I like this guy, do you think he is legit?

hermitwin

I like this guy, do you think he is legit?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=Z4y_dxf8rq4&NR=1

Dakini

Who is it? What's his name? The video doesn't say, not in the first half, anyway.

hermitwin

her is part 4 of the interview.

hermitwin

i think his name is Sumano.

Dakini said:

Who is it? What's his name? The video doesn't say, not in the first half, anyway.

Dakini

Do an internet search on him if you want to see if there's a reason to think he's not legit. There's no way we can tell from the videos. As the Dalai Lama (among others) has said, don't hand over your trust until you've really done your homework, your research (paraphrasing, haha).

hermitwin

does what he say make sense to you?

Bunks

hermitwin said:

does what he say make sense to you?

I think that is ultimately the point isn't it?

If what he says rings true to you and is based on wisdom then who cares if he's legit (unless you plan on moving in with him or something????)

Dakini

I didn't watch all of both videos, but I couldn't help noticing that what he's saying is some of the same stuff that gets discussed here. I had the feeling that anyone who's been studying Buddhism seriously for awhile could put on a robe and do what he's doing.

Not that that answers your question. I think he could have done a better job discussing what Enlightenment was. He ended his brief statement saying that Enlightenment is to have Light, or something. idk, OP. There's not much meat to some of these answers. Hard to evaluate from just a couple of videos.

My main criterion usually is: do they walk their talk? And we can't know that from the videos.

hermitwin

the thought of going to thailand to
study with him has crossed my mind a few times.

Bunks said:

hermitwin said:

does what he say make sense to you?

I think that is ultimately the point isn't it?

If what he says rings true to you and is based on wisdom then who cares if he's legit (unless you plan on moving in with him or something????)

Invincible_summer

@Dakini - the video description says his name is Ajahn Sumano.

Dakini

Invincible_summer said:

@Dakini - the video description says his name is Ajahn Sumano.

Oh, thanks. Well, I think he has a good reputation.

Dandelion

A quick google search brought up positive things. He studied with Ajahn Chah, and apparently lived in a cave for 12 years, meditating. I can't find anything dubious, but if you are thinking of studying with him of course you have to do much more than a quick google search. He even has a Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ajahn-Sumano-Bhikkhu/137701789619155?id=137701789619155&sk=info (not that this makes him legit!).. at first glance he seems genuine though.

blu3ree

Everyones perception is going to be different.

lobster

The important thing is answers. In a cave you come up with questions and you only have the cave for answers . . . oh and yourself . . .
People wish to be in an exotic location with celebrity meditators.

One way or another you will have to work this out for yourself . . . :om:

People always ask if someone else is genuine?
Is that a genuine question?

Are you actually asking, 'can this person be trusted'?
Can you be trusted? Then he is as trustworthy as you . . . :wave:

MaryAnne

@Dandelion

You don't think living in a cave - for 12 yrs- is dubious? (I'm only half kidding here).

MaryAnne

Things I've noticed about these videos...
Now, honestly, I'm not saying anyone else should be wary, or doubtful or that he's not 'legit' -- I'm just making a comment about what I noticed in these videos and how it strikes me. Your Mileage May Vary-

He (Ajahn Sumano) looks at the camera - a lot. So he's not really engaging with the person asking him the questions. He's not conversing, he's giving more or less rehearsed? scripted? answers.
The person asking the questions mostly has a weird blank look on his face, no real reactions, not asking for clarification at any time, it's as if he's heard the answer(s) before and is just waiting it out until it's his turn to speak again.

And this analysis is completely, absolutely 100%, no-doubt-about-it Subjective, BUT, I don't get any sort of impression that this man/monk is speaking from any sort of "inner knowledge" or core of awareness.
None.
I get the feeling he's saying 'just the right things', using just the right amount of easily understood 'buzz words' and catch phrases to impress listeners.

Please understand, this Doesn't make him 'evil' or bad. Doesn't make him untrustworthy, or out to deceive anyone. Doesn't make him a con-man. But on the other hand, I don't get the feel from him that he's a great Buddhist teacher, either.

JMO.

I've admitted it before- I "read people", and sometimes I am wrong. SOME times. This could be one of those times. That's why I said it's subjective, not definitive.
I probably said way too much before my second cuppa morning coffee....

Dandelion

MaryAnne said:

@Dandelion

You don't think living in a cave - for 12 yrs- is dubious? (I'm only half kidding here).

lol, I don't really know what 'living in a cave' means in real terms. I have an image in my head of hunter gatherer leaving cave for food, returning and turning into yogipower and floating to the top of the cave as water comes in...

seeker242

If Ajahn Chah thought he was legit, I would think it's safe to say he's legit.

Dakini

I had the same reaction as Mary Anne. The video comes across as a planned PR piece. It doesn't really give us a sense of whether he knows his stuff or not.

Invincible_summer

Judging from the way the videos were shot, it probably was a planned piece.

And @MaryAnne, I don't see how you can read so much into the fact that the monk looks into the camera. If he's not used to being filmed, he might not know where to look. Just because he's a monk who meditates a lot doesn't mean he knows what to do when a camera is on him!

MaryAnne

@Invincible_summer said:

"I don't see how you can read so much into the fact that the monk looks into the camera. If he's not used to being filmed, he might not know where to look. "

That's easy, you look at the person your talking to and don't worry at all about where the camera is.

But anyway, everything I said in my post did not all come from the fact that he looked into the camera about 90% of the time - in both videos. I also listened (critically) to the actual words he used, his tone, his pattern of speech, facial expressions, etc.
Most of what I said about him was from 'reading' him - in other words- the feeling I get from him. And that feeling was summed up nicely by @Dakini above....

(Agreed! @Dakini)

Glow

Ajahn Sumano (also called Sumano Bhikku) has been around for a long time. There's nothing suspicious about him. He studied in the Thai Forest tradition. He did indeed spend time with Ajahn Chah during Chah's sickest years just before his death. He seems to be a relatively quiet bhikku. (The majority of Ajahn Chah's Western students have gone on to live fairly quiet lives. Famous examples like Ajahn Brahm, Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Sucitto, et al. are really the exceptions to the rule.) He has written some books and sometimes teaches. I have not read his books, but I've heard a stray talk or two of his. He doesn't have a huge following or run a monastery, AFAIK, so I don't think there's any reason to suspect this is all a PR stint. The stilted nature of the video can be explained by the fact that this seems to be an amateur documentary film by the Youtube uploader (Ron van Zelst).

At any rate, what's important is whether what the guy says helps your practice or not. I only listened to a minute or two of the video, but didn't hear anything controversial or worrying, but I didn't hear anything particularly edifying either in those two minutes. If it helps you, by all means:

"So, as I said, Kalamas: 'Don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our teacher." When you know for yourselves that, "These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering" — then you should abandon them.' Thus was it said. And in reference to this was it said.

"Now, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness' — then you should enter & remain in them.

Source: Kalama Sutta