Bhikkhu Bodhi article in Inquiring Mind

[Modus.Ponens]

One may consider putting themselves into the position of a moderator for a moment...a (basically) thankless, time consuming slog through virtually (if correct) every post...to ride herd on, and weed out, the possibly far flung (out there (of which there are many)) topics, and ((not infrequent) nebulous, ill informed, ignorant, and (occasionally) nasty) responses...to maintain some semblance of civility here...for no financial, material, or any other renumeration (other than the possible personal reward of being of service)...in a perfect world, maybe...but since we're all human (and what that entails)...and in light of Dhamma Wheel's track record...might not kudos, not criticism, be more the order of the day?...

A good reminder.

[sattva]

One may consider putting themselves into the position of a moderator for a moment...a (basically) thankless, time consuming slog through virtually (if correct) every post...to ride herd on, and weed out, the possibly far flung (out there (of which there are many)) topics, and ((not infrequent) nebulous, ill informed, ignorant, and (occasionally) nasty) responses...to maintain some semblance of civility here...for no financial, material, or any other renumeration (other than the possible personal reward of being of service)...in a perfect world, maybe...but since we're all human (and what that entails)...and in light of Dhamma Wheel's track record...might not kudos, not criticism, be more the order of the day?...

Heartedly agree!

[Spiny Norman]

One may consider putting themselves into the position of a moderator for a moment...a (basically) thankless, time consuming slog through virtually (if correct) every post...to ride herd on, and weed out, the possibly far flung (out there (of which there are many)) topics, and ((not infrequent) nebulous, ill informed, ignorant, and (occasionally) nasty) responses...to maintain some semblance of civility here...for no financial, material, or any other renumeration (other than the possible personal reward of being of service)...in a perfect world, maybe...but since we're all human (and what that entails)...and in light of Dhamma Wheel's track record...might not kudos, not criticism, be more the order of the day?...

Yes, it can certainly feel like a thankless task!

[Mr Man]

By the way, I have been looking for the passage of Thanissaro Bhikkhu's excerpted at the beginning of the thread and cannot find it anywhere on the internet. Could you please post a link to the full article?

I think the article was from "Inquiring Mind": http://www.inquiringmind.com/

[Ben]

Thanks everyone for your words of support, they are greatly appreciated.
You might be interested to know that the topic will be brought back after some mods have done some housekeeping on the thread, using the TOS and forum guidelines as their guides.
I am of the opinion that acts such as removing posts from view for administrative review would be unnecessary if the letter and spirit of the TOS were adhered to.
Kind regards,
Ben

[Spiny Norman]

Thanks everyone for your words of support, they are greatly appreciated.

I think the team here does a pretty good job, particularly when compared to some of the other forums.

[Mr Man]

One may consider putting themselves into the position of a moderator for a moment...a (basically) thankless, time consuming slog through virtually (if correct) every post...to ride herd on, and weed out, the possibly far flung (out there (of which there are many)) topics, and ((not infrequent) nebulous, ill informed, ignorant, and (occasionally) nasty) responses...to maintain some semblance of civility here...for no financial, material, or any other renumeration (other than the possible personal reward of being of service)...in a perfect world, maybe...but since we're all human (and what that entails)...and in light of Dhamma Wheel's track record...might not kudos, not criticism, be more the order of the day?...

It might also be worth taking into consideration that the criticism was from a relatively new member......

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

The topic in question is back.... http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=21602

Please note, it's now in the "hot topics" section, which means that (just like the Discovering Theravada section) each post will require moderator approval before being visible to others.

Please ensure that all new posts adhere to the actual topic - namely the respective views of Bhikkhus Bodhi & Thanissaro on the subject of war.

If you wish to speak more broadly on the subject of war, try here - http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=668

Thank you for your co-operation.

Metta,
Retro.

[paddington]

I would like to repost my previous question of where the full response from Thanissaro Bhikkhu can be found? It's not on inquiring mind (neither is Bhikkhu Bodhi's for that matter). I think it would be useful to have the whole thing if we are to discuss this intelligently.

[paddington]

I am new to the forums, so this is all a bit eye-opening for me (not necessarily in a good way). I have not explored the site thoroughly, but it seems some monks, like Bhikkhu Bodhi have a fairly active relationship with the site, and others like Bhikkhu Thanissaro might not. Could you briefly explain the degree and kind of relationship the site or site administrators have with each monk respectively?

