dharmatalks

It’s no secret that I was never even remotely a fan of George W. Bush. But simply because I disagreed with his policies, his theocratic mentality and what I am convinced was his involvement in a False Flag Operation on September 11th, 2001, does not mean that I can reasonably say he was never President of the United States.  For twelve agonising years, the United States bore the pain of evidence that proved he was indeed our president.

Similarly, I disagree with many of the seemingly intolerant and non-compassionate, exclusionary statements made by Pope Benedict XVI. But again, simply because I feel he disgraces the true message of love and compassion taught by the Dharma Master, Rav Yeshua, doesn’t mean that Benedict XVI wasn’t “really” the pope.

I would have found it difficult to believe that there are people who lack the basic intelligence and common sense to comprehend this simple reality, were someone to have suggested a week or two that such people existed. It would have seemed to me that such incomprehensible stupidity was something reserved for the worst of situation comedies and perhaps political parodies on late night television… not something that occurred in “real life”.

But I would have been dead wrong!

Lately there appear to be those, coming from more traditionalist Buddhist sects, who insist that because the feral wisdom path is unfamiliar, or perceived as unorthodox, that my ordination, monastic training and work over the past 30 years didn’t happen. Instead, in their stupidity, they like to bandy about such libelous accusations as to call me a “self-styled teacher”, spewing a “spiritual mash-up” or “tossed salad” of spirituality.  They attempt to discredit my (now retired) position as the highest ranking prelate in the Eastern Catholic Franciscan community as nothing more than a “Catholic costume”, ignoring 2000+ years of carefully documented lineage (succession/transmission) from the apostles John, James, Judas-Thoma, Thaddeus, and Bartholomew. They disregard and disrespect my beloved Refuge Lama and Root Guru, the lamas at whose feet I took ordination as a Buddhist contemplative, and the 54 men and sixteen women who were subsequently ordained into our particular tradition.

Of course, these simpletons haven’t done any serious inquiry. That would defeat their objective, which is clearly nothing more than to attack, discredit and malign a simple, unimportant and (in my opinion) unimpressive monk, whose only purpose in this life has been to serve his teachers, and do whatever he could to teach others how to alleviate suffering.

But then I guess we all have to have a mission in life… so perhaps this is theirs.

Had they done their homework, clearly they would have seen that I have repeatedly, in my books, my blogs, my articles, retreats and Dharma talks, insisted that if the majority of Buddhists wished to excommunicate us as unworthy of the label “Buddhist” that would be and must be perfectly acceptable to each of us. If any of our community took up their robes for the purpose of being identified as a Buddhist, a monk, a nun or a lama, then they disgrace their habits and vows.

Buddha Sakyamuni did not come to start a religion. Neither did Rav Yeshua the Great Bodhisattva.  Neither should any of us.

In their attacks, one individual pointed out that the accounting of my birth, and what  Lama K told all of you were “auspicious signs” (something I’ve laughed at and warned you not to take too seriously from the start!) sounded like I wanted to compete with the Buddha. Sadly, that remark not only demonstrated how little they knew of the Buddha’s birth narratives (which I likewise suggest we take with a grain of salt), but that they fail to realise that one would never imagine there was anything to compete with, since the Buddha nature already fully and completely exists equally in each of us, and is not something that we have to “compete” for. It has nothing to do with birth legends, or how pious a child was.

I do recognise that our recently departed Sister, Ani Prema Jaya, had a great deal of influence over the writing of the “bio” on DharmadudeUnplugged.com – and appropriately so, since she was part of my life from the third or fourth grade onward.  And I will not allow these venomous vipers to persuade me to attempt to “pull rank”, since there will never be “rank” among our sangha. But I would ask that consideration be given to perhaps look at how the ignorant Western mind may misunderstand or misconstrue what is regarded with common acceptance in the Eastern culture, as an homage to one’s guru.

