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Re: Getting back on track after a failing teacher

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:53 pm
by Karma Dorje
Indrajala wrote:
dzogchungpa wrote:So you have reason to believe that that approach has produced liberation from suffering more swiftly than other approaches, in recent times?
Sure, and it isn't just Buddhists who have such ideas. The Stoics, Jains, Confucians and other schools of thought often taught very similar ideas and practices.
Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. - H.L. Mencken

But hey, dude. Knock yourself out. In my experience, loud proponents of Stoicism are just looking for a high sounding excuse for why they can't get laid.

Re: Getting back on track after a failing teacher

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:54 pm
by dzogchungpa
Indrajala wrote:
dzogchungpa wrote:So you have reason to believe that that approach has produced liberation from suffering more swiftly than other approaches, in recent times?
Sure, and it isn't just Buddhists who have such ideas. The Stoics, Jains, Confucians and other schools of thought often taught very similar ideas and practices.
Well, my understanding is that according to Vajrayana things are different now, and that kind of approach is not as effective anymore. Maybe you don't agree, but I think they might have a point. All of those movements you mention are quite ancient aren't they?

Re: Getting back on track after a failing teacher

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 6:56 pm
by Huseng
Sherab wrote:I would certainly like to hear more from you regarding sexual abuse in Tibetan monasteries, how many monasteries are involved, how widespread it is in those monasteries, and how you come upon such information.
This is the tip of the iceberg:

Bhutan Makes Condoms Available To Buddhist Monks To Stop Spread Of STDs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/2 ... 76401.html

But then this isn't necessarily limited to Tibetan Buddhism of course. Still, when you have these traditions claiming to have so many realized masters, why arn't they preventing this sort of thing with their foreknowledge and other purported abilities?

Re: Getting back on track after a failing teacher

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:01 pm
by Huseng
dzogchungpa wrote:Well, my understanding is that according to Vajrayana things are different now, and that kind of approach is not as effective anymore. Maybe you don't agree, but I think they might have a point. All of those movements you mention are quite ancient aren't they?
In the Heian period plenty of people sincerely believed this was the Dharma Ending Age, so liberation was no longer possible. You could best hope for rebirth in the Pure Land. Nobody could become liberated any longer.

I don't accept such beliefs. I don't accept that the Buddha's original practices and teachings are ineffective.

The meaning of the Buddha's teachings are normally self-evident and their implications discussed in Abhidharma and commentary literature, or expressed through Mahāyāna literature at times. Ideas similar to those of the Buddha are found in other traditions which often note the same principles: simple living means less worries in life, a quiet mind leads to internal and external harmony, etc.

Re: Getting back on track after a failing teacher

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:03 pm
by DGA
This conversation has strayed some distance from the OP. In point of fact, it seems to me that the original poster's question has been answered; if I'm mistaken, please PM me and I'll reopen this thread.

Which is to say that I'm closing this thread before it descends further into speculation and the edges of slander.