Re: [Zen] Goats vs. Sheep

[Kathleen Knight]

The story, as I was taught, was that Buddha's own aunt wanted fervently to become a nun.  At first there were only monks.  The Buddha finally consented, but established many rules for nuns, stating as well that even the most senior nun was junior to the most junior monk.  Either this teacher (from the Great Courses collection of Harvard) was mistaken, or Buddha was, as I said, vulnerable himself to societal conventions.  Unless of course, you believe he was right in doing this. Kathleen ----- Original Message ----- From: Genryu To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004 7:42 PM Subject: Re: [Zen] Goats vs. Sheep Yes, most of the evidence suggests that the discriminatory rules were largely later additions to the Vinaya, not instituted by the Buddha.   Genryu ----- Original Message ----- From: Kathleen Knight To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2004 1:43 PM Subject: Re: [Zen] Goats vs. Sheep Thus making clear to all of us why Buddha told us to question all teacher, including himself.  He, like all of us, was susceptible to a mind conditioned by the society in which he lived <waiting for thunderbolt to strike me here>.  Can you give any other rational explanation for such arbitrary distinctions? Kathleen Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right  Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right  Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.