Dear WB and Beggar,
I totally agree with what both of your wrote here.
It is amazing that lay people can place so much conditions and expectations on the Sangha or even the Gurus. Considering that none of them have had any experience in the monastic or spiritual life/academics.
A lot of lay people think that they may know a great deal about how monastic and ordained communities should be like or are like, but they really don't.
They might have an idea but it is really an un-informed and un-educated concept.
If lay people have actually spent time in monastic communities and environment, they would come to understand that the life in the Sangha is very different. There are studies and disciplines which they may never even imagined. Especially in Tibetan Buddhism.
People always get shocked when they look at the Yum Yab statues or even Vajrayogini, for example. They cannot imagine that these are Buddhas. In actual fact, what they are really doing is using their ordinary worldly contaminated mind to look at spirituality. Hence, all spirituality that goes through such tainted lenses will naturally come out tainted as well. It is definitely not pure nor right. Not completely, at least.
As I travel around the different places in the world, I realised that different countries hold different definitions of spirituality. I am inclined to think that they truly like hanging onto what they like to believe - even if it is not true or right. It is what they have grown accustomed to.
Hence, it is their tradition to believe as such and practise as such. Because it is tradition or customary, thus, it becomes for them, the right way. Anything else would be deemed as radical or un-holy.
Amazing how information can be processed and passed down through the years and generations, and how much of its true essence can be lost completely.
We are very fortunate that we have what we have today - our Gurus, the Dharma and the centers, the Sangha, etc. Such are the remains of the priceless jewels from the past that can be traced all the way to Buddha Shakyamuni. This makes it a truly authentic heritage...the real gem to behold.