[Buddha-l] Schopen lauded

[Piya Tan]

Weng Fai,

Your citation please.

I wonder if the Mahayana monks themselves made such assertions?

What about when the monastics behave more like the laity? We have
monasteries with loads of expensive electronics, gyms, badminton hall,
cars, etc.

Nattier in "the Dharma-ending Age" says something like it is a kind of
"skillful means" to rally up support for the religion,a kind of
alarmist eschatological ploy to make people more religious. A sort of
doomsday cult.

Some non-Mahayana Buddhists take Dharma-ending on a personal level
rather than a social level.

Piya

On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 11:38 AM, Weng-Fai Wong <wongwf at comp.nus.edu.sg> wrote:
> In Chinese Mahayana, one clear sign of the Dharma-Ending Period is when the
> laity rises above the monastics.
>
> W. F. Wong
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: buddha-l-bounces at mailman.swcp.com [mailto:buddha-l-
>> bounces at mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of Blumenthal, James
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 1:25 AM
>> To: Buddhist discussion forum
>> Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] Schopen lauded
>>
>> The author of the article, Ajay Singh, makes an intentionally provocative
>> and arrogant, yet misguided claim.  He says,
>>
>> "Schopen probably knows more about classical Buddhism than the entire line
>> of reincarnated Dalai Lamas."
>>
>>  Schopen is a historian; the Dalai Lamas are/were not.  They are/were
>> masters of their particular traditions/lineages.  Thus the claim is like
>> comparing apples and oranges (not to mention that it may or may not be a
>> true statement). Shall we disregard Schopen's historical work because he
>> presumably does not hold a candle to the Dalai Lamas in terms of progress
>> towards or achievement of enlightenment?  Obviously I do not have any
>> knowledge about Schopen's religious inclinations or mental states and do
>> not presume to comment on them in my analogy.  I am only attempting to
>> make a point about their irrelevance for evaluating his historical work,
>> much like the comparison with the Dalai Lamas that the author makes.
>>
>>  Singh's statement is a good example of the type of academic arrogance
>> that is so offensive to traditions (and the general public) and renders
>> the academicians all but irrelevant to communities most inclined to find
>> their work interesting and potentially useful.  Why somebody would insert
>> such a claim into an article about academic Buddhist scholarship is
>> bewildering to me.
>>
>> Jim Blumenthal
>>
>>
>> James Blumenthal
>> Department of Philosophy
>> Oregon State University
>> 102-A Hovland Hall
>> Corvallis, OR 97331
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> buddha-l mailing list
>> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
>> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>



-- 
The Minding Centre
Blk 644 Bukit Batok Central #01-68 (2nd flr)
Singapore 650644
Tel: 8211 0879
Meditation courses & therapy: http://themindingcentre.googlepages.com
Website: dharmafarer.googlepages.com