SarathW wrote:As Buddhist we all understand the meaning of the fetter “Mana”. Thought that someone is higher , lower, or equal is due to not understanding Anatta. We all are different aggregates. So we can’t compare each other. Even two atoms are not identical. As far as we understand that we all are different, there is no problem. We should not promote any suggestions to separate, based on creed, color, sex, ethnic back ground religion or any of those discriminations.Buddha Dhamma has only one taste - the taste of freedom. Thats all we talk, nothing else.
Hi SarathW,
I don't understand your logic here... besides, I think that it's irrelevant to what Annapurna tried to suggest. (Whether it was a good suggestion, or not.)
I think it's obvious some people have some needs (or challenges) in their practices which are different to others... I can understand how they might feel it could be helpful for them to have a group where they can share their practices together, without having to deal with what they feel might be unnecessary obstructions from others, who might not understand these issues. I don't think it necessarily have anything to do with superiority, inferiority or equality... there's really no need for us to feel self-defensive about it, especially if there was nothing malignant about it.
I notice that some people would say something like, "Hey, this Buddha Dhamma have only one taste and I think that's really all that we should care about, nothing else..." whenever some people tried to create a support group of their own. (I read something similar in an article about a sangha which was all-black, and a white guy, a so-called "Buddhist leader" in the area, said it.)
I think that was quite unfortunate, and inappropriate. I sympathize a lot with women and other minority groups who practice... I'm deaf, and I'm literally the only one at the sanghas. It isn't easy for me. I sometimes feel like I'm Bodhidharma travelling to China, and there's no common language... I'm not even enlightened. I feel like I'm sitting at the wall for 9 years, waiting for the people around me to share their buddha-nature with me. (I practice with Mahayana people, so I think this is quite appropriate.)
I would like this practice to be opened up to deaf people (more than what it is now), eventually... but I definitely don't expect them to just walk in and practice with hearing people the way that I do. (The only reason why I do this is because I'm crazy.) I think that it would be extremely unrealistic to expect from an average person. While it's not that difficult to just drop in for a sitting, it would be hard if they tried to sustain that, especially on their own, for any meaningful length of time.
The way that I see it, if some people feel that having their own group would help them in their practices, or help them to have more fruitful discussions about it... I think that's great. I'm not going to be dismissive of them for that, or say some condescending things about it. If the statement about the "Buddha Dhamma having one taste" is true, then over the time their practices will converge with others, anyway. I think there should be no worries.
The problem you seem to have I think comes from trying to impose your understanding of what the Dhammic practice should entail, instead of doing it for yourself. So, I think you basically ended up being the one who actually had the ideas of superiority, inferiority and equality, by reading them into another's post... hope you see what I mean.
With these kind of posts, like Annapurna's, whether they're good suggestions or not, whether she handled herself skillfully in these situations or not, I always see this as an opportunity to practice metta, karuna, sympathetic joy, and upekkha. I think that this might be the only way to have a dialogue which is fruitful, for everyone. It benefits not only for us, but others too.
I think that it's in this sense that the Buddha Dhamma have one taste.