[Buddha-l] Re: Diversions, distractions and off-topic discussions

[Mike Austin]

In message <1073114520.20051008172212 at kungzhi.org>, Benito Carral 
<bcarral at kungzhi.org> writes

>   It's  time to go further and adopt a broader view of
>what  Buddhism is, and a fist step would be recognizing
>the collective side of dukkha.

One's view may be broad even if one's behaviour and discussions are not. 
It seems to me that the recognition of dukkha should be accompanied by a 
recognition of its causes and its cessation. I do not see where debating 
presidents, governments, nations, wars, other religions, musicians etc., 
fits in with this. This should be directed to those concerned.


>Nowadays boddhisattvas must talk and
>act  about  free  market  forces, globalized media, and
>multiculturalism--otherwise they would be practitioners
>isolated in their caves.

Hehe! I think you should tell them, not me! I do not recall reading that 
the Buddha exhorted them to do this. I would expect bodhisattvas to help 
individual beings, who create such things. To stop something, one has to 
stop its causes. These things are merely symptomatic of the problem.


>   So,  in  a  Mahayana spirit, your question should be
>reformulated  as follows, "Is a discourse not including
>corporations,  national  governments,  other religions,
>etc.,    relevant    to   our   contemporary   Buddhist
>necessities?"  Maybe  such  discourse  would be the one
>held by current pratyekabuddhas and their acolytes.

I think you should check what the Buddha said - unless we are ruling him 
out because he is not contemporary.

-- 
Metta
Mike Austin