Buddhists

Buddhists represent only .7% of Americans.  I wish Sido would post again.

I just read the article after your comment.   I agree with this statement and noted it myself.

The Buddha's is a religion of self-inquiry--an impulse so strong and so universal in Buddhism that even the most vapid of Grubin's experts got it right every time. Consequently, when we don't like something, our first duty as Buddhists is to ask ourselves a simple question: Why?

However, I take issue with the following statement by Clark Strand.

Even as I practice and teach it, I live in conflict with it. What do we do with a religious founder born to privilege who names his son Rahula (literally, "fetter"), abandons his wife and newborn child, starves himself within inches of his life, and thereafter preaches almost exclusively to a celibate order of men and (after holding out against them for as long as he could) women--women who are required to follow twice as many monastic rules as the men and are subsequently regarded as a threat to male monastic authority and, yes, male monastic celibacy? (Sound familiar?)

He obviously does not know much about the history of how the Buddha taught.  Yes, Siddhattha left his family, but he returned to them after his enlightenment.  His son became a monk and some of the most penetrating suttas were the Buddha's teachings to his son.  When he returned, his wife did not go to meet him.  This was an amazing act for a wife at that time in that culture.  With humility the Buddha went to her.  She then instructed Rahula to get his "inheritance" from his father (the teachings).  Unfortunately the story of Yasodhara ends here.  There is no further record of her.

The first woman ordained was the Buddha's aunt.  He did not want to ordain her because of the trouble it might cause in society.  She asked three times and Ananda, the Buddha's closest follower, also petitioned him to ordain her.  The Buddha agreed to do so but established rules for Bhikkhunis in order to placate the society of the time.

Bhikkhunis (nuns) do not follow twice as many rules as Bhikkus (monks).  They do follow more rules (311) with the most problematic being the rule that Bhikkhunis must always bow to Bhikkhus first.  Bhikkhus follow 283.  Considering the fact that women at the time were chattel and treated as incapable of spiritual life, ordaining women and declaring that they were as capable of enlightenment as men was revolutionary.  Just look at the fuss today about ordaining women in the Christian religion.  Another of the rules that nuns must follow is they cannot wander alone in the forest.  This rule was established after a nun was raped. 

All of the rules for monastics of either sects were created on an as needed basis. They were established to prevent monastics from imposing on laypeople.  They were established to create harmony within the monastic groups.  They were established to assist monastics in restraint.

I am confident that Mr. Clark is a qualified Zen teacher, but I don't believe he knows much about the Vinaya (the monastic discipline).  Zen emphasizes mediation over the study of the suttas and Vinaya.

bump

I remember counting the days until the radiation was over.  There has to be a better way.  I hope your retreat is everything you wish it to be.

Yes I have.  It has an interesting history about the status of women in India during the time of the Buddha.  It really was a big deal for him to fully ordain women.  Parts of the book are a bit iffy.  I think more research should have been done on the teachings themselves.  The author sort of falls down on this by relying on some very poor translations. She also seems to quote Jataka stories which are more myth and are not part of the canon.  Overall I give the book a B if it is read by someone knowledgeable about the actual teachings.  I give it a C if read by anyone else.  On the sections about the role of women in India and the response of society to their ordination, I give it an A.

I would like to know your thoughts.  I read it some time ago and can't really be specific about the parts I didn't like.

If you want to read the poems and teachings of the Bhikkhunis directly, here is a link.  Each verse gives the name of the Bhikkhuni.

 http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/thig/index.html

I find it amazing that these teachings are part of the official canon (bible) of Buddhism.  It makes me wonder why other religions have so much trouble with the concept of women as religious leaders.

Best wishes for that.

I am meditating through sweat in my garden.  The water just flows out of me and I find it very relaxing even though I have to follow up with salt tablets and potassium.  I guess since I am moving rock around, you can say that I am practicing Zen meditation.  LOL

Welcome.

Post any time.  It doesn't even have to be about Buddhism.  Lot's of people meditate without being Buddhist.

How great that you enjoyed your retreat.  It sounds wonderful. 

I know what you mean about BC and impermanence.  Meditating on anicca really helped me through the tough times.

Anicca (an i cha) is the Pali word for impermanence.  Here is a little bit about it from Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impermanence