Karen Bass is pro-Scientologist...

[grantcart]

73. Wow what a load

When we resettled hundreds of thousands of Cambodians to the US we purposely centered them in 5 central locations so that the Cambodian diaspora could provide resources back to the Cambodian homeland.

Cambodian temples serve as much more than religious centers but as cultural, language and service centers to one of the great cultures of humanity which produced Ankor War, one of the greatest engineering feats of pre modern man. The water management system of Tonle Sap is considered greater than that of the Roman Aqueducts. Any comparisons to Scientology is ignorance of stratified level.

No local vets resisted helping refugees fleeing the KR, and were significantly involved at every stage of rescue to resettlement and your completely unfounded imagined speculations are repulsive.

Cambodian temples follow a disciplined form of Theravada Buddhism that has centuries of rules, hierarchies, and structure. And while there have been problems of bad priests in all religions Theravada has done well to be a self reforming body for 2500 years.

What is particularly galling is that the greatest and most dangerous perversion of religion is when it succumbs to ultra nationalism as it did in Germany and is now doing in the US.

Having attended Theravada services for 4 decades I can tell you that one of the most often points brought up in a Theravada monk sermon would touch on how much we can learn from other religions and an anecdote from a Jewish, Christian or Muslim teaching.

I remember in 1979 when I learned enough Thai to understand the morning Thai sermon on the radio. The monk's 5 minute talk was based on "how great a man must Jesus Christ be, look at all the hospitals and schools that have been built by his followers, certainly he has wisdom that can enlighten us all".
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Your condescending and uninformed comments reveal a lot more about your world view than you realise, and it is not a happy one.

I dare you to go to the CT some afternoon and simply ask the monk there to explain what is it that they do. You may find one of the most intelligent and compassionate men you have ever met. Chou will be received with a warmness you will find disarming.

In pre covid 19 times, if you arrived at noon you will arrive after the monks last meal and the leftovers would have been shared with you.

I studied the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek but have found the friendliest and some of the wisest lessons learned at Thai, Cambodian, Lao and Sri Lankan Temples where I have been offered food, books, friendship but never asked for a membership donation in 40 years.

It's sad to me that your ignorance of the rich cultural/philosophical tradition that has been developed over 2500 years of serious study prevents you from enriching your life by friendly people that are down the street and would give you one of the warmest welcomes you have ever received in your entire life.

Trust me from epistemological, existential, ontological, polity, finance, culture or any reasonable metric there is no comparison between Buddhism and the monks vow of poverty and Hubbard's well documented scam to enrich himself and create a slave class to serve him.

Namaste