Of course, this is of little consequence, since these vipers were sophomoric enough to bitch and whine about the use of “His Eminence” in the copyright, despite the fact that the appropriate title for the Holy Exarch of an Eastern Catholic jurisdiction is “His Eminence”, and despite the fact that regardless of whether or not they wish to acknowledge the Buddhist label, I am still the spiritual head of an international, intentional/monastic community, and as such am their “high lama”. Naturally, I find these attacks amusing, because I have repeatedly told my students not to use such absurd titles, when referring to me, which was what led to the “compromise” in which I agreed to accept the title of “Dharma Teacher” (Dharm’acharya) and allow students to publicly refer to me simply as Khenpo (abbot) or Gurudas (like all of my friends call me). But again, the attackers would not be interested in these things, since they would detract from their ability to create drama and momentum for their agendas.

A series of ten or fifteen vitriolic questions were fired-off at me in last night’s post, and when I answered those questions, which will be repeated here for archival documentation, the attackers simply chose no disregard the answers, because they didn’t fit-in with their agenda and objective.

The Interrogation…

Here are the questions posed by the two mouth-pieces of Midwestern/Northwestern Buddhism, and my replies:

1. How many years did you spend in Mongolia again helping people?

None. I spent thirty-three years working with the sick, the poor, the dying and the marginalised in the United States (six monastic locations) — in Miami, in Orlando, in D.C., in Atlanta, in Phoenix and in Los Angeles. (I only spent three intermittent years in India, serving at the feet of my teachers.)

2. How much work doyou do in a day at your current temple?

I do 98% of the work here at the ladrang, including almost all of the cleaning, most of the cooking, and presiding over all of the liturgical celebrations. The only reason I cannot do all of the cleaning is because I cannot drive. I have lived with a shattered arm for the past 26 months, having already had one excruciating reconstructive surgery, and while I continue to push the limits, cannot lift anything heavier than 7 pounds without pulling on some of the eighteen screws that hold the ten and a half inch plate in my arm. So lifting the cast iron pans to wash them is beyond my ability, as well as driving to the laundry facility.

3. How many appointments do you arrange for people to bring social justice talks to your area?

Since I’ve taken office, I’ve personally arranged for more than 75 social justice events for our monks and local communities, as well as having participated in several hundred programs over the past thirty years, including extensive personal service among the Haitian community in South Florida and Central Florida doing both migrant farm work advocacy and AIDS counseling/case management.

4.How many meditation sessions have you facilitated?

Let’s see, two per day minimum for 27 years, before being forced to semi-retire due to Parkinsonism and AIDS (go ahead… dare to attack me on how I got AIDS, as a direct result of being raped and beaten on May 10, 1983 in Hollywood, Florida, while walking home one night.) So let’s see, to answer you next belligerent question, approximately 19,710 meditation sessions, and approximately 270 two or three day silent retreats, and 27 month-long retreats.

5. How many book publications, translations and distributions have you managed so that people could have the Dharma in their own language?

None. Instead, we preferred to work at bringing the Dharma to the West in a more accessible and culturally relevant way, while actively supporting the work of the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives with our sadhanas.

6. How many animals have you saved in both your birding conservation efforts and other animal welfare schemes?

Personally, I converted the room that was designated to be the “lama’s meditation and reception area” into a small aviary, in which we rescued 38 exotic birds that were being abused, as well as having given homes to several cats and three dogs. Because of my neurological condition, I cannot be exposed to the toxoplasmosis found in bird droppings or cat litter, so we now do what we can to inspire others to carry on the work.
How many hours have you put in studying the Dharma?

CONTINUING WITH THEIR ASSAULT:

1. How many religious organizations have you set up for your own aggrandizement?

None. In the past 32 years, I have never ONCE received a salary or stipend for the work I do. I personally funded the operating expenses of six monastic houses — providing rent, food and utilities for 54 monks and four nuns. To this day, I have never received one dime of compensation, nor does the Order pay for my rent or utilities now.

IN FACT, SINCE MY ACCIDENT IN NOVEMBER 2007, I HAVE LIVED 10 TO 20 PERCENT BELOW THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL GUIDELINES FOR THE UNITED STATES.

The community would like very much to see the Order somehow manage to provide a safer, healthier dwelling for myself and my household, but right now, that is not something they can do.

2. How many of your own personal books have you got to push?

100% of the revenues from my books, tapes, retreats, etc. goes directly to the work we do with the poor (providing meals to the homeless, blankets in winter months, paying rent when someone is in an emergency situation) and the remaining balance is used to cover the cost of web hosting, and transportation.

