This is the way

Re: “Buddhist watchdog”, (PostBag,

May 14).

Kuldeep Nagi, who appears to know nothing about the practice of Buddhism, writes, “Unless a watchdog is created, the monks and temples will remain rife with sex scandals and corruption”.

First we should understand that, as an institution, Sangha has always been rife with its own failures, just as it always will be.

That is the point: how else can one’s failings be transcended unless they are first seen and understood to be caused by one’s own actions?

Second, a watchdog is unnecessary. Consciousness itself is the ultimate “watchdog”. Only regular study and persistent practice of the Dhamma reveals this truth.

Thus the Sangha is both a refuge and inherently imperfect.

I can promise Mr Nagi that no amount of his naive, conventionally wrought advice will change anything about the great tradition of Buddhism.

However if he takes up its practice with heroic seriousness for the rest of his life, he might well be blessed with deeper self-understanding. To be sure, nothing would delight his readers more. MICHAEL SETTER