Is it just me?

[DharmaKitty]

thank you for your responses.
On the one hand I am pleased to see that I am not the only one here feeling this way - though to be honest it doesn't make me angry or hurt, it simply makes reading the responses here more tedious than necessary.
On the other hand, I have concerns that others may be put off this forum and walk away, not finding the answers they need.
So, to those of you that have noticed the same trend as I have - hang in there!
There is a lot of valuable information here and many knowledgable people, who can be of great benefit to you (us). We simply need to see through all the ego/superiority and insults - and take from the posts that which is useful to us.

[DharmaKitty]

I don't wish to go on and on about this (but here I go anyway...)

I have just found a thread which asked what I thought was an interesting (and relevant) question. I sat down to read it, with of enthusiasim and joy - and now after reading it I am so disappointed. Not angry, not hurt, just truly disappointed! Again, a good thread has disintegrated into name calling, insults, childish behaviour and the like.

Now, sadly those involved all know so much more about the topic than I do - I concede that! However, I have to point out that being "right" (and I presume some of the answers are the right ones) doesn't mean that we can belittle others and lose our compassion.

I wonder how we would feel if our teachers / guru's were on this site, responding to posts in this kind of manner?

Me, I would be horrified and saddened!

However simplistic it may be, for me my practice and path is about being a better me - a more compassionate me, a wiser me, a kinder me, more aware of how I treat people around me, how I treat the world around me, the environment. By doing these things I am able to help those around me, not only in my actions, but in my words and daily encounters with them. I may not know the answers to the difficult questions, but I'm getting there - and right now seeing how some of those who do know these answers behave and treat people, I'd rather stay the "simple" me.

I am finding that this forum is no longer helping me with my practice - and perhaps it is time for me to take a little break from it all, just as I used to do from time to time with esangha. Maybe I need some more time on my cushion!

[mindyourmind]

I don't wish to go on and on about this (but here I go anyway...)

I have just found a thread which asked what I thought was an interesting (and relevant) question. I sat down to read it, with of enthusiasim and joy - and now after reading it I am so disappointed. Not angry, not hurt, just truly disappointed! Again, a good thread has disintegrated into name calling, insults, childish behaviour and the like.

Now, sadly those involved all know so much more about the topic than I do - I concede that! However, I have to point out that being "right" (and I presume some of the answers are the right ones) doesn't mean that we can belittle others and lose our compassion.

I wonder how we would feel if our teachers / guru's were on this site, responding to posts in this kind of manner?

Me, I would be horrified and saddened!

However simplistic it may be, for me my practice and path is about being a better me - a more compassionate me, a wiser me, a kinder me, more aware of how I treat people around me, how I treat the world around me, the environment. By doing these things I am able to help those around me, not only in my actions, but in my words and daily encounters with them. I may not know the answers to the difficult questions, but I'm getting there - and right now seeing how some of those who do know these answers behave and treat people, I'd rather stay the "simple" me.

I am finding that this forum is no longer helping me with my practice - and perhaps it is time for me to take a little break from it all, just as I used to do from time to time with esangha. Maybe I need some more time on my cushion!

Very wise words

[gregkavarnos]

I have just found a thread which asked what I thought was an interesting (and relevant) question. I sat down to read it, with of enthusiasim and joy - and now after reading it I am so disappointed. Not angry, not hurt, just truly disappointed! Again, a good thread has disintegrated into name calling, insults, childish behaviour and the like.

Can you be more specific, like which thread for example?

[DharmaKitty]

The thread that got me last night was the "Abandoning Commitments" thread. Now again, maybe it is just me, maybe I am to "soft" for a forum such as this - and again, I agree with some of the posts, I just wish some of the responses were phrased in a 'nicer' manner.

As my mom always used to say : " It's not WHAT you say, but HOW you say it"

[gregkavarnos]

Yeah, that thread got ugly. Actually it is hard to find a thread nowadays that doesn't quickly turn ugly. It seems people (of course I include myself in this statement) invest too much personally in the discussions. In the thread you mentioned the OP got their answer on the first page of comments. The rest was pointless bickering and point scoring.

[mindyourmind]

You guys have inspired me to reduce my already over-full conceptual and dualistic life by taking a break from chatting in places like this, to reduce the bickering and senseless argumentation that only tends to interfere in practice, and to "purge my chakras" as Deepak Chopra would have us do

Have fun, see you in July (maybe)

[DharmaKitty]

Yes Greg, I'm finding that alot with threads these days and I'm just a fragile, simple girl - and it's starting to get to me, so like Mindyourmind, I'll be taking a break from the board for a while - June will be my dharmawheel free time - perhaps it will do me good!
Stay well

[gregkavarnos]

Both of you look after yourslves and maybe we will see you back here in July.