Abe, personally I have no issue with your statements whatsoever - at least not so far.:-) A suggestion I made at the "And so?" thread concerned the mode and form of exchange we should employ here at DhO, and that is to stay in the spirit and confines of a conversation. While this may not be the perfect solution for personal, private meaning-searching and freeform pondering and exploration of ideas and perspectives, I believe genuine, respectful, and challenging conversation offers more than enough space for confirmation, questioning, discovery and elucidation of everyone involved, given common ground is established and maintained.
This is not to say we need to conform and agree when we find objection with what is being upheld by the exchange, just for the sake of nicety, but this IS a cold & impersonal medium for often tricky and slippery conversations, and most Buddhist forums have been devastated by self-opinionated posturing behind online identities, followed inescapably by rigid imposing of control moderation mechanisms that resulted in a less than open and balanced atmosphere, felt as "censored Dharma" by some. The space held here at DhO is quite permissive. In order to avoid misunderstandings - and it always begins invisibly, often not intended - it makes sense to cultivate a tender balance between care and consideration in the style and form of our participation, and the authenticity of authoring the input which itself will want to move in all possible directions. Thus we engender a conversation that is not just interesting to ourselves, but also engaging and inviting for others.
Thanks for your note.
