The Open Buddhist University
buddhistuniversity.net
buddhistuniversity.net
So take his authority to run a "university" with a huge grain of salt. He would get roundly mocked in subtle ways by senior Buddhist monks if he thinks he has the seniority to be the "dean" of a "university". It's only once you have 10 years seniority that one, as a Theravada monk, earns the title of "Elder" ("Thera", an ancient Pali word in the Pali Canon), or an "Ajahn" (a Thai word simply meaning teacher, roughly corresponding to that same 10 years seniority).
I've never met him in person, but have cordially chatted with him a few times in the internet. We're both on Mastodon:
Him: https://digipres.club/@obu
Myself: https://mstdn.ca/@sbb
From what I saw, yes, it seemed quite solid, and doesn't misrepresent Theravada views.
I would hope that's more important than the "authority" of the author.
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.
I am a Buddhist but it is hard to say I am serious or I would be living alone in the woods.
Nearly all Buddhist teachings IMO are bullshit and just enforcing natural hierarchy.
Sogyal Rinpoche telling his female students he is going to give them a dharma lesson by sleeping with him. In a metaphorical sense though I think that is what most students are looking for actually too and of course they find it.
For me personally, I don't want to wake up yet. I am still enjoying this dream.
That is as sweeping a statement as one could make about Buddhism.
Do you do your vipassana with concentration-prep, or do you do it dry?
I do it dry mself.
If you were considering enrolling in a university, would you look into the reputation of that university? I'll bet you would. You'd want to know what it's reputation is like. Well, I'm offering insights into that, and yes his seniority got pulled into that description. He's quite a junior monk to be running his own website. In the Theravada world, this would be almost universally discouraged (it isn't just me who feels this way): trying to run a website while still quite a junior monk. There's no way my own teacher would have approved of it. Theravada culture is conservative - guilty as charged there.
As to his wisdom: I've never actually lived with him, so I can't comment on what he's like. He seems astute enough from my dealings with him. No complaints from me, other than that choice of the word "university". These sorts of things - someone's wisdom - can only be seen with time. As to his choices of what he curates on his website: I agree there's a lot of great resources listed there. My tastes and his are a little different - which is to be expected - and I wouldn't say there are any "red flags" to speak of. It's a solid website. Please don't be discouraged from checking it out. I'm not trying to stop anyone from going explore it. Thanks for taking the time to check out Theravada Buddhism. :)
PS: I have a personal little indie website here: https://bhikkhu.ca/ ...but I don't go so far as to call it a "university". It's a personal website, which doesn't make itself out to be anything more than that.
Here you had a good chance to reflect and backtrack. But no, he's quite a junior monk to be running his own website. Well, I'm not even a monk and run my own website, how about that?
He seems so full of hate and preconceptions that it almost sounds like a troll.
Also who calls himself a monk and spends time on social media? Not that it’s supposed to be forbidden but social media is basically the death of attention…
Not me. Teachers are like anyone else; they come in all shapes and sizes. They have personalities, passions and emotions, just like everyone.
I’m not teacher, but my interpretation of Buddhism isn’t to not say “damn!” When you stub your toe. But rather to question why you said “damn!” When you stubbed your toe.
The perception that monks can never exhibit emotion or should always be relaxed is a purely American idea and a stereotype.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?artic...
Probably every culture has something to say about pretentiousness, false prophets, stolen valor, etc.
I think this is just a case of friendly fire.
u/esbeeb got fluffed up, commented in public, and is now in a public food fight.
Better would have been to keep this private. Now his best PR/diplomatic move would be to say he'll confer with the "chief librarian" offline and he's sorry for all the fuss.
We've all been there.
PS- Yes, I know, this koan is most often interpreted to mean one should tackle one's own preconceptions. I'm making a point. Before getting dramatic, first get curious.
Secondly, Buddhism isn't a corporate ladder with annual promotions, it's a set of understandings. 10 years or 10 hours, it's not the time that matters, it's the understanding. Maybe examine why you're really putting down this guy's effort? Is it really about him, or is it about how you feel about yourself?
Also: don't allow yourself to be goaded by this comment, or by this situation, everyone's intentions here are positive. If they are wrong, let them be wrong. With that in mind, my final word: Give yourself the validation you need, or give up on the need entirely.
Don't harsh my mellow.
Do marsh my mallow.
Apparently there are different schools of Buddhism, some focuses more on "corporate ladder" than others... So...
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).
...well then, it would make more sense to me, that he call his collection of very likeable, commendable Dhamma resources a "library", rather than a "university".
