Civility on the List

[Valerie J Roebuck]

In the interests of civility, may I please suggest that members of the list
avoid the words "heresy" and "heretic", which to the European ear have
ineradicable connotations of the Inquisition and the stake?  In any case,
they should not be used about members of other religions, even those
closely related to one's own--this usage seems to me as illogical (and
potentially offensive) as if Jews and Christians were to call one another
"heretics".

I'm also not totally convinced of the usefulness of enquiring about the
caste of one's fellow scholars.

Dr Valerie J Roebuck
(Buddhist, Mlecchii)
Manchester, UK