The Old Ones are dying. Many respected Buddhist leaders with their feet grounded in formal monastic education are growing old. Who will replace them?
In Indian refugee communities, in Tibet itself, where the scholastic tradition has until now never been broken, are young monks learning and studying as they always did? Has the banner passed to America as some writers say?
Does it matter?
Can we keep the knowledge and practice alive and well without the rigor and yes cruelty of the old Tibetan system? Our American way of practice is without rigor. Our long meditation days get shorter and shorter, and many people no longer attempt the full lotus position. I have almost no knowledge of Buddhist schools and histories. I know nothing of Soto Zen in Japan. I could not afford to go there.
My answer to all this is to keep to the simple teachings that underlie all the later elaborations.
Approaching 'right thought' for just a minute is my unattainable ambition!
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