The Importance of Supporting the Sangha : หน้า 192/207

be summed up in the following proverb: One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. If people think this way, they can harm Buddhism unknowingly. This is certainly not the nature of a Buddhist. Buddhists must consider all aspects, just as the Lord Buddha once said: “Do not believe something without first analyzing all aspects of it.” 3) One who succeeds in Dhamma must not find fault in monks, but must help to support the spread of Dhamma to the fullest extent. On this point, I would like to share an example given by a respected senior monk during a lecture he gave to a group of college students. There was a layperson who read a great deal of negative news about monks, over-generalizing that they all were troublesome. As a result, he raised this concern when he met the respected senior monk: He said, “Nowadays, monks do not behave well and do not deserve my reverence. So, I wish to pay respect to only the Lord Buddha and the Dhamma. My question is, “Can I not pay respect to the Sangha?” His question was sensitive, difficult to answer, and had a potentially broad impact on the Sangha community. If the respected senior monk could not give him the right answer, it was possible that the entire class he was lecturing could lose their faith in the entire Sangha community. The Warm Hearted Family 382 Solving Buddhism’s Crisis The Warm Hearted Family 383 Solving Buddhism’s Crisis