Live data from Hacker News

The Open Buddhist University

buddhistuniversity.net

41–50 of 150 posts

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#41
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

I’m confused. Are you saying that the content on the site is not accurate?

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#42
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

Thanks for your comment. Can you speak to the quality of the content on the site?

I would hope that's more important than the "authority" of the author.

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#43
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

That doesn't sound like a very Buddhist thing to say? I thought Buddhists were supposed to be about "no ego", not "don't listen to this guy because I'm more senior/got more titles than him".

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#44
post #41
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

I’m confused. Are you saying that the content on the site is not accurate?

I googled and found they created the site with one years experience, or around three years at the moment. Take from that what you will.

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#45
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

I would note he’s not claiming to be a teacher or a dean or claiming anything other than:

Khemarato Bhikkhu (Chief Librarian)

I’d note also he’s not written anything of his own “teaching” but instead provides a curated set of texts.

I think the wise thing to do in these situations is to carefully review what you’re going to criticize publicly to be certain your accusations are merited.

As a lay student of Buddhism for the past 30 years I find these resources well selected and presented and find no cause to diminish the contribution towards informal dharma education.

I also have never been a huge fan of the implicit and explicit hierarchy of the sangha. Buddha detailed how a huge range of students became enlightened and began teaching, including students who were otherwise very dumb but immediately grasped his teachings and became profoundly influential teachers. IMO, the entrenchment of status and hierarchy impedes the practice and shows a system of institutionalized attachments. In my practice I’ve found wisdom in anyone who has wisdom that helps me understand what distracts me from nonthinking and non attachment to self and unacceptance of what is. The sangha deserve the respect they earn by pursuing the path and being the keepers and teachers of the buddhas teachings. But I sometimes think that respect translates into deviation from those same teachings in the sangha itself (not withstanding the luxury cars and wives and things you see outside forest).

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#46
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

Wow! I mean it's good to know that he has only a few yrs of experience but to say that take his website with a grain of salt is definitely not the most Buddhist way.

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#47
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

Wow! I mean it's good to know that he has only a few yrs of experience but to say that take his website with a grain of salt is definitely not the most Buddhist way.

I don’t know… I think talking from a point of authority with a year or twos experience is very HN-ish of the OP, and if someone’s dedicating their life to a spiritual journey then they are going to rightfully want to make sure people know a ‘university’ is possibly wrong on those topics. Could have been said with more tact for sure

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#48
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

That doesn't sound like a very Buddhist thing to say? I thought Buddhists were supposed to be about "no ego", not "don't listen to this guy because I'm more senior/got more titles than him".

Spending 5 years in Thailand I've learned that Buddhism while funamentally different from other religions in the best ways operates just the same in practical reality. It's almost like classification and status is inherit to any group activity and not in a good way unfortunately.

To give perspective on the "dark" side of Buddhism I highly recommend "Come and See" documentary on Netflix which is hard to explain without spoilers but it's a great illustration of how everything evolves into a crab eventually.

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#49
post #38

Actual Buddhist monk here (Ajahn Subharo), in the Theravada Thai forest lineage. Khemarato Bhikkhu - who is much more junior a monk than me, and is not formally any sort of Ajahn (teacher) yet - and myself both have Computer Science degrees, which are rare things for Buddhist monks to have. So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Budd…

That doesn't sound like a very Buddhist thing to say? I thought Buddhists were supposed to be about "no ego", not "don't listen to this guy because I'm more senior/got more titles than him".

I guess it's the same problem as with the all-loving god of Christianity and the people who claim "God hates ...'.

Re: The Open Buddhist University

#50
post #4

I love that this doesn't require any account to sign up for, and that lectures are available as direct downloads. I wish more online courses worked this way.

There's also tons of directly downloadable content from the Insight Meditation Center[1] here: https://www.audiodharma.org/ [1] - which is, to my knowledge, not affiliated with the Open Buddhist University

I strongly recommend Insight Meditation center and specifically Gil’s introduction to meditation series, which he has reprised many many times and each one is a gem of new insight. He also leads daily meditations on YouTube starting with the pandemic and they plus the corresponding dharma lesson before and after are absolutely the best resource I’ve ever encountered. He imparts his wisdom in a remarkably clear and direct way, without lecturing or referring to canon, but instead constructing a easily understood framework that’s intuitively accessible. He layers the lessons daily throughout a week, and every week more or less stands independent, yet the more you follow the deeper the interconnections of his lessons go. He has clearly devoted a considerable amount of thought and time and energy to formulating his style of teaching and it’s clear by reviewing old audio dharma (extending back to 1995) his lifetime arc as a teacher.
Post reply on HN