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It may be shocking, but this is often what happens when people discover their monastic calling in adulthood. Buddha famously abandoned his wife and infant son w

It may be shocking, but this is often what happens when people discover their monastic calling in adulthood. Buddha famously abandoned his wife and infant son when he decided to pursue his path. Furthermore, some people have little contact with their children for even weaker reasons. The fact is that we are inclined to judge women harshly for actions which would hardly seem remarkable for, say, a male rock star.

dbt00 5y ago
Eh, Steve Jobs still gets shit around here for the way he treated his first daughter (and rightfully so).
- Torwald 5y ago
  Are you talking about Lisa?
- imwillofficial 5y ago
  Are you comparing Steve Jobs refusing to pay child support for His daughter to Buddha?
garmaine 5y ago
> The fact is that we are inclined to judge women harshly for actions which would hardly seem remarkable for, say, a male rock star. I don't think this is true. Walk-out dads are judged very harshly by our culture too.
- iammisc 5y ago
  Her children would have been way past childhood by the time she became a nun... like way past.
  - jl6 5y ago
    But being a parent doesn’t end when the kid turns 18.
    - CalRobert 5y ago
      The part where you live to fulfill their needs does, though.
      - vanattab 5y ago
        It doesn't for many patents. Many people draw meaning from life through their close relationships.
      - threatofrain 5y ago
        I'd argue that fulfilling a child's needs is the bedrock to a more important parental goal — helping your children attain optimism in a world where many people lose.
        iammisc 5y ago
        Being religious is already enough though. Catholics attending mass are least likely to commit suicide amongst other outcomes
      - hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
        I would hope there is some middle ground between "live to fulfill their needs" and "seeing them twice in 30 years and never seeing your grandchildren".
    - watwut 5y ago
      By the time the offspring is 30, parents are free to make decisions for themselves. At that point, many children themselves left miles away and have only sporadic contact due to living independently. Or joimed army. It is absurd to talk about it as if they were 5. There is be way to become nun or monk without leaving your parents, siblings, friends, literally everyone.
- e17 5y ago
  I'm not sure this is true, the prime minister of the United Kingdom is literally a deadbeat dad. He went to court to disown one of his children and it's not public knowledge how many children he actually has.
  - bencollier49 5y ago
    That's complete and utter rubbish. He's had several relationships, and is clearly a philanderer, but no-one has any idea of the nature of his financial or personal relationships with his children, because they're private. He went to court to try to preserve that privacy.
    - e17 5y ago
      Which bit is rubish? You haven't refuted my points with anything of substance. He's a public figure, if he wants privacy he shouldn't have run in national elections. He had an injunction on the McIntyre child, that sounds like disownment to me. "I love you, child, but nobody can know about you" He has no contact with any of his children apart from the new one, that's a deadbeat dad. We do not know how many children he has. Does he?
      - bencollier49 5y ago
        Of course he sees his children; there are plenty of documented occasions when he's been with them recently, and why would we know about the others? Having an injunction on naming a child isn't disownment. It's protecting the privacy of the child. Name it, and now it needs police protection 24/7. Your characterisation is way off track IMO, but it's a popular viewpoint on Twitter and in the Guardian.
      - WastingMyTime89 5y ago
        > He's a public figure, if he wants privacy he shouldn't have run in national elections. That's rubbish. His public life has nothing to do with his private life. The fact that he is a politician doesn't mean the public has to know about his relationship with his children. His public actions speak loud enough for people to judge his quality (or lack thereof) as an elected official. I think the cultural gap between American and European on this point will probably never be bridged.

dbt00 5y ago

Eh, Steve Jobs still gets shit around here for the way he treated his first daughter (and rightfully so).

Torwald 5y ago
Are you talking about Lisa?
imwillofficial 5y ago
Are you comparing Steve Jobs refusing to pay child support for His daughter to Buddha?

garmaine 5y ago

> The fact is that we are inclined to judge women harshly for actions which would hardly seem remarkable for, say, a male rock star. I don't think this is true. Walk-out dads are judged very harshly by our culture too.

iammisc 5y ago
Her children would have been way past childhood by the time she became a nun... like way past.
- jl6 5y ago
  But being a parent doesn’t end when the kid turns 18.
  - CalRobert 5y ago
    The part where you live to fulfill their needs does, though.
    - vanattab 5y ago
      It doesn't for many patents. Many people draw meaning from life through their close relationships.
    - threatofrain 5y ago
      I'd argue that fulfilling a child's needs is the bedrock to a more important parental goal — helping your children attain optimism in a world where many people lose.
      - iammisc 5y ago
        Being religious is already enough though. Catholics attending mass are least likely to commit suicide amongst other outcomes
    - hn_throwaway_99 5y ago
      I would hope there is some middle ground between "live to fulfill their needs" and "seeing them twice in 30 years and never seeing your grandchildren".
  - watwut 5y ago
    By the time the offspring is 30, parents are free to make decisions for themselves. At that point, many children themselves left miles away and have only sporadic contact due to living independently. Or joimed army. It is absurd to talk about it as if they were 5. There is be way to become nun or monk without leaving your parents, siblings, friends, literally everyone.
e17 5y ago
I'm not sure this is true, the prime minister of the United Kingdom is literally a deadbeat dad. He went to court to disown one of his children and it's not public knowledge how many children he actually has.
- bencollier49 5y ago
  That's complete and utter rubbish. He's had several relationships, and is clearly a philanderer, but no-one has any idea of the nature of his financial or personal relationships with his children, because they're private. He went to court to try to preserve that privacy.
  - e17 5y ago
    Which bit is rubish? You haven't refuted my points with anything of substance. He's a public figure, if he wants privacy he shouldn't have run in national elections. He had an injunction on the McIntyre child, that sounds like disownment to me. "I love you, child, but nobody can know about you" He has no contact with any of his children apart from the new one, that's a deadbeat dad. We do not know how many children he has. Does he?
    - bencollier49 5y ago
      Of course he sees his children; there are plenty of documented occasions when he's been with them recently, and why would we know about the others? Having an injunction on naming a child isn't disownment. It's protecting the privacy of the child. Name it, and now it needs police protection 24/7. Your characterisation is way off track IMO, but it's a popular viewpoint on Twitter and in the Guardian.
    - WastingMyTime89 5y ago
      > He's a public figure, if he wants privacy he shouldn't have run in national elections. That's rubbish. His public life has nothing to do with his private life. The fact that he is a politician doesn't mean the public has to know about his relationship with his children. His public actions speak loud enough for people to judge his quality (or lack thereof) as an elected official. I think the cultural gap between American and European on this point will probably never be bridged.