This past year, the royalties from the books were also used to pay a portion of the $900/month in prescription drug co-pays I had to cover, twice, until I could get compassionate-use coverage.

3. How many plush retreats do you speak at, all expenses paid every year?

I never accept a DIME for the retreats I direct. The only expense that is paid is ground transportation on the East Coast and coach airfare to the West Coast, my meals and room at the retreat centre.

I’ve never experienced the absurdity of a “plush” retreat… since that would seem to negate the purpose of the retreat in the first place!

4. How many advertisements have you made for your own claims of spiritual accomplishment?

ZERO.

5. How many programs have you been on shooting your mouth off with your own personal recipe for spiritual salad?

I’ve been on somewhere in the vicinity of maybe one hundred or so television programs, and my only message has been to warn people that folks like you exist and are an unfortunate problem in the West, and to warn them not to believe that they need to rely on gurus, teachers, lamas, scriptures or religions to find the happiness they seek. And yes, I have and will continue to let them know that while I haven’t got any magical secret for them, I can share what works for me, according to the Dharma and support their personal decisions, paths and cultural expression of their spirituality.

Witch Hunts and Passive-Aggressive Zen Buddhists — Part II

And so now it appears that another asshat, Petterri something or other, wants to continue to spread libelous innuendo, misrepresentations of historic fact and outright lies, in order to apparently quell an ego-driven need to attack that which is unfamiliar or non-conformist. And so once again, we update this entry with direct responses that the cowardly Petterri will never likely want to post… because it doesn’t suit the pathological agenda of Petterri’s blog:

Learn Your History Petterri…

The Old Catholic Church was granted autonomy and autocephalic character in the papal bull, Debitum Pastoralis, issued by Pope Leo X. Since that time, there have been dozens of further extensions (not breaks or schisms) of that particular apostolic succession (lineage), among which ONE part of my apostolic succession is derived. I also derive lineage from the Syrian-Malankar Church, the Coptic Church, the Jerusalem and Antiochean Church. In fact, when it comes to succession, it would be more difficult to argue against my succession than it would many earlier Roman Catholic bishops, since my documentation proves succession that includes the disciples James, John, Judas-Thomas, Thaddeus and Bartholomew. These ancient successions were transmitted to Khenpo upon his consecration as Bishop-Abbot of the contemplative community, via the Old Catholic, Mariavite, Eastern Catholic, Armenian and Orthodox Churches.

The Apostolic Succession of His Eminence +Francis-Maria of the Immaculata from the North American Old Roman Catholic Church is as follows:

Carmel Henry Carfora consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 17 Oct. 1926

Jose Macario Lopez Y Valdes who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 27 March 1930

Alberto Luis Rodriquez Y Duran who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 March 1955

Emile Federico Rodriguez Y Fairfield who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 12 May 1990

George Augustus Stallings Jr. who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1996

Carlos Enrique Harvin who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate on 18 Jan. 2004

Francis-Maria of the Immaculata (Franciscus-Mariae del’Immacolata) at Imani Temple, Washington, D.C.

:::::::::::::

The Apostolic Succession of His Eminence +Francis-Maria of the Immaculata from the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil is as follows:

Dom Carlos Duarte Costa
Patriarch, Igreja Catolica Apostolica Brasileira (1945)
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1945:

** Salomâo Ferraz
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1951:

Manoel Ceia Laranjeira
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1969:

Viktor Ivan Busà
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1972:

Frederick Charles King
Who sub-conditionally consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1954:

Emile Federico Rodriguez y Durand (Fairfield)
Who consecrated to The Sacred Episcopate in 1990:

George Augustus Stallings
(African-American Catholic Congregation)
Who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate in 1996

Carlos Enrique Harvin
(African-American Catholic Congregation)
Who consecrated to the Sacred Episcopate on 18 January 2004

Francis-Maria of the Immaculata (Franciscus-Mariae del’Immacolata) at Imani Temple, Washington, D.C.