My gratitude to the Librarian seeking to establish a place for people to learn advanced topics, appropriately named a university.
It's called clickbait and it's widely acknowledge to be a dishonest method of promotion.
This is just a title. “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” turned out to just be a book about a rather boring Englishman and his friend, not actually a pan galactic travel guide. Titles are allowed to be compelling as long as they aren’t outright BS. No one really thinks there’s a Buddhist university with degrees and graduation ceremonies and the promise of enlightenment with every degree. When I clicked on it I expected to see pretty much what I got.
It is about the travelling guide. The Englishman is there just to vitalize the story. /s
What does "authority" mean in a Buddhist context? From what little I know about it, Buddhism isn't like the Catholic church, where everything is a hierarchical pyramid with a single individual at the top, through which authoritative declarations can be made. Plus, schools like Theravada and Zen seem to differ quite significantly from each other, so an authority according to one might be a heretic according to the other. So how is authority assigned in practice, and is it universally recognized among all people who call themselves "Buddhists"?
That's a fantastic question, and the short answer is: "given my expertise is in the Theravada world... how authority works is complicated". An overly simplistic answer is: the number of years of a monk's seniority is the easy and fairly-reliable gauge of a monk's authority.
It would take a good 1-hour Dhamma Talk for me to explain what I know. Most people would be bored, and possibly even uninspired after hearing the non-tldr answer. Do you really want the non-tldr answer?
Authority, or expertise?
Authority requires either enforcement, or widespread recognition, or both. The government has authority because it has the ability to use violence. Doctors have authority because most people view them as authority figures.
Does the average Buddhist say "that monk has X years of seniority, so I'm going to take him by his word"?
My experience is in a Tibetan tradition. In that context, "authority" derives partly from lineage, i.e. who your teacher's teacher ('s teacher, etc.) was. It comes partly from their training and experience; and it depends partly on what you are hoping to learn.
Some "senior" Tibetan monks derive their authority from their birth-family; being the nephew of a very senior monk conferred "authority" on the discredited Sogyal Rimpoche. Other monks are authoritative because they've spent decades meditating in a cave.
But really, I don't think authority is a good guide for choosing a teacher. They usually say you should try a few, and see which one works for you. But that's risky. In general, choosing a teacher is laden with risk, because you're going to commit a lot of time to that relationship. It's probably best not to start :-)
From what I saw, yes, it seemed quite solid, and doesn't misrepresent Theravada views.
> Would this be a good place for me to learn about Buddhism?
It wouldn't hurt, as a start. If you want to learn more about it on an experiential level, I would suggest going on a meditation retreat, ideally one which is 10 days long, run by an organization with a good reputation.
“Monks, do not wage wordy warfare, saying: 'You don't understand this Dhamma and discipline, I understand this Dhamma and discipline'; 'How could you understand it? You have fallen into wrong practices: I have the right practice'; 'You have said afterwards what you should have said first, and you have said first what you should have said afterwards';[1] 'What I say is consistent, what you say isn't'; 'What you have thought out for so long is entirely reversed'; 'Your statement is refuted'; 'You are talking rubbish!'; 'You are in the wrong'; 'Get out of that if you can!'
"Why should you not do this? Such talk, monks, is not related to the goal, it is not fundamental to the holy life, does not conduce to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, tranquillity, higher knowledge, enlightenment or to Nibbana. When you have discussions, monks, you should discuss Suffering, the Arising of Suffering, its Cessation, and the Path that leads to its Cessation. Why is that? Because such talk is related to the goal... it conduces to disenchantment... to Nibbana. This is the task you must accomplish”
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.009.wl...
Also please read https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-bu-vb-pc2/en/brahmali?layout...
Ok here is my go to Buddhist computer joke.
You do know that Buddhist are not forbidden from using email, only they can have 'no attachments'.
Ahem... I will see myself out.
I only know a bit about buddhism, but mocking people doesn't sound like 'senior' behaviour to me. Mocking people is very immature.
I cannot imagine that someone like Thich Nhat Hanh would mock anyone.
I do not know venerable Khemarato, nor his teachings, but I would humbly suggest that if you’re concerned about people being misled in the Dhamma by that website, it’s better to focus on the content.
After about 15 hours of work, I've posted a 1.5hr video with many slides answering it:
https://bhikkhu.ca/buddhism/video/2023/06/01/Dhamma_Talk_113...
