NKT and Restaurants

[DharmaDefender]

And if sick, take the bloody medicine! I find it interesting that people will debate the Dharma to no end, to the point they fail to take the medicine (ie apply the Dharma). But when it comes to things that arent good for them, they have no qualms whatsoever partaking in the negative!

Whats more, why debate the Dharma but not debate with your doctors? Have you as much knowledge as your doctors in order to question their diagnoses? Likewise have you as much knowledge as your lamas in order to question the teachings? (I say question, not examine!) Not to say you shouldnt seek a second opinion, but methinks sometimes people keep seeking second, third, fourth, (to the nth) opinions to the point where they forget what their original point was...and even forget to take the medicine!

Nikes said it best I feel - just do it!

[Tenzin Malgyur]

Dear DharmaSpace,
Thank you for your skillful way of likening the religious choice of individuals to that of the choices of places to eat. The few people who does not like the chef of the restaurant should stop saying negative things and maybe look for positive side of the chef. The chef and his chains of many restaurants are promoting good values. And surely many of the customers of the restaurants are not  wrong in their decision to continue to eat at NKT. After all, you can fool someone only once. The fact that the restaurant is still operating and growing says it all. Yes, please don't tell us our choice of restaurant is bad. Let us do our practice freely and don't criticise our teacher.

[dondrup]

This article about NKT’s restaurants says it all that there is no perfection in samara.  Everyone’s perception and experience of phenomena around them is unique and different from everyone else due to their individual karma.  There is no end to the number of possible perception that everyone would perceive things around us for example the restaurant, food or even spiritual practice.  In short, from this article, we notice the critics like to find faults. 

The solution for the critics is simple: if you don’t like this restaurant for your own personal reasons, then don’t patronise them.  When you criticise or find faults with everything about this restaurant or any phenomena in life, according to Dharma, these faults are the reflections of who you really are!  It is very logical. All of us including me have the habit of sizing things up on everything we experience and honestly we are very good at it.  Do you know why?  Due to our past habituations from countless past lives and events, we are so familiar with these faults that we have. Hence we can easily find faults on things around us.

However, since we know Dharma, don’t you think it is better to rejoice in others’ good qualities than finding faults with others’ negatives?  Which is better for our spiritual growth? It doesn’t mean we cannot form any opinion about others.  We have to have good motivation in whatever we think and say about others.  Otherwise without good motivation, we are only creating more negative karma for ourselves! Finding faults is a form of idle chatter - one of the ten non-virtuous actions.

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyasto and NKT have contributed tremendously to the growth of the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden and will continue to do so in the future.  These can be seen from the books the GKG has written, the growth of NKT centres, students etc.

Like DharmaSpace had concluded, there are more and more people practising Dorje Shugden.  If Dorje Shugden is harmful, modern and educated people of this age won’t be so silly and ill-informed to want to practise Dorje Shugden if Dorje Shugden is a spirit!

Dorje Shugden IS a Buddha.
Dorje Shugden IS beneficial.

There is no point doing lots of analysis, finding faults, judging, etc. and not experiencing Dorje Shugden personally and directly. 

[prodorjeshugden]

Very good analogy! I find that the story there is very true. Dorje Shugden's teaching is a really high class restaurant with hundreds and thousands of people saying that the food(teachings) that is served there is great. But then there are these people who say that the food served at that restaurant isn't good and that the meals there could make you sick  and other false and baseless stuff.
But In the end the positive reviews from people who really enjoy the food overwhelms the complains of those who never tried the food before.

Once again thank you Dharmaspace for this interesting post.

[grandmapele]

Thanks for sharing. I must admit i found the analogy interesting. It's true that the only way to really find out if the food at a restaurant is any good is to go and sample it for yourself. The food served may not be to your expectations but even then that does not mean that the food is bad; it merely is not compatible with your palate.

Likewise, you should approach a centre or a practice with an open mind ready to inquire. Ask the questions that need to be asked, learn acquire the knowledge and then only conclude or make up your mind if that centre is for you. No everyone has the same ideas. If you find the centre is not for you, you can look for another centre but always remember to be mindful and rejoice for others' who wish to stay but refrain from disparaging.

Yes, definitely a very interesting analogy.

[SabS]

Thank you DharmaSpace for the astute comparison of the situation faced by NKT with something we do everyday...eating. It is so true that no matter how you may check or read of other's opinions on the food served at the restaurant, you can never be sure until you had actually tasted it. After all, everyone's palates are different and their preferences different. Even members within a family has different likings. Growing up and eating the same food served, some may grow to like it but then some just can't wait to eat out (bored or craving for different tastes all the time). Anyway, NKT certainly had found the right recipe and had grown to over 1100 branches as proof of it's success. What had the detractors achieved with the bad reviews and complaints? Certainly not getting anywhere in their dharma practises cos if they did, then they won't have so much time spent on their spewing out their negativities on others. Kudos to the Head Chef and the management of NKT for the success. Sure, there may be some hiccups as any other large organisations but to have over 1100 branches and growing, well, why look to the few dropouts? These dropouts are just like the weak buds of a large tree that was blown off by the strong wind of samsara. Let us dedicate our merits to them that samsara may one day loosen its grip on them. OM BENZA WIKI BITANA SOHA! 

[Pema8]

Thank you for this analogy. Indeed, do we want to spend our whole time reviewing and discussing or are we hungry? In the end, it is our life which passes by and we wish to do something worthwhile. Many are joining as there are 1100 branches and compared to this number, the negative reviews are not so outstanding.

This article is pointing out so clearly what should be our focus!

[pgdharma]

Arguing who is right or wrong is sheer waste of time. If we are hungry, we have to eat. If we need dharma, we learn to have the knowledge to practice. Every individual has likes and dislikes. What is viewed as bad for someone may be good for another person. So why waste time criticizing others just because one is not agreeable to something.

Dorje Shugden practice is good but if one finds it not to their liking, they should pursue what they like and leave those who wish to practice alone. Why condemn and criticize?

There’s more than 1,000 NKT enters all over the world and it’s still growing thus the minority of the negative reviews can never dampened flourishing centers.