Thank you Venerable. Perhaps I misunderstand the purpose of this forum? The only reason I am here is because I thought this site was supposed to be a place where personal philosophies and rejection of the CT tradition weren’t allowed. If that’s not the case, I may as well simply apologize to you and everyone here for misunderstanding the FAQ, and go back to dhammawheel.
The user “Philosophy” is doing exactly what the FAQ for this forum, the way I understand it, says not to do. My seemingly incorrect view is: if there are no consequences for breaking the rules, then we are basically back on dhammawheel anyway. Their CT subforum has very similar rules to this forum, but they’re not enforced, there, either. On dhammawheel, like on here, I may post a CT topic, in the CT subforum, and if non CT users want to join in and claim the CT tradition is wrong, and their personal philosophy is correct, there’s nothing I can do about it but argue with them, and demonstrate that they are wrong with quotes from CT, while they smugly declare the CT tradition wrong with impunity. There is no authoritative position, nor authoritative texts, nor interpretations, it’s just anything goes Buddhism, and personal philosophies. This is exactly my experience, with this present issue, here, too.
If this is the case with this forum, it would mean I am wrong, and you are right, of course. I’m not faulting anyone, nor claiming my understanding of the FAQ for this forum, nor dhammmawheel’s rules, is the correct one, since it’s not my forum, and I didn’t write the rules. I’m just trying to understand where everything stands. If I am in fact, wrong, and the FAQ for this forum doesn’t mean non CT positions, refutation of CT, and claiming one’s personal philosophy is superior to CT aren’t allowed, please let me know, and I’ll apologize to everyone, and move on.
This is what I am referencing in the FAQ, and homepage for this forum:
Who Should Join
We are looking for people who are interested in Classical Theravāda who are not afraid of dogmatism as it relates to Classical Theravāda. We are not looking to be convinced about alternate faiths, even those within “The Wide Range of Buddhism”. Please do not publicize this website, but only share by word of mouth. We are refugees from other groups looking to discuss and praise Classical Theravāda. If this group is for you, we welcome you. Please read the FAQ before joining.
FAQ
This website forum was created for those who are in favor of Classical Theravāda which will be known as CT and the members as CT’ers. CT was created for those who seek a supportive environment or safe haven to discuss such topics in English without the entanglements of other “schools” which seem to be the majority in the English Dhamma world.
Who Should Not Join?
If you are not in favor of Classical Theravāda, which means the full Tipitaka including Abhidhamma with the commentary explanations and most of the sub-commentaries, it would be best join another group such as Dhammawheel or Suttacentral.
Disqualification Checklist:
- Are you one who passionately follows other sects of Buddhism?
- Do you wish to spread these other nonCT teachings here?
What if I’m not a pure orthodox Theravādan?
Some who want to learn CT but not convert are welcome, but “learning” must be the intent rather than “sharing”. It is a one-way experience if you wish to join.
…
What category on this website can I share about other forms of Buddhism not related to CT?
There is no such category here. CT has no such subgroups by design.
What if someone talks bad about my nonCT group and I want to defend it?
CT is biased and this is not a place for defending nonCT. You would not defend negative Buddhist posts inside a separate online Christian group. The same is true here.
Try to keep it Classical Theravada
While it is allowed to speak negatively about other nonCT groups, too much of this is not good. We might even warn our most devoted CT members about this if it is dragging the group down into negativity. CT’s motto is,
CT has so much wonderful stuff, why do we need to focus on anything else? Talk about what you like and have faith in.
If you want to generate a new topic, just pick a favorite sutta or commentary explanation and say why you like it. Randomly open a book and report on it. Go for it. This is what CT is all about. Post what floats your CT boat and share it with others.
Fairness
We do not need to be fair. However, we will try to be fair to those who belong here. When you join, you recognize this and surrender all personal work/ownership posted here to the public domain which has no rules. If we don’t like a topic, we can shut it down, or even delete it. Your real name can be demanded for future participation but not for others. Membership can be downgraded, limited, suspended, or deleted for any reason in the name of protecting the well being and purpose of this website.
And a few of Philosophy’s posts that seem to me to violate these rules, there are many more, this is just a small selection (DMT is a hardcore hallucinogenic drug being equated with jhana, in the following, if anyone is unaware):
For comparison, dhammawheel’s CT subforum rules:
The Abhidhamma and Classical Theravada sub-forums are specialized venues for the discussion of the Abhidhamma and the classical Mahavihara understanding of the Dhamma. Within these forums the Pali Tipitaka and its commentaries are for discussion purposes treated as authoritative, and the following classification of priority, derived from the tradition itself, is accepted.
- Sutta: “the well-said” = the three baskets of the Tipiṭaka.
- Suttānuloma: “the according with the well-said” = a direct inference from the Tipiṭaka.
- Atthakathā: “treatise on the meaning” = an ancient commentary.
- Attanomati: “personal opinion” = the expositions and views of later generations of teachers.
These forums are for the benefit of those members who wish to develop a deeper understanding of these texts and are not for the challenging of the Abhidhamma and/or Theravada commentarial literature.Posts should, where appropriate, include support from a reference or a citation (Tipitaka, commentarial, or from a later work from an author representative of the Classical point-of-view).
Posts that contain personal opinions and conjecture, points of view arrived at from meditative experiences, conversations with devas, blind faith in the supreme veracity of one’s own teacher’s point of view etc. are all regarded as off-topic, and as such, will be subject to moderator review and/or removal.
And, dhammawheel’s CT subforum is filled with users that have very similar views and post nearly identical ideas as the user called Philosophy does, here.
So, it would seem, I’m the odd man out! I guess I should just accept that general Buddhism and personal philosophies will always trump everything else, regardless of what any rules seem to say. Oh well. Sorry for misunderstanding!
I wish everyone much metta, peace, and enlightenment!