Dangers in devotion

John Crook wrote "Dangers in Devotion" ten years ago, and some of it's conclusions are even more significant today.

The implication of this is that the Buddha Dharma must be 'open'. Even though individuals may subscribe to contrasting traditions of practice and viewpoint if there is openness to the underlying empty vision then understanding can arise. We need therefore to cultivate a tradition of 'open Buddhism' and only if we manage to do so will the Buddha Dharma find a place in the West free from cultic factionalism and argument. (...)

Cults can be profitably undone by democracy. All that is needed is proper attention to the creation of an institutional structure in which the power relations between guru and followers is balanced, in which problems and disputes can be raised and discussed and in which the formation of appropriate committees allows decision making processes reflecting the wishes of the membership. Many Buddhist institutions lack proper constitutional organisation and a prime recommendation may be that this issue be immediately addressed.

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