[Buddha-l] Yogi with a cell phone

[Piya Tan]

There are numerous Pali suttas on this decline of the Sangha, not only
spoken by the Buddha, but also by Maha Kassapa. Many of the
"prophecies" are painfully true today, with their modern versions. I
have put together all the texts I can find in some coherent form under
"Dharma-ending Age" which can find

under "Downloads B" at
http://dharmafarer.googlepages.com

The impression one gets is that if you are a serious practitioner, you
are probably a "pratyeka" Buddhist. However, fortunately one can and
should experience the Dharma directly.

Other than the forest monks, the impression one gets is that it is not
easy to approach these monastics: you have to be well connected,
wealthy, titled, or at least good looking.

Piya



On 2/21/07, jkirk <jkirk at spro.net> wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Piya Tan" <dharmafarer at gmail.com>
> > How about some discussion on how we can make some (or any) sense of
> > all this. After all as Gregory Schopen writings (and also John
> > Marshall before him) have shown monks minting money near the
> > Dharmarajika Stupa (in Taxila) even before the Turks ravaged India,
> > and scholars like Tambiah and Seneviratne write that they are still at
> > it in various ways even today.
> >
> > I recall reading sometime back a group of Sri Lanka lay Buddhists who
> > outright the monks and decide to practise on their own. In fact, I am
> > trying hard to do this.
> >
> > For one thing, it is really great we have a forum where this can be
> > openly discussed, as these are realities we have to deal with somehow.
> >
> > Piya Tan
> ===============================================
> Well, I find the ringtone of the lama in Norway's cell phone--an audio sound
> of the (English?) words "ring ring"--to be pretty Zen, ya know.
>
> But this thread also raises a question------does the Pali canon offer
> examples, few or several, of monks going materialistic, over gold, girls, or
> entertainments?
>
> Joanna
>
>
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