Damtsig's Claim:
"Damtsig has no desire to promote sectarianism in any form, or to make comment on the authenticity or personal approach of individuals."--Arch Stanton
"I wonder what secret indecency she has committed - that she will go so far to try to eradicate all that reminds her of it. "--Arch Stanton
Todd Chambers
Todd,
Are you genuinely concerned that identification of concrete instances of samaya breakage constitutes sectarianism - or are you just trying to catch us out in a logical inconsistency? You keep writing as though Damtsig's project is somehow mired in fallacy. Did you fail to understand the article in question?
Damtsig places primary value on the role of the vajra master within Vajrayana Buddhism. For this reason, we only ever direct comment toward the speech acts of those who oppose that role. We never comment on the individual. We have frequently attacked Surya Das for his published words - but we do not attack him for his personal qualities, whatever those may be.
Tara Carreon's words are astonishingly clear in what they communicate. She explicitly identifies herself as a heretic - and demonstrates that she understands the implications in terms of Vajrayana. In just the same way that, for example, Dudjom Rinpoche's name is synonymous with the enlightened state for contemporary Nyingma practitioners - Tara Carreon, in her manifesto, has forged an association with vow breakage. Obviously, I used strong language in depicting her condition - but I did so in order to elucidate the nature of the state she so poignantly models.
The statement you quote is not a comment on Tara Carreon's "personal approach." It is an acknowledgement that those acts of enormous cruelty of which human beings have shown themselves capable - and which Tara Carreon expresses tendencies toward - are themselves rooted in a failure to uphold even the fundamental commitments of decency. If I implied that Tara Carreon has a "deep, dark, secret" - it was a simple tautology: a reflection on the nature of vow breakage. After all, she makes no secret of her behavior and attitudes - so the only real secret is her precise motivation. As I have never met her, I couldn't begin to reveal her actual secrets. All I have to go on - and all I have commented upon - are her publicly published secrets.
I find it impossible to believe that any real Vajrayana practitioner could read Tara Carreon's article then spring to attack an article challenging her on the points she raises. Therefore, the most charitable assumption I can make is that you did not actually read the original article before firing off your querulous missive. As you evidently distrust the motivation of those responsible for the Damtsig website, I suggest you stop reading it - as the habit of sympathisizing with and defending samaya breakage can only be a cause for eroding whatever vows one may hold.
Regards,
Arch Stanton