pilgrim wrote:
Dear bhante,
I'd like to see that happen too. I appreciate both Aj Brahm and the WPP sangha. I have heard that Aj Brahm had made repeated overtures for reconciliation and forgiveness and I deeply respect his humility for this. I have also attended talks by the sangha of WPP. Although I respect these venerable teachers, I have to admit that some of their talks which often touch on aspects of forgiveness, acceptance, compassion and kindness sound hollow. The sooner they reconcile, the better it would be for the community which draws their inspiration from these teachers. I have been wronged before too and frankly, I sometimes think that even a little worldling like me has a greater capacity for forgiveness, so it is incredibly frustrating that they can't see the immense damage their actions or inaction is causing.
until recently I too had the view (against my better judgement) that Ajahn Brahm and his supporters were the ones who were wrong in this debate. This was because of the storng faith I had in some of the teachers who were criticizing Ajahn Brahm.
I have been criticizing Ajahn Brahm myself on some occasions, even though I did try to remain silent. I did not want to get involved in this debate, because I saw it as a potential way of creating unnecessary bad kamma.
Resently I questioned my teachers and I discovered that I don't agree with them in everything anymore. First thing that came into my mind then was Ajahn Brahm and the bhikkhuni debate. I rethought about it and did some new research.
I do understand both sides of this debate. Please be patient with the different sides. There is a reason why people like me can be critical of Ajahn Brahm. But we can snap out of it in time.