Good Riddance to Zen Fraud

[edededed]

Interesting guys, thanks for your inputs.

There is always a reason in the end, it seems (or maybe several) - it is then our job to choose (or judge) them, I guess.

[bestill]

Criminal, thief or abuser at least he was accussed of sexually abusing adult women and not young boys or animals as some religious leaders have been lately. bestill

[I am...]

Great people, these Buddhists. So peaceful and enlightened and shit.

Going off of what I have read here (which is admittedly limited) your opinion does not appear to be very objective. For many of us that practice Buddhism, the proof is simple: practice and it works. I am sorry that you may not have found many balanced Buddhists in life thus far, but that does not mean that they do not exist. I have observed however that at times people that are imbalanced in some fashion often gravitate towards that which they feel might balance them better. Those in this "phase" of being tend to be poor spokespersons for that which they have gravitated towards.

Admittedly, when I generalize about a large group of people, the overall gist of what I say is subjective and based on limited personal experience, although there is a significant amount of factual or objective data mixed into my opinion. I also don't think people who make general claims to objectivity, without specifying the exact context, are credible.

Of course I know nothing about your background, I am..., so I don't mean you when I say that I distinguish between formally trained Buddhists and others, such as Westerners who are mostly into the philosophy and the reading and have not been fully exposed to the culture of a Buddhist society or monastery life. It is solely representatives of the latter group who have influenced my opinion about Buddhism in general, and without exception in an extremely violent and negative way.

It is difficult to find a meme in American society that is not propaganda or the opposite of the reality. My experiences with the Buddhists I've described above seems to follow this pattern of inversion wherein the reality of people who have created a public relations image of being peaceful and loving is the exact opposite, and to such an incredible extreme that it is difficult to imagine peace being part of the goal of this institution, regardless of its variety of sects, etc.

There are always exceptions to generalizations.

Thank you for the explanation, as always, context tends to help. I have observed much of what you described in people that profess to be buddhist/spiritual/and compassionate as well. All I have to add is that there are two sides to the coin, as well as a lot of grey area in between those two sides. As far as the kosaku and its use, I am sure it can be used abusively, but it also can be used to great effect to deepen ones clarity. I no longer practice with a tradition that uses it but I found that its proper use is pretty straight forward and simple to understand and that it can serve as a tool towards deeper practice when used in that context.

[Dajenarit]

Well I guess that's why mindfulness is so stressed.

You can wholeheartedly believe or know something as a right and proper principle but sticking to it in the moment where it matters, when filled with unabiding rage or negative emotion is usually the hard part without much practice. Peer pressure added to that makes things trickier for most people.

Not to make excuses for anyone, but all that stuff is a lifelong pursuit and if you aren't actively practicing it you wont reap any positive benefits. It'll just remain empty talk.

Meditation builds patience and equanimity but you need those things to want to sit down and meditate in the first place. Grey area is an understatement almost with Buddhism...