Formal complaint against Suttacentral for unfair treatment and discrimination

…I thought I’d round things up and add my own two cents. :slight_smile:

So the three of us often don’t agree with each other. Yet, we come to consensus, we give way to each other. With love, acceptance and deepest respect for my sister mods, I write the following… We’re 3 very different people with similar (because of the whole Buddhism thing) values; but not exactly the same.

One of us is more libertarian, calm, analytical, intellectual, equanimous and very, very, very funny and unfraid in taking action and in being true and courageous in telling us when she’s in disagreement or when she doesn’t approve of something.

The other is feminist, liberal, progressive, artistic, open, and fearless in her desire to be true to herself and courageous in speaking up and acting even when she knows she might be the lone voice.

The third is devotional, emotional, both traditional and progressive, serious but easily moved by humour, and she also seeks to challenge her fears and seek what’s true.

When one of us is down, the others lift us up.

When one of us is wrong, the others set us right.

When one of us is feeling righteous, the others give us balance.

When one of us is feeling upset, the others calm us down.

When one of us is biased, the others call us out.

We’re doing the best we can, not just so we can keep this a pleasant place, but so we can face ourselves in the mirror and sleep at night with peace; so we can grow our Practice too - this business of Moderating has become a space of challenge and growth, of support and love and service. I’m very grateful for it. If you’re ever asked to take this up, here, all I can say is that it’s been a gift that I’m glad I opened my life to.

Now to give a specific example of how one can disagree and yet be open to a

I would like to refer back to that very thought provoking thread: Thought experiment - a genderless vinaya

I am not entirely certain that I agree with everything Ayya @Vimalanyani said. Part of me agreed with parts of what @Vstakan was saying. Because I have an emotional, uninformed (because I don’t know all the specific rules and the chronological development in Buddhist history - like Ayya does) perception based on seeing and feeling what it’s like to be around monastic communities that create peaceful atmospheres in their monasteries; I mean, one of the Dhammasara nuns was saying the other day how strict their rules are - yet this woman, who I’ve known for years, is giving off a deeply peaceful, serene vibe. Does my experience with them, with her, mean I shut down Ayya Vimalanyani? No, because I recognise in Ayya Vimalanyani a knowledge worth hearing that I am ignorant to.

There were three things I would have liked to do in that thread:

  1. Listen

  2. Question respectfully or listen as others did

  3. Acknowledge my own assumptions - bring them out into the open air, shake them out and see, which of them served me well, served others well, and which would I perhaps consider challenging.

I did want, very much, to hear what she had to say. It was a shame her voice, her understanding of EBTs and Vinaya in particular was drowned out. This is a woman who’s made a study of such things, she knows what each rule is. I don’t. There was more she could have said and we all missed out.

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