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[bksubhuti]

Sometimes I see a blue screen that is very big, but I thought it was my internet connection. Sometimes it is there, and sometimes not.

We are using the theme called air theme.
You can change the theme settings in your personal preferences.

If we don’t use air theme… then most will look like meta.discourse.org or discourse.suttacentral.net etc…

Feel free to shop around for themes on meta.discourse.org . I can install them.

[ekocare]

@bksubhuti

We are using the theme called air theme.
You can change the theme settings in your personal preferences.

No bhante,
This theme seems better.
And home-page is also better.

What I noticed was the absence of full collapse of the versatile-banner because it collapse only a half for me.

It is not a problem at all. This look and feel is more than enough.

[ekocare]

@Zans

Full version, in all of its verboseness:

After spending many years on other forums, where “Theravada” is used only as a stamp of authenticity, to delineate that the users appreciate the suttas, and, yet, bizarrely, almost all of the users constantly criticize, and throw out, and openly try to refute every single thing that is uniquely Theravada in the first place, I finally feel like I’m home. I can talk about Theravada, with actual Theravadins. I’m not arguing, I’m not on defense, for the first time. I’m sharing, promoting, and learning Theravada.

On other “Theravada” forums, anything unique to Theravada is attacked. Anything posted that is not in agreement with Mahayana teachings, and rejects them, is swarmed on and “corrected”. The Visuddhimagga, commentaries, and Abhidhamma are considered as false, and so posting anything about them is met with derision, or maybe even a new thread being created that seeks to completely discredit them all. If you don’t think Nagarjuna is correct, and that Vasubandhu isn’t either, you will be told you are wrong, you don’t even understand what they taught, and books, articles and quotes, or personal explanations, will be recommended that ostensibly demonstrate that the suttas only proper interpretation is actually Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu, and that the Abhidhamma and commentaries are wrong (completely ignoring that both of these teachers were Mahayana, and only saw the suttas as works for foundational reference, inferior to their Mahayana sutras, and reinterpreted them from the perspective of their much later Mahayana sutras, and thus, entirely missing that the very idea of them having the only true interpretation of the suttas is conclusively an anachronism, as their persons and the teachings they use, rely on Mahayana sutras which post date the suttas by over 500 years). And so on.

Inexplicably, these places were focused almost exclusively on promoting Mahayana philosophy, ostensibly “found” within the suttas via “correct” interpretation of key texts (taken out of context, and with use of textual gymnastics and questionable translation methods), and ostensibly disproving all things uniquely Theravada. Even the areas that were supposedly strictly for traditional Theravada were exactly the same as everywhere else in the forums: places where you would be swarmed on by anti Theravada users. There were even users who would try to reinterpret the Abhidhamma, commentaries, and Visuddhimagga themselves to be saying Mahayana things! That was a real head ache, as I’d end up questioning the Theravada teachings, and asking myself “Do these teachings really support Mahayana philosophy?” Luckily, the commentaries, Visuddhimagga, and Abhidhamma are so beautifully written, and thorough, that this never lasted long, as any reading made it abundantly clear that the idea in question that supposedly found support for Mahayana philosophy was mere confirmation bias, not supported in any way by these works, but, rather, flatly rejected and entirely defeated.

There were also lots of… not sure what to call them… trolls? Or maybe they were truly deluded and believed what they were saying? But, anyway, lots of users who would seem to agree with Theravada teachings, fairly consistently, but then would randomly clarify that their entire system of philosophy and belief is underpinned with the idea that we are all immortal consciousness outside the aggregates, or extreme nihilism, or some other idea that entirely contradicts the Theravada. They would agree with the Theravada teachings, but entirely misunderstand and reinterpret them. It was very confusing. For example, someone would support the Abhidhamma position on, let’s say, land not being created by kamma, but then hint, or outright declare, that it is created by a special consciousness outside the aggregates, or literally doesn’t exist at all, or some other outlandish idea. It was like being surrounded by flat Earthers, and finally someone says “I agree with you, and agree with scientific consensus, the Earth is round!” and you’re happy, but then they say, “Round in pictures, which makes it clear that it is a flat circle. Hence, the scientists are right, just not in the way you think they’re right.”

