|
Page 2 of 6
In recent years there have been numerous critiques of
both the Buddhist teachings and certain Buddhist teachers. Unfortunately, these
often reveal a serious degree of ignorance about the subject-matter. Many
Tibetan lamas adopt the attitude that "it doesn't matter," because they
genuinely don't mind such attacks. I think the perspective of many lamas is
vaster than trying to keep track of the latest likes and dislikes of the fickle
modern mind. Other Tibetan lamas adopt the attitude that Westerners are merely
spiritual window-shopping, telling the younger lamas like myself, "See, we told
you! They are not here for the dharma. For them, we are a mere curiosity." In an
attempt to adopt a good motivation, I would like to propose some alternative
perspectives.
Certain critiques of Buddhism actually enhance
my devotion to the teachings and to my teachers, because I feel the dharma
defies any such criticisms. But I also feel that some of these writings can be
harmful in their effect. There may be many beings whose connection to the dharma
is just about to ripen, and these writings can jeopardize their opportunity. In
our life we encounter a multitude of obstacles and difficult circumstances. But
the worst possible obstacle is to be prevented from engaging in an authentic
path to enlightenment.
In this age, when people naively jump
to conclusions based on the writings of those who try to warn about the hazards
of guru-disciple relationships, such critiques may result in the tragic
destruction for many people of their only chance of liberation from the ocean of
suffering. In the sutras, it is stated that someone who rejoices even
momentarily over something that leads to such a lost opportunity will not
encounter the path of enlightenment for hundreds of
lifetimes.
Generally, I think that when we want to expose a
fault or present an opinion, two attributes are necessary: one should know the
subject thoroughly, and one should not oneself have the faults that one is
criticizing. Otherwise, one will be, as the Tibetan proverb describes, "a monkey
who laughs at another monkey's tail." Let us not forget that as human beings we
are victims of our own narrow-minded interpretations. We should not give so much
authority to our limited points of view: our interpretations and subjective
perspectives are limitless and almost always stem from our own fears,
expectations and ignorance.
It would be of great amusement to
many learned Tibetan scholars if they could read some of the presentations
written by Westerners on such subjects as Buddhism or gurus. It is like
imagining an old Tibetan lama reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet or
listening to a beautiful aria. He would most probably think the former
uninteresting and that the latter sounded like a cat being skinned alive!
|
