[Buddha-l] book on Tibetan 'discipline'

[Dan Lusthaus]

> so now do we
> need further allegations that monks are violated?

The book apparently deals with two Tibetan institutions in India, one 
following the traditional, brutal methods, and the other trying to move to a 
more western "liberal" approach, but finding it difficult.

As for this being about "allegations," I passed the book notice on to a well 
known Tibetanist colleague who said he hadn't seen the book, but " it looks 
interesting. I know several people who were educated in the Geluk system who 
all remarked on the harshness of discipline, the use of physical 
punishments, etc. It's probably a lot better than in Tibet, but still pretty 
medieval."

So, not "allegations." Disclosure might be a better word (less hysterical 
than "expose").

The larger underlying issue is the gap between the imaginal "Buddhism(s)" 
that we in the west have constructed from our own needs and proclivities, 
often with complicity from our asian counterparts, and the actual 
Buddhism(s), past and present. The "facts" are slowly emerging, and some of 
them are painful, especially for those who cling to the fantasies, and 
prefer their fantasies to the realities. That attitude, however, is 
nonBuddhist; ignorance and delusion are the root problem.

Dan