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I’m not sure you read my comment the way I intended it or the way others seem to have. While I must have communicated something poorly, there’s no denigration

I’m not sure you read my comment the way I intended it or the way others seem to have. While I must have communicated something poorly, there’s no denigration of individual spiritual seeking intended. I’m one of those people myself. But there’s a whole different experience of “religion” that exists for people whose religion is integrated across generations of family history, centuries old cultural institutions, widespread adoption, etc What might seem calcified and orthodox to you is the lived experience of millions of people, and their ancestors, and their community. Their relationship with that community and heritage is real and meaningful, and while your understanding of Buddhism may not be able to make sense of looking after these monks and the respect they’re seen as due, theirs does. That doesn’t mean that your understanding is lesser, in what it provides for you, or maybe even its attention to the “essence” of Buddhism, but theirs is of a different kind and no less studied.

FrustratedMonky 3y ago
Thank You, yes, of course. You are explaining better than my response did. I wasn't actually trying to take offense. It is true that some 'true believers' really do draw the line at death and killing for religion. And there is a very large sliding scale between someone that just goes to church on Sunday then forgets about it, and someone how lives it so deeply they will become suicide bombers. Lot of gray area in between these worlds. Just I've always held out that Buddhist are different, without a 'god' to become radicalized around. The teachings of Buddha are bit more 'scientific'. It's more about reason, or if reason is still too strong, about how to understand the world. Isn't the heart sutra really about phenomenology. So, it is discouraging when a sect of Buddhist fall prey to the same foibles/downfall as say Catholicism, and become more about the 'image', than the 'understanding'. But, maybe all of this is just human nature. Built into our brains, ala William James. People have a religious experience, form a church, but eventually all religions of all stripes tend to become about a group hierarchy, and control, bureaucratic.

FrustratedMonky 3y ago

Thank You, yes, of course. You are explaining better than my response did. I wasn't actually trying to take offense. It is true that some 'true believers' really do draw the line at death and killing for religion. And there is a very large sliding scale between someone that just goes to church on Sunday then forgets about it, and someone how lives it so deeply they will become suicide bombers. Lot of gray area in between these worlds. Just I've always held out that Buddhist are different, without a 'god' to become radicalized around. The teachings of Buddha are bit more 'scientific'. It's more about reason, or if reason is still too strong, about how to understand the world. Isn't the heart sutra really about phenomenology. So, it is discouraging when a sect of Buddhist fall prey to the same foibles/downfall as say Catholicism, and become more about the 'image', than the 'understanding'. But, maybe all of this is just human nature. Built into our brains, ala William James. People have a religious experience, form a church, but eventually all religions of all stripes tend to become about a group hierarchy, and control, bureaucratic.