One who is absolutely a slave to his inclinations will not take any conscious steps at all to break this habit. All teaching is lost for him.

I used to think that everyone should absolutely engage in breaking these habits. Now I realize that being a slave to inclinations is an evolutionary advantage for some people.

It is an ideal to strive towards, knowing that there will be no perfection. But without an ideal, there is no direction.

Well said!

On the train back I was reading a book about Buddha and making all sorts of angry side notes

I'm sorry to hear your mother passed away. This quote struck me, as I cannot imagine someone being angry when reading about the Buddha. It must've been a terrible book. I recommend Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, but I get the feeling that you already read it.

One thing to consider is that the concept of 'detachment' is often misinterpreted in the west. The word detachment has negative connotations in terms of aloofness or not caring. This is the problem with translating concepts from another language. Detachment as a religious concept is better translated as "active detachment," it's not about ignoring the problem but being aware and actively unhook your habitual patterns from it. Or so I understand it...

monastic life and village life have always had a symbiotic relationship where they functioned - at least in Asian traditions, non-possessiveness has been preserved to this day. The monks offered spiritual guidance and received physical food in return, to simplify briefly.

Yes, that's why they have the begging bowl and are only allowed few possessions. Unfortunately, issues pop up from time to time regarding offerings, but the original sentiment still stands.

Where they have no clue from my point of view as a woman is the issue of birth and female affairs and the whole space of motherhood (breastfeeding, carrying, singing, blood, placenta, midwives etc etc).

I saw a movie about a buddhist apprentice who gave up his life in the monastery for the life of a villager. He got married and soon became a family man. At the end of the movie, he decides to give everything up and return to the monestary. At that point, he's confronted with his wife, who gives him a good tongue lashing. One excellent point she made was that we always tell the story of Siddhartha after he left his own family to become a wandering aescetic and eventually the Buddha. What about his wife? She remained behind taking care of the children and the household. How come no one tells her story?

Celibacy is a great strength, but at the same time an Achilles' heel

Hehehe

Thank you for pointing me to your other writings. I'll be sure to check them out.