many folks would not make a distinction between:<br />Sexual Identity<br />Sexual Desire<br />and Sexual Behaviour<br /><br />As you have put it, the monastic code itself mostly regulates the Behavioural aspect of our sexual experience, but many people who learn the code will extrapolate from that (without consciously making the distinction in the first place) to also regulate Desire and Identity.shineniganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08481855943586378949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-52915109963345426752012-04-04T04:59:36.780-07:002012-04-04T04:59:36.780-07:00I guess that would apply if what the monk wrote ac...I guess that would apply if what the monk wrote actually "hurt" me. I was not reacting because I felt hurt, the kind of hurt that I think you are alluding to. I was reacting to ignorance with the intention that maybe I might reveal it. I wasn't entirely successful, but neither was I entirely unsuccessful.Richard Harroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943119066949899198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-53095269273673601152012-04-03T23:07:57.081-07:002012-04-03T23:07:57.081-07:00We live in a world of words, and words sometimes &...We live in a world of words, and words sometimes "hurt us".....which we then transfer to the person who said such.<br />Ahh, but what was his intention? <br />I'm not making an easy excuse for the monk, <br />but rather writing this to learn it myself.Was Oncehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15787588883235992471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-69474080812368775062012-03-31T06:29:47.631-07:002012-03-31T06:29:47.631-07:00Thanks Pigasus. I don't mind the vow of celiba...Thanks Pigasus. I don't mind the vow of celibacy for monks and nuns. And I find the Pali canon more instructive and helpful than most Mahayana texts. But the politics of the Theravada Sangha really grind me at times.Richard Harroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943119066949899198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-14526050392038852082012-03-31T06:28:42.960-07:002012-03-31T06:28:42.960-07:00Hi SeaSpray and thank you for your comment. I don&...Hi SeaSpray and thank you for your comment. I don't believe it's a difference between Western and Eastern social values. Because the dismissive attitude that you can find at times in Asia toward gays is an attitude that was imported to Asia by the European missionaries. For the most part, Eastern culture was indifferent to homosexuality until the boats with the Jesus people showed up.Richard Harroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943119066949899198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-73869167183866881232012-03-30T20:47:11.692-07:002012-03-30T20:47:11.692-07:00I think the problem is trying to apply western soc...I think the problem is trying to apply western social values to a traditional monastic code.<br /><br />As a female I don't come out of it that well either!SeaSprayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11141024677016585817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-32516199390615829032012-03-29T21:12:11.710-07:002012-03-29T21:12:11.710-07:00So sorry this happened. All of my favorite monks a...So sorry this happened. All of my favorite monks are openly gay. Suzuki Roshi says, "Just to be you is enough, you know."<br /><br />I also feel your burn. I've had a recent run in with the Theravadan stance on celibacy (in our soto zen tradition we are free to marry who ever we want...) and referring to us as "Quasi-monks."<br /><br />That's fine; I like the translation of Unsui (novice monk) which means clouds and water. What a position!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-30715082259138305992012-03-29T19:58:54.068-07:002012-03-29T19:58:54.068-07:00Thanks. I admit I may have been a bit glib with my...Thanks. I admit I may have been a bit glib with my post, but this monk is an example of a doctrinal rut that Buddhism needs to shake off. But that's just my opinion.Richard Harroldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02943119066949899198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2998998547000813414.post-41661319242966586662012-03-29T18:39:13.988-07:002012-03-29T18:39:13.988-07:00Well said. It definitely was a double-standard. ...Well said. It definitely was a double-standard. Thanks for posting and for standing up. Understanding the Dhamma does not mean infallibility. Your posts continue to be a great source of strength and inspiration. Thanks for sharing!circlelovelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05604304510955868262noreply@blogger.com