DISQUS

I would think that here in the US the biggest legal issue would be the comments made by moderators that are also "religious leaders" of any sort (one could argue that they are de facto religious leaders simply by being moderators of the "largest online Buddhist community EVAR!") regarding other religious leaders - ie, Rev. Jundo, Nonin, etc.

According to my "Ministry and the Law: What you Need to Know" text, Clergy are held to a higher standard when it comes to libel/slander - especially against other clergy.

Now - to be fair, I haven't ever seent that play out like that "in real life" where it seems some clergy can have some pretty nasty things to say about other clergy folks... but hey, that's what the book said.

In any case, I almost wouldn't mind if e-sangha was shut down. I don't think it's actually that great of a resource or service to folks, even without the junta. You have folks with varying levels of interest, knowledge, and experience asking questions of others in the same boat as they are, and because of the screen names you might not realize that the person giving you an answer or advice is actually a 17 year old that just started reading about Buddhism a year ago and secretly thinks he's really an undiscovered "tulku."

Unfortunately, this is more often than not the case - in general, if not specific detail. I would much rather see an "ask the teacher" forum with a panel of experienced teachers from many schools and traditions responding to questions from visitors. Sort of a Buddhist "Dear Abby" (Dear Abbot?)

THAT would be a far greater service to the Buddhist community - especially if most or all Buddhist schools were represented and allowed to answer from their own experience, understanding - and most importantly - tradition, without fear of censorship or oppression if those things don't happen to be in agreement with the experience, understanding, or tradition of the others.

Anyway, I think I'm rambling here...

Al, I think you're dead-on that the only real way to salvage something here is for BB to simply let Teresa go. They can even add a nice note about how they all still love her, and appreciate the hard work she's done, etc.

It's either that, or wait for people to forget. Problem with that is, the intarwebs has a long memory.

Of course you know I'm in :-)

Gerald - I recall reading you were leaving the Pure Land fold and flirting with Shingon or Tendai... wind up back in Jodo Shu?

Once a week, huh?

I'm game.

I absolutely hear you on this one. My aspirations definitely outstrip my skill set (or tool set) in this area as well.

There's got to be "wood shop for grown-ups" being offered somewhere.

If there isn't... Shop Teachers take note... I'm sensing a potentially decent sized side income potential!

Now, just because we haven't scheduled our retreat *yet* doesn't mean it's not going to happen... it just means that right now we're about as busy as you are. :-)

So how about this - make a retreat proposal!

Well now, if that isn't the most attractive, intelligent, dedicated group of Buddhists I've ever seen, I don't know what is.

Um, or something like that.

demanding students
never happy with sensei
where is my damn tea?!

I think one of the possible "requirements" to making a Buddhist Seminary viable is Graduate level accreditation/recognition. Without that - there's little incentive to attend/participate, unless your particular teacher (or American based lineage) made it a requirement.

Other Western seminaries are frequently only "accredited" by their denomination - but since the seminary training is made a requirement of the denomination, is expected of the clergy of that denomination by its membership, and the denominations themselves are generally of such a size - that this is largely irrelivent.

And of course, for larger denominations, their seminaries *are* accredited.

On the plus side of this - you get University credit (and possibly a full degree - M.Div) for your seminary training.

On the draw-back side - you'll have to already have your undergraduate degree, and be ready to pay for a graduate degree with no promise (or hope, really) of getting a "job" as a priest that will then help you pay that tuition debt.

When we (Buddhists) expect this level of training and subsequent "service" from our clergy, however, I think we're also morally obligated to be ready to -pay- them in the same manner that other professional clergy are paid.

Even Catholic priests with vows of poverty get a paycheck from the church. :-)

And as a follow-up... I'm not sure we do need schools in the West to train "scholars of Buddhism." We *have* that already, at a lot of fine institutions of Higher Education. Many of the world's best & brightest "scholars" of Buddhism are Westerners.

Rather, what I see us needing are professional schools to train professional "practitioners." Seminaries.

You don't go to a seminary to be a scholar - you go to become a "minister" - and as more and more Buddhist monks, priests, and "Dharma Teachers" are called upon to "minister" to their Sangha - this type of training will become an absolute necessity.

Combine that with the ability to have a standard level of education and training for our clergy (which right now so widely varies from place to place that even within the same "denomination") and it seems nearly an imperitive to pursue this goal.

I couldn't agree more - and, in fact, was just discussing this very thing with a collegue (I work at a University) this morning.

Another needed function I see a "Buddhist Seminary" providing, along with the standard doctrinal, liturgical, practice methodology studies - is the more pastoral training we in the West expect from our "clergy." It's not enough here to be able to quote a sutra, teach Shamatha, and perform a funeral. Until Buddhist clergy receive the same "professional training" that other clergy recieve - they simply won't be treated as any more than deeply commited "hobby-ists."