Originally Posted by
VinceField
I am sorry if you felt insulted. This was not my intention. I simply stated what the likely motives would be of an individual posting in the manner you did. Keep in mind that I gave you the benefit of the doubt, stating.. "Let's assume the poster wasn't simply trying to..." and then went on to list the probable motives. I did not say outright that these were in fact your motives, because I do not know this for sure. However, my first statement that your post was unskillful, confrontational, insensitive, and likely driven by your ego, that statement I am rather sure of, if our modern-day knowledge of human psychology is anywhere accurate. Again, not meant as an insult, but rather to provide you with a perspective that may shed some light onto some aspects of your self and your behavior that you may not be completely aware of.
Whether or not you actually caused suffering to others is not so much the issue, as is your intention to cause suffering. You intended to start a confrontation, boldly denying the experiences of others with no wisdom to back it up, undoubtably knowing you would upset or agitate at least some members and thus causing a degree of suffering/stress/negativity to arouse in them. The motivations underlying this type of behavior are clear, I have seen it many times before.
Again, I apologize if I offended you. My intention was simply to present some ideas that perhaps you could someday benefit from if you choose to take them into consideration. Perhaps you will gain a deeper level of insight into the causes of your behavior and will start to consider the underlying intentions of your actions and how they will likely affect others, and purify your thoughts and actions so that they give rise to wholesome states in yourself and others, rather that unwholesome states. I understand that this situation alone is not a big deal. However, it is likely a sign of habitual unwholesome behaviors, and may very well be a reflection of your usual behavior as a whole, so I believe it is in your best interest to make these ideas known to you.
Metta