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Cutting off worldly attachments

EnhancedSpirit

EnhancedSpirit

High Priestess
eudaimonia said:
Buddhist monk cuts off penis and renounces refix
http://news.scotsman.com/latest_odd.cfm?id=1731032006

From your Buddhist perspective, did this monk act appropriately or not? Did he go too far in giving up worldly "attachments"? What should he have done instead?


eudaimonia,

Mark
Click to expand...
I don't think we can say whether he went too far for himself or not. However if he were to insist that his way was the only way to release attachments, then we would have a problem.

Personally, I don't think this is not about physical attachment, but our emotional attachment to wordly things. And also release our expectations of how others are supposed to act.

*dips out quickly because I'm not buddhist*
 
Engyo

Engyo

Prince of Dorkness!
ES, I can't argue with your conclusion.

I personally think there is more value (for ME) in just overcoming the attachment without the grandiose gesture of self-mutilation, but that is MY answer. I don't claim to judge this for others.
 
YmirGF

YmirGF

Bodhisattva in Recovery
To me, self-mutilation would be indicative of the fact that this monk "just doens't get it". He has perverted something that he has utterly failed to grasp. (No pun intended.)
If I was the head monk, this fellow would find his bags packed at the front door.
 
Buttercup

Buttercup

Veteran Member
eudaimonia said:
Buddhist monk cuts off penis and renounces refix
http://news.scotsman.com/latest_odd.cfm?id=1731032006

From your Buddhist perspective, did this monk act appropriately or not? Did he go too far in giving up worldly "attachments"? What should he have done instead?


eudaimonia,

Mark
Click to expand...

I hope answering in this section is permitted because I am not Buddhist but more Buddhist curious. ;)

Personally, I think this is a terrible advertisement for your religion. If all monk's cut off their penises would this cause people to desire enlightenment?

Besides....sexuality starts in your mind. He should have cut off his head if he wanted to truly make a difference. :rolleyes:
 
Ozzie

Ozzie

Well-Known Member
The monk should have worked with his mind in meditation to try to overcome the erection issue rather than cut it off. His problem is rare IMO. Meditation does not normally work like Viagra. Nor will meditation necessarily benefit those with severe psychological/psychiatric disturbance. In Thailand anyone can become a monk for a while if they want. So this guy might have been a casual.
 
R

Random

Well-Known Member
It is the monks perogative to self-castrate. It's nobody's damn business: I am celibate and thus only use my member for taking a **** and the occasional bout of masturbation: I wouldn't miss it if it was gone.

Reject the world, defeat the world: sometimes its too much to bear. Screw it: nobody owes life anything. DO what you want: you will anyway, believe me...
 
Doc

Doc

Space Chief
There is an old Zen or maybe Chinese saying in regards to attachment.

"It is not the outer things that cause us the problems, it is rather the inner attachment to those things that is what gives us suffering."

Dissatisfaction and suffering start in the mind. So if you go to the extreme like this guy, obviously you should cut off your head if you are troubled by attachment.
 
Ozzie

Ozzie

Well-Known Member
Any kind of self-mutilation, severing head, wedding tackle whatever is an act of attachment. You cant run away from attachment by severing the offending organ.
 
R

Random

Well-Known Member
Ozzie said:
Any kind of self-mutilation, severing head, wedding tackle whatever is an act of attachment. You cant run away from attachment by severing the offending organ.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. :yes:
 
Cynic

Cynic

Well-Known Member
I think too often we learn to hate or self condemn certain aspects of our being, aspects which are apart of being human.
When I had my mystic experience, I felt a state of compassion and understanding towards myself and my body, which caught me by suprise, because I had for so long learned to hate the parts of me which caused me to "sin".
 
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