A Good Friend to All

Dhamma81 recently said something that I thought was good:

I always reflect on Ajahn Jayasaro's statement that a monk is a "good friend" to all, and that to get caught up in partisanship and political bickering could cause a lot of damage to all in the long run. If taken like that then a monastery would be a place where everyone could drop their worldly concerns and focus on the practice regardless of whether you're a criminal, a saint, or fall to the left or the right of the political spectrum. All would be welcome without conflict, because a monk and a monastery are supposed to be refuges, not tools for political agendas.

Also from his blog, Dhamma Reflections: Monks and Politics:

Ajahn Jayasaro echoes my sentiments in one of his talks when he says that the reason monks should stay out of politics is because they should be a refuge to all beings regardless of political persuasion. Here in the West a lot of folks seem to look down on people with the views held by Ajahn Jayasaro, especially those in the so called 'engaged Buddhist' movement, but his point is quite valid. If monks start taking sides in political affairs then that has the ability to corrupt the Sangha and cause a loss in faith in lay folks. People across the political spectrum should be able to go to a monastery and take refuge in the Dhamma, not monks that share political views.

King Bimbasara pays homage to the Buddha.

From the suttas we can tell that the Buddha generally didn't have any enemies among kings. (The only exception perhaps being Prince Ajatasattu, but then mostly due to the extreme manipulation of Devadatta.)

Would the Buddha have had such a non-hostile and even positive relationship with monarchs had he chose to go around praising one king while disparaging another?

Anyway, check out Dhamma81's blog. Since I've been tinkering with all kinds of web widget junk lately, here's a crazy flash widget that'll give you a quick overview of what it currently contains: