Mi'sen

Reflection: A gaggle of meditators are talking about how practice needs to 'meet the ecological crisis', taking the assumption that disaster is preventable. - How would behaviours/views change if we didn't hold on to that assumption? - Absent solutions, whats important for you?

Sidestepping the question - is this perhaps something which Buddhist practice isn’t necessarily equipped to deal with directly? Linking to this blog which I found via @Meaningness . http://primejunta.blogspot.com/2012/01/socially-engaged-buddhism-again.html?m=1 …

Thanks for sharing this Charlie, I like this post a lot. They raise some excellent points. I tend to fall on that side of the discussion also. Even on a micro-scale, Buddhist practice is limited (see: scandals). It can be good for something (not ecology or relationships).

I’ve come back to it a few times and it makes a lot of sense to me - Buddhist groups have their own purposes and goals which are quite different from those of charities.

Interested as to what you mean by Buddhism not being good for relationships though!

I'm not sure how to communicate my thoughts - somewhat visual - so there'll be translation errors. I'll try: Generally, Buddhism is not sufficient for healthy relationship skills & outcomes. Broadly speaking, people would do better going to psychology/psychotherapy of some sort.

Do I think there are cases where Buddhism can tend to push people in the direction of being a 'mensch'? Yes, but I don't think that is a general characteristic of Buddhism; that would be specific to a certain sangha or style of training.

Has Buddhism been good for relationships in my life? Yes, I think so. Somewhat miraculously so, compared to how I used to act (according to feedback form others). How much of that is Buddhism? I don't know. There are a whole bunch of enlightened assholes throughout history.