Debate aside, please consider this entire post in light of the linked article at the beginning and ask yourself if you still feel the same way.

One could make the case for a lot of things, but that doesn’t erase the real-life suffering children and adults undergo through neglect and a society that leaves them out in the cold.

Stories like the one in the Avatamsaka Sutra have been used before, but at the end of the day, I just don’t really care. It is a story, a piece of literature, and can’t hold a candle to what people experience here and now. Of course, being a fellow scholar ( ) I share your love of the literature, but this issue is not an academic one.

P.S. Please take no offense, and do not take this as a direct comment. I knew someone would ask sooner or later, so better to try to answer the question for readers in general.

Thanks very much for the encouragement. I think you’ve hit upon some great points. Buddhism’s strength is its tolerance and compassion for all beings, foibles and all, but at the same time, one also has to shed light on darkness as well, so to speak. A tricky balance at times. It’s easy to fall into the trap of condemnation (and this post is rather inflammatory), but I guess it’s a matter of whether one is getting an ego trip out of it, or whether you’re trying to help others through awareness. Mindfulness is the key I suppose.

Well said Doug. As I read this I wanted to personally reach out and shake your hand mate. Very very well said. And it’s something not said enough.

I agree, too often Buddhism is equated as meditation and the basics are left behind. But the basics, the precepts, are themselves a lifetime’s work and practice, and ignoring them leads to suffering.

Here in Bangkok, where I’ve been – on and off – for the past ten or eleven years, people do so easily get drawn into using sex workers (even those involved in Sangha). I understand why that happens and can even appreciate some of the reasons and justifications, but at the end of the day, when you do this you are causing huge spiritual harm.

Sadly, the Thai Sangha does little to confront it. Most of the sex industry (over 90%) is Thai, and the temples do little to challenge it. Even within the much smaller sex industry that caters to foriegners, the charities and support groups set up to confront customers and help the workers are run by Christians.

I think the reason is that Buddhism, rightly, doesn’t like to condemn people for their choices. After all, everyone knows the precepts and everyone knows there will be a karmic come-back. But at the same time, I think an attitude like yours in this post – one not afraid to tell it like it is – is needed sometimes.

Thank you again Doug, I agree and support every word.

Marcus

Thanks for the encouragement. I wrote this as an unusually inflammatory post because I really, really hoped someone would read this and at least think about it. Especially knowing that children might be involved and such. Let’s just say it hit a raw nerve.

And as for the being a gentleman and helping around the house, you couldn’t be more right! Life outside the house is tough enough (both of us working) without one or the other having to do all the household chores alone. The article linked to is extremely upsetting, but your post and the sutras cited are SO needed for today’s society. I honestly wish there was a way to spread that message to everyone. Some would completely ignore it, but others might just see the truth in it and take it as a wake up call and maybe make life easier for everyone around them. As for myself, I’m going to make doubly certain that I try even harder to make life better for my family.

Great post, though a hard read (the article), I hope the point gets across. Thanks!