Content QA: https://buddhistuniversity.net/tests/content
Easy cookie opt-out: https://buddhistuniversity.net/settings/
Zero latency search: https://buddhistuniversity.net/search/
Granular RSS feeds: https://buddhistuniversity.net/feed
I think the quality of search recall and ranking could be improved though. It has zero tolerance for misspelling for instance, and cannot match partial words while you are typing the terms. Still, it is pretty cool. And open source too, which is even cooler.
It's kind of neat that they did hand write it in a way. A fun project I'm sure. And they even made it run in a worker to keep things even more quick and responsive.
After a quick glance I would say it is a Therevada "University" with a few texts (but no courses) on other Buddhist schools.
> It is based on his personal library on Google Drive which he shared with his friends after his ordination in Thailand in 2019.
Also:
> Khemarato Bhikkhu [...] is a former software engineer from Silicon Valley.
I don't think I have encountered a website with tests before - https://buddhistuniversity.net/tests/
I would never brand myself or be a part of the cult though (claiming that one is better than the other or that everything said is holy). Even though one of things religions are good at is to also be to give people a sense of belonging to a community with similar virtues.
One of the mental models that has been particularly beneficial for me is the EightFold Path (also called Dharma Chakra or Dharma Wheel) that comes from Buddhism.
It basically says have the right view, thoughts, words, concentration, effort and action. Practising this keeps me in a virtuous cycle and makes feeling good feel like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So some people do see them as external things to ask things of but others see them as mind created and used as supports for meditation to realize our own true nature. Depends on lineage and teacher.
$160,000 in revenue for an hour of work for the pious Dalai Lama.
It really was a blessing though to realize in that movement what complete fools and suckers we are for authority in this area.
There is really nothing more than one Linji Yixuan/Rinzai Gigen quote to read and "learn".
"There is no Dharma outside the heart, nor anything to find inside. So what are you looking for?"
Of course, that doesn't really work when trying to build your Buddhist brand and get bunch of "followers".
[1] - which is, to my knowledge, not affiliated with the Open Buddhist University
Six years of practice for me, first in Mahayana Buddhism, then into Advaita Vedanta. Can recommend teachers like Rupert Spira, Francis Lucille, and the late Alan Watts.
Anybody want a rational conversation about meditation (zazen etc), I'm game.
The two monks have both been ordained for over 10 years, youngish (30s), intellectual, progressive, and deeply compassionate. They are in the process of creating the monastery, and it's amazing and inspiring to watch the community grow.
Best wishes on the path! It's a beautiful and healing training for the mind.
The canonical texts of the Theravada school, in which this website is rooted, are transcriptions the original, actual, oral teachings of the historical Buddha of ~500 BC.
These texts are called the Pali Canon. They are the Buddha's actual words, orally trasmitted by monks for 500 years, and then transcribed in the 1st century AD. Much of the Pali Canon has been translated into English and is available at sites like suttacentral.com and accesstoinsight.com.
It's true that the the Open Buddhist University's solidly presectarian/Early Buddhist foundation isn't obvious if you are not already familiar with it.
They are the closest thing we have to what the Buddha might have taught (assuming he actually existed, and like Jesus, there is no evidence outside of religious texts that Buddha did exist).
The rest of your comment feels plausible, but confidently being so wrong about such an easy to check fact of scholarship makes it all untrustworthy.
My understanding is that scholars also believe that Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, was indeed historical, but the contemporary sources are weaker.
This is correct and as for which parts of the text are original, philologists such as KR Norman, Gombrich, Vetter and Bronkhorst have come to some consensus (like on the four noble truths and dhyana), excluded some things and some things are still debated.
In any case, when I check out the library https://buddhistuniversity.net/tags/ it clearly makes a distinction between Early Buddhist texts, Therevada texts, Mahayana texts, Vajrayana texts, etc. From this I had the (apparently mistaken?) impression that they represented on equal footing.
I've not yet finished it but so far it's fascinating.
[0]https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/320...
Doesn't seem very useful (fun?) unless you understand Pali, though.
Tricycle interviewed the creator about it: https://tricycle.org/article/pali-wordle/
As reading books on Buddhism is for sure beneficial, there is no way to really enter the methods just by using books; one becomes a buddhist by meeting a teacher and following his instructions. At that step books are immensely helpful. Especially if they are the books specialized on particular lineage of methods and teachings.
On the other hand, by reading books alone, like: for years, one can rather become a buddhologist, not a buddhist. That's the statistics, although everything is an illusion, so everything is possible ;)
https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat55/sub398/entry-5668.ht...
There is also progressiv theravāda that doesn’t hold certain views that seem anachronistic today.