
The darker side of Buddhism - wslh
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32929855
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KingMob
As a former Burmese monk and a long-term meditator, I will just say that
labeling yourself a "buddhist" does not in itself improve your behavior or
grant you special wisdom, even if you're wearing colorful robes.

E.g., s/Why are Sri Lankan Buddhists espousing racist ideologies?/Why are
American Christians espousing anti-gay ideologies?/ and you understand the
context just fine.

Even in Burma, a place where about 1 in 120 citizens are monastics, I met
many, many monks with little wisdom or deep commitment to practice. Some were
doing it because their family was poor, and joining the monastic orders was a
way to get regular meals. Many liked having the respect of the community, but
didn't really aim for enlightenment. Some are scholarly, and were essentially
confusing the menu with the meal. Some people are super into self-denial, and
joining the monastic order can be a great way to make yourself suffer like
that. Some were earnest, but assumed that rebirth meant they didn't have to
meditate _now_ , they could get around to that in a later life.

I even saw one monk in Thailand messing around on Candy Crush only minutes
after joking to my gf that the one thing I hadn't yet seen a monk do was
playing Candy Crush.

