Buddhism is all about reducing suffering. BUT, once a large group gets together in an organization, like with the big Zen Centers, they fall prey to the same

Buddhism is all about reducing suffering. BUT, once a large group gets together in an organization, like with the big Zen Centers, they fall prey to the same organizational defenses. The organization becomes more important than the individuals, just like any corporation, it becomes a beast with its own survival instincts. Once this happens, you could argue that they are no longer representing Buddhism. But this is pretty tough issue, or balance, because meditation does help people, so how do they get exposed if there is no organization? People have to get started somewhere, so some weekend meditation courses or sittings are good for an organization to 'organize' and get the word out. The big mistake is people jumping right into these long week long silent retreats. Those are supposed to be for advanced meditators, not right off the couch. Like doing a 10K right from the couch, don't do a week long retreat from nothing.