If anyone brought up the fact that all uniquely Theravada teachings were considered heterodox on a forum named “Theravada”, they would be told that “Theravada” is essentially a meaningless term, and completely rejecting everything that is Theravada, and only keeping the suttas does not mean people are just an Early Buddhist Text group (EBT). This would be supported with flawed logic, and strange ideas, and the final conclusion would be that it’s supposedly wrong to think that the only things unique to Theravada should be authoritative, or maybe even just not trashed and constantly refuted, on a Theravada site. Theravada, for them, then, is not Theravada, but it is still important to call their forum Theravada. Got it

Anyone who pointed out that the authoritative positions on the forums were Mahayana would be told they were wrong, and swarmed with people acting like that was the craziest idea, and that the similarities were mere coincidence, or imaginary. In essence, these other forums wanted the name “Theravada” for its weight as the most authentic school, but they wanted the name only. Everything else was Mahayana. Yet, they also held the word “Mahayana” with contempt, hence why they responded so defensively when the similarity, or rather identicalness of their ideas with Mahayana was pointed out. So they were really stuck in a self contradictory, nonsense position: We are Theravada, but everything uniquely Theravada is wrong, only our interpretations are right, they sound identical to Mahayana, but we are absolutely not Mahayana.

Finally, I would also be told that I alone saw things this way. That I alone saw a difference between how Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu paint Buddhism, from how the Theravada do, and so on. Only I believed that these Mahayana philosophies are different from Theravada, because I don’t understand them, and need to learn more about them (despite my having already read up on them extensively).

I felt like I was in a madhouse. It was truly bizarre. Every now and then, a small part of me would actually wonder if they were right, and I really was alone.

The creation of this new forum seems to confirm that I wasn’t alone, after all.

Hence, anyone who hasn’t experienced this can hopefully understand what a boon this new forum is. This is literally the only place I’ve seen where Theravada can be discussed without being trashed. This is the only place I’ve seen where Mahayana philosophy is not considered authoritative, and Theravada is actually considered as, well, Theravada!

If you’re Theravada, this is home.

I was lucky to copy the post of Zans before he delete it.

[bksubhuti]

@Zans

Even the areas that were supposedly strictly for traditional Theravada were exactly the same as everywhere else in the forums: places where you would be swarmed on by anti Theravada users.

Yup… Learning that the owner was not supportive of pure Theravada was the end for me too. Basically the people on other groups search for “latest” posts and just comment where they feel they want to. (we do the same here).

@kokoye2007 from Myanmar was also instrumental in setting up the system by dhamma-dāna. If you need a remote dev ops guy (setting up servers, sysadmin, internet apps, websites, etc)… feel free to contact him, the email and even this mention will bounce in his email.

I personally like to hear gratitude and rejoicing in my merits. It is part of ehem… Theravāda culture. Everyday, we see on the white board know who donated our food. Almost never, is it anonymous. Most kutis have plaques on the outside wall designating the donors. Westerners don’t like this sharing of merit stuff. I totally love it. It is a form of “merit rumination” (and I take the second and more literal definition “The action of chewing the cud” re-digesting the original merit). Most traditional monasteries will have names plastered all over the place. But @RobertK is the original donor who kept this going for 2 years. I approached him with a better solution and kokoye helped implement the initial setup. Robert and I also had very few expectations for the numbers who would join. I still send Robert messages repeatedly showing my gratitude.

[bksubhuti]

We just added a new feature. On a desktop, you can hover your mouse over the listed topic to see a small preview of the topic. Try it!

Just a small note:
If you put a link on the same line as text you will get a hyperlink. If you put the link on its own separate line, you will get an embed. When linking to references to suttacentral, it is best not to give a separate line. You can also use the link tool to provide a link.

This is an example of the reference to the new feature Discourse-tooltips - preview topic contents on hover - plugin - Discourse Meta
This is an example of the new feature listed here using the link tool.

The feature is listed here below on its separate line.

Discourse-tooltips - preview topic contents on hover

[bksubhuti]

I have modified the gif button component to make a pāḷi composer popup link to appear in the default theme (light theme). Just click on the GIF button located to the left of the settings icon. It will make a velthius pāḷi composer popup. Some letters you need to type slowly, but it works. Later I will change the button to “P”, but it works now. After you type your word, close the window so you don’t get confused.
I just used it for writing

pāḷi

Later, I might make it work like a proper button should, but this hack works. I prefer using TPP to make my pali words because I can get a list of properly spelled words for me to choose as I type normal letters or velthius. Watch video here.

