Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Gazelle wrote:

That may be so about the poor porn guys. That aside, so according to you (?) we must perfectly follow the precepts to be true Buddhists. Anything less, we are not Buddhists. You might want to clarify your position, and maybe you might want to clarify why you are focusing on poor dead Trungpa who was referenced in passing for a humorous remark he made.

I'm not saying that you have to follow the training precepts perfectly but my definition of the 1st step of calling yourself a 'Buddhist' is certainly a sincere effort to practice the 5 precepts as best you can. I use Trungpa as an example because you mentioned him and it doesn't seem like he made a sincere effort to follow the 5 precepts.

Thank you for sharing your opinion.

Trungpa was certainly not an exemplar of moral purity, but he actively discouraged this kind of behavior in his students and also worked very hard to spread the Dharma.

From what I've read of his writings, his teachings are a valuable application of the Buddha's teachings to the challenges facing a modern Western practitioner. I'd go so far as to say that he's done more to further the Buddha's cause than any of us here. Maybe this goes some way towards "making him a Buddhist" albeit a very imperfect one?

Thank you for sharing your opinion.

plwk wrote:

phpBB .

Yes! I won!

Dan74 wrote:Trungpa was certainly not an exemplar of moral purity, but he actively discouraged this kind of behavior in his students and also worked very hard to spread the Dharma.

So he actively discouraged this kind of behaviour while still doing it himself?

C'mon people.... let's get real!

Gazelle wrote:

Dan74 wrote:Trungpa was certainly not an exemplar of moral purity, but he actively discouraged this kind of behavior in his students and also worked very hard to spread the Dharma.

So he actively discouraged this kind of behaviour while still doing it himself?

C'mon people.... let's get real!

Just like a doctor who is sick, can still prescribe medicine and tell patients how to get healthy again, so can an unawakened person encourage the practice that leads towards awakening.

Just like a doctor who is sick, can still prescribe medicine and tell patients how to get healthy again, so can an unawakened person encourage the practice that leads towards awakening.

The doctor is sick with the same 'dis-ease', yet does not take their own recommended prescribed medicine....that's

I think, what makes one a Buddhist is seeing danger in saṃsāra, and aspiring to something better than endless dispute.

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:I think, what makes one a Buddhist is seeing danger in saṃsāra, and aspiring to something better than endless dispute.

I agree, Bhante.

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:I think, what makes one a Buddhist is seeing danger in saṃsāra, and aspiring to something better than endless dispute.

Yep...and I'm following your advice Bhante by, "taking an active role in protecting the Buddha’s Dispensation from further decline."


http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Pesala/pesala.html
"Bhikkhu Pesala has had to endure all kinds of difficulties over the years due to his wish to adhere strictly to the Vinaya rules, as practised by his most venerable preceptor. Many monks nowadays do not observe even the basic training rules for bhikkhus; they regard the monastic training as impractical in the modern world. Bhikkhu Pesala has opposed this lax and negative attitude throughout his life as a monk, and urges lay supporters to take a more active role in protecting the Buddha’s Dispensation from further decline."

Gazelle wrote:Yep...and I'm following your advice Bhante by, "taking an active role in protecting the Buddha’s Dispensation from further decline."

Well, that is interesting.
Perhaps you can tell us how you are protecting the Buddha's Dispensation from further decline.

Ben wrote:Well, that is interesting.
Perhaps you can tell us how you are protecting the Buddha's Dispensation from further decline.

By practicing the noble eightfold path according to the Pali Canon.

Gazelle wrote:

Just like a doctor who is sick, can still prescribe medicine and tell patients how to get healthy again, so can an unawakened person encourage the practice that leads towards awakening.

The doctor is sick with the same 'dis-ease', yet does not take their own recommended prescribed medicine....that's

I think if we all took the medicine, we would not be here.
Perhaps there is more subtlety to the human condition that you seem to be seeing, Gazelle. A person can be a sage in some respects and deluded in others. He could be capable of sublime acts of selfless compassion and yet wallow in the cesspit of self-destruction. Sometimes the most extreme contradictions coexist. Uncomfortable to conceive of, yes. Hard to get a grasp on, yes. But then again, reality rarely fits neatly into any conceptual straight-jacket.

What makes one a buddhist depends on ones point of view.

One will say one is a buddhist because one is on the path as one relies on the path but when one reaches at a certain level, one does not see the path as there are no paths to be found. As there are no paths to be found, there cannot be a buddhist as there are no such things in the first place.

Words are like signposts and are there to direct one along the path.....don't cling to them.