Dear Yong Peng,

You wrote:

> what you just wrote only further confused me. I can accept any relevant comparison as part of the discussion, but not without reference to the Tipitaka.

Well, you'll have to wait until I finish my research on this topic and write up a paper.

> In addition, the use of the "military" in general, is not a good example. Are we referring to ancient Greek or modern American? The modern military, say American, has a very well-defined organisational structure, but the Buddhist Sangha is based on a loose structure.

I mean the modern armies in cluding that of US. Yes, the modern military has a well-defined organizational structure including well-defined social barriers between different ranks. This is why I am interested in it. Can you recommend some scholarly literature on the social barriers in the military? I'd like to read.

with metta

Ven. Pandita