People need meditation. They need spiritual discipline, and they need the deep trust which a spiritual linage with good leaders can bring.
Conversation
Replying to
And they need paternalist authority telling them what they need? Dude, you may have benefitted from teachers, but beware the lure
1
Replying to
Yes, they do. Without strong links to people older and wiser than we are, we get into trouble and drift. Gurus and kings, my friend.
1
Replying to
Thinking they might need it is one thing. Thinking self-styled gurus forcing themselves on people unilaterally is another
2
Replying to
All freedom rests on the freedom to figure stuff out for themselves, badly if necessary.
1
2
Replying to
Agreed. Forcing people towards enlightenment has never worked: Tibet.
1
1
1
Replying to
""We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code" ietf.org/tao.html
3
2
2
Replying to
2
3
Replying to
Opt-in followership implies a leadership model that is definitely not "kings" or "presidents" or even "gurus"
1
Replying to
That is *precisely* the model for gurus. The guru-disciple relationship is like a spiritual adoption process. Vows are exchanged.
1
1
Replying to
Nope. Tradition has an extraordinary conditioning and coercive power that makes the student's choice not a free choice.
Replying to
If a tradition has enough inertia to legitimize the label "guru" or equivalent, it has the power to go crazy.
2
Replying to
if we are all powerless, we will continue to destroy the world one free human at a time.
1
Show replies