[bksubhuti]

I have updated the new component to be totally local. Type any velthuis mixed into your post and it will make a copy below. You will need to delete the original until I figure that out. Try it out!

You will see a button called en.Pāḷi in the composer window, type velthuis and click and see what happens.

Here is a sample after pressing the paa.li button:
eva.m me sutta.m

--------------------new text--------------------
Here is a sample after pressing the pāḷi button:
evaṃ me suttaṃ
--------------------end text--------------------

[bksubhuti]

To help keep things more harmonious, I have changed the introduction statement to include the feared EBT word, “dogmatic” as a description for our group.

Now if we are called “dogmatic” as a derogatory word, we can ask such people to help us improve our site description.

The FAQ has been simplified and changed too.

[SamanaJohann]

_/_ Venerables
_/_ Bhante Subhuti

valued Buddhaparisada,

my person has taken on account on vague trust that given, assuming being given and in reach of the Sangha and monstics under the Gems.

May it be not seen as burden to ask about clearancy in this regard.

Independent, but very related, my person would suggest, if those who take Dhamma-Vinaya very serious, or not able to do act outwardly are wished to join, to make a clear invitation in this regard visible.

It it’s also very needed to have a seperat area for monastics to good follow up duties and protocols.

And as the tradition starts with proper regard, dependency, veneration, good to encourage also here by an “Abhivadana-forum”.

[SamanaJohann]

[quote=“RobertK, post:1, topic:451”]

/ Venerables / Bhante Subhuti valued Buddhaparisada, my person has taken on account on vague trust that given, assuming being given and in reach of the Sangha and monstics under the Gems. May it be not seen as burden to ask about clearancy in this regard. Independent, but very related, my person would suggest, if those who take Dhamma-Vinaya very serious, or not able to do act outwardly are wished to join, to make a clear invitation in this regard visible. It it’s also very needed to h…
[/quote]

Dear Venerable
I will reply for the forum.
At the moment we do not require a bhikkhus only section. If membership increases this might be considered.

Also please be considered in your posts and endeavour to make them easy to understand and respectful of other opinions. Members on other forums have complained about this issue.
With respect
Robert

Appreciation for care, Nyom Robert, althought it still leaves the most relevant question still a matter of vague trust.

And, to perceive not wrong: it seems to be a lay man “controlled” area, or has it been given to use for the Sangha, or individuall monks? As such matters a lot as well. In other words who is, could be assumed as “Forum” answering? Sangha? A joint adventure of individuals, lay, ordained, or even mixed?

[SamanaJohann]

Okasa Bhante,

Upasaka Robert,

just as a feed-forward: it seems to be that there a merely neurotical limitations, restrictions, engagements in control, censue and moderation, that it is to be assumed that anybody who has no certain personal preference whould hardly have much joy to put much efforts into sacrifices into this domain.

Giving space, birth, an existence requires much patient and help, could only be done by a parent-like mind, that of a Brahma. Stressed parents, much to busy with themselves, or to many children elsewhere tend to byapada, even if they mean it well, holding lot in their sphere of control.

Suggested already via pm, good that foremost the Venerables try to get out of such duties.

[hannibal]

I can’t find the FAQ…

A quick “Ctrl+F” on the homepage only finds the message to read it. And searching the forums led me here.

[bksubhuti]

If you click on your menu on just next to your “H” circleAvatar, you will see at the bottom a listing for Faq.
We need to make the Faq nicer and more friendly. After that, I will pin the Faq to the general discussion at the top. So people can find the Faq more easilly .
It would be good to send your input about this and making it more friendly but still having the same message.

[asahi]

I dont see any button on how to contact the admin or mods .

[bksubhuti]

I added this to the faq.

[asahi]

It seems we cant edit our post

[bksubhuti]

That is correct. After certain time period, you cannot edit your previous work. This preserves the integrity from this who respond later.

[asahi]

Maybe the post can have allowance of two hours before get fixed . Sometimes , a new thought comes into mind or edit in adding subtract words or due to typo etc .

[bksubhuti]

There is a 1440 minutes limit set.
However, only basic user and above can edit the post.
I think this is system default method.

[bksubhuti]

We have added who-is-online plugin. Now you can see who is online while you are there.