Alan Clements, 1st western monk in Burma.

hermitwin

http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/alan-clements-the-collapse-of-certainty/

Have you guys heard of him? What do you think of his experience?

hermitwin

MJ: Spirit-in-action is an essential point that I've found missing for the most part within many Buddhist traditions, and other spiritualities too. Or perhaps it's just not emphasized enough?

AC: Well, some people seem to think that sitting meditation and watching your breath or sending metta (the practice of developing loving-kindness and compassion) is action enough. But I wonder whether it's a self-indulgent excuse for dharma inaction. I think that real metta - real loving-kindness - is a behavior not just a feeling. It must be expressed through action. In fact, it was this very issue that prompted me to stop teaching and reevaluate my dharma understanding, to refocus it.

SherabDorje

http://www.worlddharma.com/

Jason

http://www.soundstrue.com/podcast/alan-clements-the-collapse-of-certainty/

Have you guys heard of him? What do you think of his experience?

I don't think Mr. Clements was the first Western monk in Burma. The first American, maybe, but Laurence Carroll (U Dhammaloka), an Irishman, was ordained in Burma prior to 1900, and Charles Allan Bennett (Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya), an Englishman, was ordained in Burma sometime between 1900 and 1901.

hermitwin

Thanks, I stand corrected.