** Bishop Salomâo Ferraz was invited to participate in Vatican Council II, where he was recognised as a bishop in proper standing, despite his being married and a member of the autocephalic Catholic movement. He was later received back into the Roman Catholic Church, as a married Catholic Bishop, and received the burial of a regular member of the episcopate when he died. The validity of Salomâo Ferraz’ orders provides ipso facto validity for those in his succession.

For those who so desire, a complete accounting of my lineage/succession can be downloaded here.

Petteri claims I am part of the North American Old Catholic Church, and then disparages that organisation, falsely claiming it to be a church operated from a hospital chaplain’s office in Washington, D.C.

I am not part of, nor was I ever part of the North American Old Catholic Church, although we have an intercommunion agreement with them, and hold their work in more than a half dozen states, with probably more than a dozen parishes and missions in very high regard.

I was ordained as a bishop and raised to the office of exarch, which is nothing remotely like an “uber-pope” as Petty-Petteri tried to claim, simply because it was required for our jurisdiction and functioning among autocephalic Catholic communities.

Thirty years of very public ministry is nothing I am ashamed of, and leaves plenty of clues, evidence and proof.

Our Order began as a Roman Catholic Franciscan community, which left the Roman church in 2001, legally and according to the prescriptions of that tradition.

My lineage in the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are well documented as well, and are all clearly covered on DharmadudeUnplugged.com (but again, this wouldn’t suit Petteri’s agenda, and so it becomes necessary to edit the truth to fit the agenda… Something that makes me wonder how the Republicans ever missed the chance to recruit Petteri to their ranks.)

Attempting to discredit the work that I did in the secular world, teaching the sales associates from several direct sales, real estate and insurance companies to use Dharma principles as a means of growing an ethical business… and which generated more than $26K/month in income to support the mortgages, insurance and operating costs of six monastic houses — and of which I never personally saw ONE DIME OF INCOME — Petteri had to stoop to the level of insinuating these publicly held companies — multi-million dollar firms were “pyramid schemes” — further demonstrating ignorance and an uncanny willingness to lie to one’s readers.

I will never apologise for the fact that until my disability, I almost single-handedly supported the work of fifty monastics, fed hundreds of homeless persons, paid rent for more than a dozen people and gave 100% 0f my life to the work of the Dharma of Christ and the Buddha Dharma. Never in the entire 30 years of my ministry have I personally taken a DIME of compensation for that work. So I have nothing to be ashamed of, and neither does my community.

I am sickened by these so-called pillars of the zen community and by the timidity of others, who have distanced themselves from me, based on the attacks of these three people, rather than growing the BALLS to do their homework, and talk to me about it.

A Sad Perspective…

While I would never and should never even remotely be compared to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, I cannot help but compare these attackers to the the Chinese Government, in their vitriolic, deceptive and hatemongering agenda toward His Holiness.

These individuals are not concerned with the facts. They are even less concerned, apparently, with the truth. They want only to lash-out and discredit that which is different from their perception of “truth”.

They have beautifully illustrated why the feral wisdom path is not for everyone, because not everyone possesses the maturity to let go of their attachments to their teachers, the canonical texts, their particular path or tradition, and move from the gentle stream of organised dharma into the Ocean of Compassion in which the Dharma need not be taught any longer, but simply be practiced and experienced.

I am, however, deeply saddened by the behaviour of these two people, and having tried every “trick” and craft to get them to short-circuit their hatred and maybe behave a little better (even trying the infamous, “Namaste, Bitches…” to no avail!) I have failed miserably to help these two people realise how seriously they disgrace their own tradition and most especially, their own teacher(s).

And so I see this as my failure, not theirs. They may or may not have received adequate or appropriate Dharma instruction. I have fifteen years of monastic instruction, and thirty years of monastic life/practice. I should have been skilful enough to break through their hatred and egos, and I let them down. I can only hope that  the karma created by their intolerance, disrespect and insolence, as well as the result of their complete and utter stupidity might ripen upon me, and not them, so that they can discover how vile their behaviour has been, and grow up… or at the very least, for the sake of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, STFU.

Practice whatever you can, so that the teachings of our lineage holders and dharma acharyas will not have been in vain, but above all, practice compassion, loving-kindness and mindfulness with every step.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

Join us tonight for:

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“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa –
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

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Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharm’acharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.