I read the entire interview. Very interesting. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Published in 2004. Thanissaro was 55 years of age at that time. It helps to put things in context.
I especially liked the part where he mentioned that: "The purpose of therapy, Freud said, was to take neurotic individuals and return them to an ordinary level of unhappiness. The purpose of meditation is to take you from that ordinary level of unhappiness to a place where there is no unhappiness and no suffering." There's something very revealing in that statement. Although I doubt few here will understand what I'm speaking about.
Here's a small hint, anyway. We're talking about a monk speaking about Buddhism. Buddhism the religion, that is. You take it from there.
J C:
He also says "Monks can't talk about their attainments." But it seems strange to me that Thanissaro wouldn't be fully enlightened.
If you read the interview, and you know anything about monastic life, then you should know that the interview was canned spam for public consumption. In other words, he spoke about only what he was allowed to speak about. If you want to know more, become a monk and find out first hand.