Behave In a Way That is Praised By the Wise

A woman named Hannah launched online attacks against the Monastic Academy in 2021. Hannah updated her post daily with new accusations. Again and again, she increased the exaggeration and extremity of her claims, and flooded the comments in many forums where the Monastic Academy was mentioned.

The Head Teacher Soryu Forall often teaches that there is truth, and it is not what one thinks or feels. He said Hannah is a member of our community, and we should respond in relationship and true friendship. After investigating Hannah’s claims and finding no merit to them, the Monastic Academy published a thoughtful, truthful response. Various community members engaged in some of the internet forums conversing about this by posting about their own experiences, including replying to Hannah’s public comments.

People who had never been to the Monastic Academy, but who heard about this situation, often criticized the community for the way we handled this. They would say ‘you should have done it like this’, and then share their own opinions. Forall pointed out that people would criticize us even if we did what they asked. He quoted the Buddha, who taught that there is no one in the world who is blamed or praised all the time. He said that we are not participating in a popularity contest. We are not trying to be praised by the mainstream. We are trying to behave in a way that is praised by the wise.