Serpent Energy

In my 35+ years of practice I have found out, as I’ve matured, that others who I might have once thought were not practicing the dharma correctly, were just passing through one of the other 84,000 Dharma gates. And I have learned more by listening to them tell their story in their own way, instead of merely dismissing them out of hand. And, in that listening, my Dharma Gate has opened all the wider.

And so I would like to very politely ask us here to have free access to all the voices of the Buddhist community. Even those with whom they might have deep disagreements. I, for one, am here to share dialog with others, not to play watchdog over what is allowed to be shared, and what is not to be allowed.

I would have very uncomfortable feelings about telling a fellow Buddhist that they were not welcome. I would not feel comfortable about telling a fellow Buddhist that their views were not allowed. And I would not feel comfortable about making a fellow Buddhist feel that they were unwelcome. And I am afraid that if we single out one practitioner’s tradition to be banned, then this is what would be done: making them feel unwelcome.

It is relatively easy to exercise compassion towards those you know who have fallen upon difficult times. But the real thrust of compassion is wrought when you have compassion for those with whom you have sharp disagreements with, or who threaten you, or who have done you harm.

This does not mean that you have to agree with them, or that you must confront them with debate. It means that you exercise tolerance and forbearance of practice. Needless to say, if there were no dialog, but merely spamming, trolling, and flaming, then that would be a situation in which we are not able to carry on our practice in an unthreatening environment. And appropriate actions should be addressed at that time.

All I am asking of my respected fellow Buddhist community members is that they allow other traditions to be allowed the same rights and courtesies that they would want for themselves.