What and whom is worthy of respect and reverence according to Buddhist teachings?

In this short reel, I briefly discuss, who is worthy of our reverence and devotion ccording to Buddha’s teachings?

The great Shakyamuni Buddha had twenty-three great female disciples who showed extraordinary accomplishments and realisations and powers in relation to Dharma scholarship, inner qualities and mental powers and genuine and profound levels of realisation of emptiness/lack of inherent self and other (nature of reality) and bodhicitta.

Aligned with that example,  we are taught by Buddha to revere and promote women (and men) who are doing and have done extraordinary activities for beings and Buddha Dharma, who display wisdom, equamimity and bodhicitta and exemplify simple living and right livelihood and diets. Who maintain the vows purely and with good motivation, and have genuine love and compassion for all.

We are not supposed to promote those who got their name, fame and privileges from nepotism, family connections, money, physical attractiveness only, political worlldy or military power, or being male or being a monk. Or even worse, to those who have shown hatred, jealousy, elitism, bias, favouritism, nepotism, and cruelty towards any beings.

Such titles and positions are not indicative by themselves of being worthy of praise, renown or homage. As the 17th Karmapa himself has recently taught, having a big title, lots of followers, wearing monastic robes and having participated in a monastic vow ceremony does not make a person automatically worthy of reverence either.

If we are promoting women for being pretty, or biologically related to or married to or financial sponsors of men with such privileges then we are only promoting and enabling PATRIARCHAL norms and ideals.

Patriarchy has no place in the 21st century and no place in spiritual paths and practices either. We do not have to enable Patriarchy to be devout and genuine Buddhists.  Buddha himself spoke against such inherited privileges, discrimination, sexism, ageism, and materialism and greed. The Buddhist community is supposed to stand in stark contrast to worldly ideals as exemplified in popular culture, and against excessive consumption, greed and massive income gaps and inequalities between “rich” and “poor”.