I didn´t know him, but he seems like a very charismatic leader and genuinenly optimistic and cheerful person. Yes, he is, until you live with him at his monastery. Then you would see why people generally departed, never to return. There are more than 8 nice cabins on the monastery, but no other mon...

thanks for this. I don't know who this monk/lay person is, and I'm always interested in how/why senior monastics choose to disrobe. His behaviour had been declining for a long time. You can read more context in the letter which was released publically a few years ago, when he was asked to permanent...

thanks for this. I don't know who this monk/lay person is, and I'm always interested in how/why senior monastics choose to disrobe.

At one time female characteristics appeared on a monk. They told the Buddha. “Monks, I allow that discipleship, that ordination, those years as a monk, to be transferred to the nuns. The monks’ offenses that are in common with the nuns are to be cleared with the nuns. For the monks’ offenses that a...

This is a hotly debated topic with a variety of views depending on a number of factors. There is no one consensus, at least in the western world.

it’s probably not a good look for a monk to waffle on the ethics of abortion, but in terms of the rule, along with suicide and euthanasia, a monk would have to praise the action and then someone performs the action as a result. which leaves some wiggle room for talking around the subject. This is on...

I've not seen an instance where the Buddha is rebuking the monastics who brought the issue to the Buddha. They are usually described as good monastics that are doing so. That would be quite counterintuitive to the goal to rebuke good monks who bring a legitimate issue that can harm the Buddhasasana,...

Hi James, I've read this thread with great interest, and while I know that ordaining/disrobing are ultimately personal decisions, I think I'm not alone in hoping to hear more about how things have gone for you since disrobing! Best~ I should have stayed a bhikkhu. Now I'm back in worldly life and w...

When possible they should move to a country with universal health care. ;-) well technically, the citizens/laity are still supporting that free health care with their labor via taxes and it's typical for more than half of what you earn to be taken by the government for such "free" service...

https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-bu-vb-pc4/en/brahmali?layout=sidebyside&reference=main&notes=asterisk&highlight=true&script=latin This is indeed an interesting one, but some clarifications : At one time when the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthī in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery, Tena samaye...

It's an interesting thing in the Vinaya that monastics are supposed to "train" families as it were. This is something as a westerner among westerners I've done fairly often and do in my own online community. If you notice among the qualities there is "gives carelessly". There is ...

going strictly from the rules and ignoring culture, it's fine, so long as that monk is not teaching Dhamma. in the Sekhiya rules of the vinaya a monk should not teach Dhamma to people in a variety of conditions, wearing a hat, holding a weapon, etc, one of which is if the monastic is lower then the ...

no one can ever really control their desire, maybe by force of will for short periods, but not in the long term. Ideally the path of practice does it, whether lay person or monastic. I can confirm this from personal experience as I still have almost twice the years of practice as a lay person then I...

whatever age they develop enough wisdom and insight that will allow them to whether the ups and downs, stay ordained, and thrive in the holy life.

I know many sri lankan monks with PHDs , and a handful who are involved with social work and other programs. they are basically all city monks, not forest monks, so it makes sense in some ways as an extension of them being stewards of the community that they minister to, not unlike priests in christ...