urban monk

|> I think it is pretty clear that the Buddha's own salvation came first.
|> And afterwards, when he sowed the seeds of wisdom, it was on good soil 
|> that he sowed them, not on the ruck and the rabble.

|> "Let no one neglect his own task for the sake of another's, however 
|> great." [166] Dhammapada

| OK!  That does it!  I'm leaving my wife and kid to go become a monk!  

in urban environments it is not strictly imperative to leave the family
 in order to practice monastic discipline.  the extremes of ascetic
 rigor may be so engaged even while completing responsibilities engaged
 within daily life.  the anonymity and facelessness of urban settings
 can provide the type of exclusion and restriction necessary to see
 through the traps of Mara.  focus on right speech, right action, and,
 especially where it comes to family and living in the world, right
 livelihood

| Let 'em fend for themselves.  I'm not letting *them* get in the way 
| of *my* salvation!

the salvation of a single monk may be obtained through service to
 those who become dependent upon hir.  this will sustain the same
 salvation for those around one until they can discover the Middle
 Way themselves

|> In the case of altruism, when one sacrifices oneself for the 'group', 
|> let us reflect, it is not always a moral act. The Waffen-SS is a good 
|> example. Indeed they fought and died for each other - and still killed 
|> the Jew.

|> Alright, you convinced me already!  No more Mr. Nice Guy!

instead of abandoning compassion, consider completing your responsibilities 
 to family while practicing the 8-fold Path.  Gautama Buddha's story
 includes the point that his family did not want for the basics of
 living by virtue of his having been a prince of Warrior clan.  if this
 is also true for you, then you have no concern for this advice, but
 otherwise abandoning the family for Buddhism seems overly extreme