Hi Retroretrofuturist wrote:Greetings bhante,
Yes, it's kinda missing the point, isn't it? Who would be more likely to be praised by Buddha?...appicchato wrote:The Buddha said 'Ehi Pasiko'...'come and see'...what's happening today is rite and ritual...some might say it's a lot of wasted effort and energy mulling over these things...a certain number of stones has to be laid out just right, or one is not a monk...please...
- Monk A whose ordination was valid, but handled money, sleazed off with women etc. and made no effort towards liberation.
- Monk B whose ordination was invalid based on some technicality inconsequential to the holy life, yet who earnestly followed the Noble Eightfold Path.
Metta,
Retro.
This is the link of argument used by Sangharakshita. His teachers were perhaps bad monks according to the vinaya, but good Buddhists generally. The trouble is Sangharakshita then started indulging in various activities, even with students, and probably used this line of argument to justify it in a sense.
Interestingly the great ex-monk Khantipalo seems to have come to the defence of Sangharakshita a few times too.