FYI, from Kate Bartolotta:

"We are checking up on comments that may have been flagged erroneously (or by someone who doesn't agree) and will reinstate any we find. So sorry for any inconvenience!"

Hi Concerned. Thanks for posting. You're not a troll, that was a pot/kettle comment that's best ignored. You are welcome here.

Being asked to keep secrets is never a good sign, is it? Secrets are used to cover up abuse. In addition, they are using spiritual blackmail to get you to keep the secret by saying if you don't you'll be breaking a vow. What a mess.

None of the DM/THY people I'm in contact with have mentioned this secret business, perhaps because it's so obviously wrong, or because they weren't told that, but they have mentioned their vow that prevents them from criticizing their teacher.

I'm so glad you have been able to see through this.

I don't know, cloverleaf. I just wanted to make the comment more prominent, so I moved it to the top level.

Hi Concerned. Thank you for posting.

If I remember correctly, some people on the forum assumed Anon was over-reacting, that there was no real threat. I tend to take people at their word unless I have good reason to believe otherwise. I didn't see such a reason, so I took Anon at his/her word. I don't believe this issue was ever resolved, or that we've heard from Anon since.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

It's hard to know what to do in these situations, Jerry. You're doing good now!

Thanks, elma.

I think that must be what's happening. Thanks, Ben.

Kate Bartolotta wrote to me:
"You can let anyone concerned know that we only delete comments that are offensive, personal attacks or genuine spam (advertising) and even then, they are often only deleted if someone brings it to our attention.

Flagging the posts results in their being removed and put into moderation, so if anyone feels their comment has been deleted in error, please email editorial@elephantjournal.com so we can reinstate it."

I think the timeline issue is just a glitch.

"What reason might someone have for removing posts?"
Damage control.

I'm in contact with Waylon over email. I'll let you know the outcome.

I have noticed some "disappearances," too.

Here are some of mine (along with Ben's now-missing replies) that I can no longer find on the forum:

1. My first missing post:
"So if his lama is some Christian woman, he's clearly no longer Buddhist, right?"

2. Ben's missing reply to my first missing post:
"No. Another thing you will hear at DM (and elsewhere) is that "all religions are basically the same". There is an offshoot program for Christians called "A Star in the East" which ignores about 98% of the Christian bible and then reinterprets the other 2% to mean that "everything comes from you and you can control everything by planting the right Karmic seeds. Sound familiar? "You shall reap what you sow". Clearly that is saying that the only way to get money is to give money away.

I haven't looked at that material in a while so I may be getting things wrong or confused with other talks, anyone please correct me if you know better, but I believe there is this idea that one of Jesus's disciples, I believe Thomas, was told by Jesus after the cruxifiction to travel to India. Thomas then took the teachings of Jesus (which is the compassion side of compassion and wisdom) and made Buddhism whole again (the compassion part somehow fell away from Buddhism).

It has been a long time since I read "The Garden" and I don't intend to read it again but you might find some answers in there. It would be interesting to find out the whole true story of how GMR came to see this woman as his lama."

3. My second missing post:
"I have a feeling the Buddhists who gave Michael his robes and title might disagree that he is still a Buddhist if he takes a Christian "lama."

""You shall reap what you sow". Clearly that is saying that the only way to get money is to give money away."

Which makes no sense for people who don't have any money to give away in the first place. How do those people get money, according to this teaching?

"Thomas then took the teachings of Jesus (which is the compassion side of compassion and wisdom) and made Buddhism whole again (the compassion part somehow fell away from Buddhism)."

Someone on one of these threads has already pointed out that this is insulting to Buddhism to say that it was incomplete without Jesus' teachings.

It seems the story thus far is that Michael came to see this woman as his lama after knowing her from high school (ex-girlfriend?), and after his other lama (Christie) left him. That is, at any rate, the order of events."

4. Ben's missing reply to my second missing post:
"I get confused on this but I believe the Christian woman was his lama before, during and after Christie.

From what I understand of the teachings at DM, anyone or anything can be your lama. Your partner, coworkers, movies, books, the wind in the trees, the beggar on the street. There is a difference between a lama and a heart lama though.

If you believe the Buddha (or I suppose VY) can manifest in many forms at the same time, seeing many women as VY at the same time is reasonable."