It seems to me the thread was brought back to a point when it looked like most of the posts were in favor of Bhikkhu Bodhi. The consensus was shifting away from from justifying war towards the end, and the last third of the thread, including some very incisive Dhamma based arguments, were lopped off in one go. So the moderators have used their judgment, which I clearly disagree with. I am also curious about the first 5 or 6 comments on the thread which directly address Bhikkhu Thanissaro's tone and harshness, calling him "nasty". These seem to be a direct attack on an "ordained member of the Sangha" and quite afield from debating their respective positions, unless of course the purpose was otherwise.

I should have saved the thread as it was because all the posts I put time and effort into have been deleted. They were fair, based in the Dhamma, and not un-intelligent. I also thought some of the other posts were quite intelligent, on point and useful. I would appreciate it if the moderators could at least email me the old thread so I could repost some of my arguments without having to recreate them from scratch.

I regard this as a "formal" protest of sorts. Please don't advise me to "let it go." I would turn that around on the site admins and say, "why don't you just 'let it go' as it was?"

[DNS]

I would like to repost my previous question of where the full response from Thanissaro Bhikkhu can be found? It's not on inquiring mind (neither is Bhikkhu Bodhi's for that matter). I think it would be useful to have the whole thing if we are to discuss this intelligently.

This has been answered several times by other members and myself. It is right in the OP of that thread. It is from Inquiring Mind and unfortunately Inquiring Mind does not link to their articles online. They want you to subscribe to their hard copy paper issues. I believe the subscription amount is still a voluntary amount and as long as you make some donation to them at least once per year, they continue to send you paper copy issues, which is what I receive. Again, they do not post their articles online, which is why I could only post summaries / paraphrases of their main points.

[DNS]

It seems to me the thread was brought back to a point when it looked like most of the posts were in favor of Bhikkhu Bodhi. The consensus was shifting away from from justifying war towards the end, and the last third of the thread, including some very incisive Dhamma based arguments, were lopped off in one go. So the moderators have used their judgment, which I clearly disagree with. I am also curious about the first 5 or 6 comments on the thread which directly address Bhikkhu Thanissaro's tone and harshness, calling him "nasty". These seem to be a direct attack on an "ordained member of the Sangha" and quite afield from debating their respective positions, unless of course the purpose was otherwise.

I have removed those posts referring to his tone. In the future, use the (! mark above posts) report function to report a post and explain why you believe it should not be shown.

Several posts were removed from "both sides" of this issue, including several of my own.

The moderators and admins do not have direct personal contact with either of these bhikkhus and we have great respect for both scholar-monks. I personally have never met either one, but like both. Once I went to Wat Metta several years ago for a visit, but unfortunately Thanissaro Bhikkhu was away in another state leading a retreat.

[paddington]

I appreciate your taking down the inappropriate posts at the beginning of the thread. I apologize for not using the exclamation mark to report them. As I said before, I am new to this, so I appreciate your patience as I learn the ropes.

I understand that neither B. Bodhi's article nor B. Thanissaro's response appear on the Inquiring Mind website. I also understand that B. Bodhi's full article appears in the print version of Inquiring Mind, but B. Thanissaro's never appeared in the print version. It is clear that what is posted and attributed to B. Thanissaro is an excerpt as it seems to be missing any kind of intro or conclusion. I would like to read the full "response" by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Maybe what was posted was taken out of context or maybe it's not his at all. I cannot find it on the internet anywhere. Can you please provide a link or a source?

Maybe this whole thread should be suspended until it can be established whether this "response" can be attributed at all to B. Thanissaro.

[paddington]

It appears that my comments to the B. Bodhi / B. Thanissaro thread are being held back for approval by a moderator. Is this policy against my posts in particular, or does this apply to everybody posting to the thread? Was there a notice posted of this policy somewhere? Will my comments be silently deep-sixed or will I get some sort of feedback as to what exactly I said that was deemed inappropriate?

[Nicolas]

Please note, it's now in the "hot topics" section, which means that (just like the Discovering Theravada section) each post will require moderator approval before being visible to others.