manas wrote:sometimes
but/then/again/we/are/dealing/with/uninstructed/people
of/course/they/will/have/pride
and/knowing/nothing/as/yet/of/dhamma/they/cant/be/expected
to/have/any/faith/as/yet
I'm not disputing what you're saying.
But here's the crux:
How wholesome is it that someone who themselves is not fully convinced of the Buddha's teachings nor is thoroughly educated and attained in them (which refers to many people who consider themselves "Buddhists" or "aspiring Buddhists"),
encourages others to be convinced of the Buddha's teachings and to practice accordingly?
And secondly, there is the danger of unilaterally setting oneself up as another's teacher, and even as the one and only means that another person may have to reach enlightenment. How wholesome is that?
I'm not against niceness; I do think though that there is a real danger of developing a kind of codependent or otherwise unhealthy relationship with others, be they newcomers or oldheads.
I don't think it is wholesome to consider oneself responsible for another person's faith in Buddhism, at least not as long as one isn't significantly advanced yet.
binocular wrote:I think that people who are really interested will stick around, even if this means enduring some harsh treatment.
maybe
but/i/still/dont/see/why/they/should/be/made/to/endure/that
Nobody suggested that they should be made to endure harsh treatment.
It's just that if one sets out on a path of effort - whether it is worldly effort or spiritual effort - one is likely to encounter obstacles and setbacks. It probably won't be plain sailing. In that sense, one ought to get ready for some trouble.
That's just how life is, for most people.
Again, I'm not condoning or justifying harsh treatment. It's just that one can operate out of only that much faith and attainment as one actually has, not out of as much as one wishes one would have, or out of as much as one deludes oneself into believing one has. One needs to be realistic about these things, in regards to oneself and in regards to others, whether one is a newbie or an oldhead.