Hi ManapaManapa wrote: Had computer problems then, so lost the original I was trying to post
I can see two possibilities here
1 - it is referring to Brahms excommunication from the Thai Sangha.
in this case it is don't hire (or accept a job) someone who doesn't agree with the rules of the organisation, this could be because the organisation has changed or the employee has, or the goals were not compatible from the start, be honest and don't accept the post or leave, voice the concerns but don't try and have your cake, with Ice-cream when ice-cream isn't available.
2 - be accurate with your words
three possibilities with this one in reference the the use of Mahayana
A - assuming it wasn't the transcriber changing it - as Ajahn Brahm is the first to use the term Mahayana, they were following his lead, and the closeness to hinayana use and derogatory meaning you point out is inferred by the reader.
B - assuming it was changed, my earlier remark "don't trust every translation" is still relevant, and would be relevant to 'A' as there are different ways the word can be understood, plus the word in itself does not automatically refer to a derogatory meaning in use to a group.
C - assuming it was used independently by each speaker, the context could be read in a non-representational manner, whether by the words used or the translators translation style, remember there were allot of hurt feelings about the way brahm went about this & Mahayana is and can be used with no derogatory meaning associated unlike the hinayana counterpart.
unless you have specific evidence that they used the term Mahayana in a derogatory manner, meaning to be derogatory to the Mahayana then this would just be circular.
Paññāsikhara wrote:I've been trying to think of an analogy, and maybe this is as close as I can get:
A branch campus in Italy of a Jewish university in Tel Aviv is looking for a professor of the old testament. They already have great scholars with the Hebrew bible, but they know that this is insufficient. So, they decide that they need an old testament scholar who knows Greek and Latin, too. They have an applicant, from the United States, an old testament scholar. She is a Christian, but knows her old testament well. Once she studied Islamic interpretation of the New Testament, in the USA. So, the head of the branch campus in Italy hires her, and gives her the job. Soon, the main campus in Tel Aviv calls up the head of the branch campus, and demands an explanation: "Why have you employed a Muslim professor?"
It's not the perfect analogy, but if you actually have a good think about it...
I didn't mention anything about being derogatory. The point I am making is that the ordination of those nuns has nothing to do with a Mahayana ordination.
Perhaps you can share with us your understanding of how a "triple platform ordination" works, and how the bhiksuni ordination is Mahayana, because I certainly cannot see how it is.