From: Piya Tan
Message: 7974
Date: 2005-06-20
> Dear Ven. Dhammanando, Rett, Robertk, Terry and friends,
>
> thank you for your kind words.
>
> Bhante, I think it is still good to keep the 10-day break ("curfew"),
> so that everyone can take a breather, relax, and let things settle
> down a bit.
>
> The central theme of the group is "Pali-focused, Nikaya-centric".
> By "Pali-focused", I mean focus on Pali language, as opposed to
> Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, etc., and it includes all Pali
> literature. This is the broader scope of the group. By "Nikaya-
> centric", I mean the Sutta Pitaka, as opposed to Abhidhamma, Vinaya,
> and other Pali literature. This is the narrower scope of the group.
> At all time, we strive for a good balance between the broader and
> narrower scopes.
>
> Robert and Terry, I share much of your sentiments, and understand the
> efforts involved in research work very well. I am scrupulously
> looking for postings that contain offensive language, as well as
> those with nothing but silly remarks. I believe they are all gone by
> now. A second round of checks merely acts as reassurance. So, if
> there is no one raising objections to any particular message in the
> archive, they should all remain "locked in".
>
> Rett, by "scholarly ideas", I mean (1) ideas or concepts which are
> either not well established as Buddhist, or not completely accepted
> by Theravada practitioners. These ideas may or may not be from non-
> Theravada Buddhist schools. They may or may not have been published
> in academic journals. I don't think we should forbid their
> discussion. It actually allows us to better appreciate the
> diversified and colourful world of Buddhist/religious philosophy, and
> nurtures in us the understanding and respect for others. But, lengthy
> thesis-like messages are not really necessary. (2) Ideas or concepts
> which are well established as Buddhist, and completely accepted by
> Theravada practitioners. Again, lengthy thesis-like messages are not
> really necessary. It makes them look more like a (one-way)
> dissertation than a (two-way) discussion. While it is nice to cover
> the length and breadth of Buddhism, this list should not disintegrate
> into a "clearing house" of all conceivable ideas. Lastly, It is also
> good to discuss things as basic and practical as possible, rather
> than using some "big words". It is also good to quote from Pali
> sources, rather than from unfamiliar non-Pali sources.
>
> In addition, I would like to clarify two other issues raised in
> recent posts.
>
> 1. There are talks about people with private agenda. I think things
> are not that bad, but I like to advise everyone to bear good will,
> compassion and loving-kindness during discussion.
>
> 2. Someone suggests using the online polls feature to collect
> feeback. I think it is a great idea. All the Yahoo! features are
> available to members. Please use them responsibly.
>
> Thanks again for your patience.
>
> metta,
> Yong Peng.
>
> --- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Bankei wrote:
>
> > If you are going to delete any of these could we be told so that
> they can be moved to another dtabase.
>
> I would have to agree with Robert. These messages contain important
> information that should be preserved somewhere if possible.
>
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