Far be it for Japhy to tell Dzongsar Khyentse how to do Facebook, but it is Japhy’s opinion that Rinpoche needs to pump his breaks on his so-called Social Media Guidelines.
“With all due respect, If Dzongsar doesn’t like what he’s seeing in his Facebook stream, that’s entirely on Rinpoche, and of no concern to us.”
Given how Dzongsar Khyentse’s latest book, which Japhy loves, “Not for Happiness,” is in an open invitation to anyone intent on misappropriating the Vajrayana, perhaps Rinpoche should focus his attention on a code of conduct for Rinpoches.
“Personally, I’ve never received anything from Khenpo Karthar, or any other Rinpoche, that can’t be shared. I haven’t a clue what he feels needs protection.”
Clearly, as far as Japhy can tell, Dzongsar has had his fill of people he has friended on Facebook that share with him what he believes shouldn’t be shared.
“A fish rots from the head. We aren’t the problem. The problem of over sharing of the Vajrayana begins and ends with the Rinpoches.”
Not to put too fine a point on this, if Dzongsar Khyentse has friended people on Facebook who post Tantric images, mantras and syllables, nobody has forced Rinpoche to follow these people.
“I’m not a big fan of this either, but its none of my business. This is the slippery slope that Dzongsar has stepped onto.”
As far as Japhy is concerned, the last thing we need in Social Media, are cohorts sticking their noses into the streams of each other.
“This is an open invitation for us to find fault with each other. Thanks, but no thanks Rinpoche.”
If you read Dzongsar Khyentse’s guidelines, Rinpoche wants to prohibit Japhy and his cohorts from even mentioning empowerments, public events, they have attended.
“Perhaps somebody needs to remind Dzongsar of a little thing we Americans call free speech. I’m nobody’s serf. That’s just offensive, Rinpoche going there.
Any of Dzongsar Khyentse’s guidelines that advises Japhy and his cohorts to not talk about something, is a non-starter, from the get go, as far as Japhy is concerned.
“I think the world of Dzongsar, but over my dead body. He will have to pry my iPhone from my dead fingers.”
The bit about ego and spiritual materialism, Chogyam Trungpa’s response to the posers he surrounded himself with in Boulder, doesn’t apply to Japhy and his cohorts.
“It’s like accusing me of hiding a unicorn in my shorts. That kind of talk has no basis in reality.”
Long story short, as far as Japhy can tell, all of Dzongsar Khyentse’s “don’ts” are the “d’ohs” of the people he follows on Facebook.
“I get how much Facebook sucks. I don’t Facebook.”
Japhy remembers when he and his cohorts once entertained the benefits of Tibetan feudalism as a support for their Vajrayana Practice.
“We chose otherwise. It isn’t for us. We have rights. We don’t want anything to do with people telling us to shut up and do as we’re told. Period.”
The first thing Japhy learned from Khenpo Karthar was to keep his nose out of the business of his cohorts.
“What other people are doing is none of my business. We all have to make our own mistakes.”
Dzongsar Khyentse needs to clean up his Facebook accounts, if he has issues with the crap people he has friended on Facebook are sharing with him.
“Otherwise, sharpen your pitchfork and grab a torch, it’s time for a good old fashioned witch hunt.”
Japhy has pushed the envelope here. He knows he has said too much, yet again. Somebody has to push back on this unfortunately. It can’t be allowed to stand.
“There are too many cohorts that want nothing more than to foist a code of conduct like Dzongsar Khyentse’s upon their coreligionists.”
Japhy is here today sharing his experiences with his cohorts online because he refused to be cowed by those of his cohorts that resisted his call for transparency.
“They tried, but Khenpo Karthar refused to back them.”
Japhy knows this is much ado over nothing, Dzongsar Khyentse’s Facebook update, and nothing he needs to concern himself with personally.
“It’s Chinatown, Jake. Forget about it.”
It has provided Japhy though with an excuse to embarrass himself yet again. Other than the satisfaction of being entertaining, Japhy has no excuse for anything he has written here. Karmapa Chenno.
Tinfoil Ushnisha 
I respectfully suggest that Japhy might have his head up his ass if he really believes that Trungpa Rinpoche was surrounded by poseurs. A couple thousand of those supposed dilettantes completed the full Karma Kamtsang ngondro before the new management at SI decided it was obsolete.
Tinfoil Ushnisha is an exercise in Fiction. Japhy is a literary device. I apologize if this has resulted in bringing any embarrassment to you.
No embarrassment to me–I’m not part of that sangha.
You are right about Japhy, as a character, having his head up his ass.
Regarding “Cutting Through Spiritual Materialialism” he does make a valid point though.
The behavior Trungpa described as, “Spiritual Materialism,” was that of his students, prior to 1973.
The fact that some of these students went on to complete the Karma Kagyu ngondro is beside the point.
Um…. is going to tell everyone in Tibet not to post the Om Mani Padme Hung mantra. ???????? I was with him for a bit on the spiritual materialism but then I thought about how Tibetans traditionally posted this stuff EVERYWHERE. They even carved them into stone. So, wtf?
Both the Buddhist Blogger Justin Whitaker and Tricycle Magazine were duped into picking up Dzongsar Khyentse’s Facebook rant as Buddhist news—Rinpoche’s Guidelines for Social Media.
If they had read them in their proper context, Facebook, as you have, they would have realized that this series of snarky comments by Rinpoche, obviously, are not guidelines for Social Media.
Hia ‘ryder’ – are you saying it’s a hoax or a joke of some sort? If so and there’s evidence for that (could you say more about the ‘proper context, Facebook’ perhaps?), I’d be happy to reassess it. I took it from a Vajrayana practitioner and it seemed that nearly all of the comments to it on fb took it as a straightforward suggestion rather than a ‘rant’ as you put it.
It’s a pure farce, Rinpoche being provocative.
It is sacrosanct in the Vajrayana to mind our own business.
There is no question that Dzongsar Khyentse’s guidelines fall outside the scope of Rinpoche’s authority,
They were posted for the benefit of his Facebook friends.
It was they who were doing the stupid, irritating things he was railing against.
I’m sorry, but if you believe them otherwise, I remain unconvinced.
Please provide me a single Vajrayana encampment they apply to.
Dzongsar Khyentse doesn’t hold his own encampment to these guidelines.
It’s Facebook, nothing more.
I have just read the Tricycle article on Dzongsar Khyente Rinpoche’s “guidelines”. I see no problem there. We have profoundly powerful ego-minds in the West. We were given so much Freedom but taught nothing of the Responsibility it requires. The spiritual accomplishments, and subsequent attachments, we see in ourselves through any spiritual practice, is an acomplishment of the ego-mind.
It seems to me that Rinpoche is speaking of the sacred becoming profane through its proliferation among the uninitiated, meaning those who misunderstand Buddhism and are not even interested in discovering its tremendous wisdom-base. This can cause a degeneration of the whole system.
The spiritual path is an inner journey. No one can walk that path with us. And I believe Rinpoche is spot-on in pointing out the dangers of displaying our religious adornments in public. This is very subtle stuff! There is nowhere where the ego is more passionately in control than when on a spiritual path! The promised power of it is too alluring.
We may even think we know about Buddhism, but the Wisdom of insight held by these accomplished, compassionate and infinitely patient Rinpoches and Tulkus is beyond our imagination.
A fish rots from the head. In the Vajrayana, the Vajra master alone is responsible for their charges. It is not Rinpoche’s place to correct another Vajra masters charges. If his charges are behaving contrary to his wishes it is his responsibility to individually sort them out as he deems fit.