I've been away for a bit. But boy are you guys lucky! For today I have a veritable bonanza of stuff for you.
First up, here is a new video from Dogen Sangha Los Angeles. This is another in the series that Jan Hermann von Bayern put together. They were shot last September when I was in Los Angeles.
The Dogen Sangha Los Angeles YouTube channel has a bunch more of these if you haven't seen the others yet.
And speaking of YouTube, I have a new article up on the SuicideGirls safe-for-work blog. It's called Win a Date With Brad Warner and it is possibly the single most embarrassing thing I have ever made public. I'm sure I will deeply regret having ever typed this up. Ah well. (The YouTube connection will become clear if you read the article.)
(And remember I'm not getting paid for any of these funtastic pieces of entertainment you're enjoying except for what I can get form people clicking on the little donation button over there to your left. Those reading on Facebook can click on the words donation button.)
And finally, people have been sending me all kinds of things where legitimate respected people in the Buddhist world have made fun of Genpo Roshi.
Here is one by Jundo Cohen. It's pretty darn funny.
And here's another from Elephant Journal, also pretty funny.
Finally, here's one that appears to have been written by somebody with inside knowledge of what went on backstage in the Genpo Roshi camp. Also pretty funny.
Some might feel it's cruel to make fun of poor old Genpo now that he's sunk so low he can only charge $15,000 per person for his Big Mind™ retreats, down from the $50,000 per person he was getting just two years ago. All that "sadness and love" he's feeling these days must really be getting him down as he plods through one of his three houses, using his cut-up Buddhist robes for hankies as tears stream from his eyes.
But I feel like making fun of Genpo Roshi is the kindest thing the Buddhist community can do for him right now. Those who are enabling him to continue with his deceptive ways are not doing the man any favors at all. As others have pointed out, Genpo is a big source of income for the groups he leads and they don't want to lose their cash cow. Those kinds of friends are not your friends at all.
These articles will also stick with people much more than any well-worded open letter to some Buddhist organization ever could. Poor Genpo may even have to reduce his fees to $10,000 per person before the year is out!
