Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
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cooran
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Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by cooran »

Hello all,

This will be of interest:

https://sujato.wordpress.com/2009/11/07 ... municated/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With metta,
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
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Ben
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by Ben »

Thanks Chris
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
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in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
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acinteyyo
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by acinteyyo »

Thanks for sharing :)
Thag 1.20. Ajita - I do not fear death; nor do I long for life. I’ll lay down this body, aware and mindful.
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tiltbillings
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by tiltbillings »

Interesting stuff. Also, a couple of extra clicks and I found this (probably old news, but new to me).
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Mr Man
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by Mr Man »

Almost six year on now.
soapy3
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by soapy3 »

The resistance over bhikkhuni ordination is interesting and far from over. Accepting impermanence is a core concept of Buddhism, yet the most Theravada countries in the world have cultures the most resistant to change.
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by Javi »

I have great respect for Ajahn Brahm. Sadhu.
Vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā — All things decay and disappoint, it is through vigilance that you succeed — Mahāparinibbāna Sutta

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SarathW
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by SarathW »

It seems, this was a major road block to attain Arahantship.
I hope now we all can speed up the path without adding another division.
:shrug:

This whole thing is disturbing me. :(
I watched a video, that Ajahn Brahm said that he is not a Thervadist or Mhayanist!


What is Schism?

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 9831&hilit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by SarathW on Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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DNS
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by DNS »

SarathW wrote: I watched a video, that Ajahn Brahm said that he is not a Thervadist or Mhayanist!
Neither was the Buddha.
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by SarathW »

David N. Snyder wrote:
SarathW wrote: I watched a video, that Ajahn Brahm said that he is not a Thervadist or Mhayanist!
Neither was the Buddha.
I agree with your point.
However it depend on whether the statement was made with the knowledge or without the knowledge.
Some times the undertone of not belong to a group means he/she got her own group. (i.e. another division)

============
Then Mara the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall from solitude, approached her & said, "Whose philosophy do you approve of, nun?"

"I don't approve of anyone's philosophy, my friend."

He, that Blessed One,
is my teacher.
It's in his Dhamma
that I delight.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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DNS
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by DNS »

The Buddha set up the four-fold assemblies of bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas, upasikas; so it is a matter of interpretation or opinion which side (in this issue) is being schismatic: those wanting a 3 fold assembly or those wanting a 4 fold assembly.

I believe it is neither and just a difference in Vinaya interpretation and opinions.
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by Dhammanando »

SarathW wrote:It seems, this was a major road block to attain Arahantship.
I don't see how getting kicked out of the Ajahn Chah club, or having one's monastery deregistered from being an official Ajahn Chah wat, would be an obstacle to arahantship. In the Buddha's teaching there is no mandate for the sangha to establish such clubs in the first place.
SarathW wrote: What is Schism?

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You haven't given the full link.
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In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
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Mr Man
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by Mr Man »

Dhammanando wrote:
In the Buddha's teaching there is no mandate for the sangha to establish such clubs in the first place.
In the Buddha's teaching is there a mandate for the "Theravada"? Could "Theravada" be considered a club?
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by pilgrim »

Mr Man wrote:Could "Theravada" be considered a club?
The word is just a convention to identify a school of thought with relatively homogenous beliefs and practices.
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Re: Ajahn Brahm on why he was excommunicated

Post by Dhammanando »

Mr Man wrote:In the Buddha's teaching is there a mandate for the "Theravada"?
Yes, inasmuch as the separatedness of the Theravada is basically rooted in the Vinaya's prescriptions for handling disputes and for ostracizing any bhikkhu or groups of bhikkhus which are incorrigible in view or recalcitrant in conduct.
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
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