There’s something interesting happening here. Not quite irony, but something about seeing an expert notice and describe in details a general problem and then go on the suffer that problem themselves. It’s sort of like the only way to become really expert in something is to do it, and that goes for being an expert in all the ways we can fail to be integrated, even with bodhi.
Hmm, but is it really necessary to become an expert in… anything, really, much less anything so esoteric as meditation/enlightenment/whatever, in order to avoid doing any sexual misconduct? It seems like most people manage this without any great expertise at all…
I think you miss my point. He’s offering here a detailed explanation of how we can fail to integrate with what we value, and I point out that maybe that’s because he has such difficulty with it. I’m not making any particular point here about whether or not he is an expert in meditation, bodhi, etc. or whether that is relevant to sexual misconduct beyond it being an instance of failing to integrate his actions with what he claims to value. That most people manage not to engage in sexual misconduct, commit murder, steal, etc. doesn’t seem much relevant to the point of understanding the gears of how not to do it, even if most of us don’t need to know about the gears to get our desired outcome.
Depending on standards of what counts as sexual misconduct, men in powerful position quite often engage in it.
He basically engaged in extramarital affairs and wasn’t always fully truthful about them with his wife. He also seemed to have paid money to sex workers which is also an activity in which many people engage.
As far as people we know of in that kind of position of social power, this doesn’t seem untypical to me.
Also related: https://engagedharma.net/2019/08/19/culadasa-charged-with-sexual-misconduct/
The article’s title is misleading. He didn’t harass or rape anyone. He had sex with prostitutes and hid that from his wife.
I think it’s completely fair to describe that as “sexual misconduct.”
Agreed. It’s definitely sexual misconduct in the sense generally meant by the lay precept against sexual misconduct in Buddhist schools.
There’s something interesting happening here. Not quite irony, but something about seeing an expert notice and describe in details a general problem and then go on the suffer that problem themselves. It’s sort of like the only way to become really expert in something is to do it, and that goes for being an expert in all the ways we can fail to be integrated, even with bodhi.
Hmm, but is it really necessary to become an expert in… anything, really, much less anything so esoteric as meditation/enlightenment/whatever, in order to avoid doing any sexual misconduct? It seems like most people manage this without any great expertise at all…
I think you miss my point. He’s offering here a detailed explanation of how we can fail to integrate with what we value, and I point out that maybe that’s because he has such difficulty with it. I’m not making any particular point here about whether or not he is an expert in meditation, bodhi, etc. or whether that is relevant to sexual misconduct beyond it being an instance of failing to integrate his actions with what he claims to value. That most people manage not to engage in sexual misconduct, commit murder, steal, etc. doesn’t seem much relevant to the point of understanding the gears of how not to do it, even if most of us don’t need to know about the gears to get our desired outcome.
Depending on standards of what counts as sexual misconduct, men in powerful position quite often engage in it.
He basically engaged in extramarital affairs and wasn’t always fully truthful about them with his wife. He also seemed to have paid money to sex workers which is also an activity in which many people engage.
As far as people we know of in that kind of position of social power, this doesn’t seem untypical to me.