Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Golden Highways Revisited: 1998session in the day as well. It’s all very impressive, and palpably on the right track.There are also moves to do more events on dāna – Ajaan Thānissaro (Tan Geoff)ran a workshop this spring like this and the overheads etc. were covered fine. Inthe future we should push for more of this.Tan Punna surfaces late afternoon and we chat over tea. He is well and ArrowRiver is, as usual, just getting by as one steward hands the baton on to the next. Heis in good spirits and at ease with the life.The workshop kicks off at 7:30 and, surprise surprise, there is still more materialin the notes than can be got through in one evening – we finish at 10:00 anyway– oh well.Very low key morning sitting – it’s nice to have so little in the way of ceremonialsfor a change – and then into the splurge of talks and teachings from the ShiningOnes. The theme is The Teachings of the Thai Forest Masters, including Ajahn Mun,Ajahn Buddhadasa, Ajahn Lee, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Maha-Boowa and Upasika KeeNanayon – by the end of the session (at 10:30 p.m.) we are all buzzing fit to lightthe town of Barre. Add the charge of Joseph Kappel (the former Ajahn Pabhākaroand my first teacher in Thailand) and John Massey (also an ex-monk and composerof blues Sutta arrangements) to the mixture and you wind up with a lot of wattagein the air. Come the evening session, after a bit of history of Ajahn Chah, and TheMindful Way, it’s handed over to Joseph and he fully takes the stage – it’s good tosee him in his glory like this, he has a lot to give and is at last (seven years after disrobing,following 20 years of monastic life) finding his voice in the lay universe. Asweet, poignant and unique session, filled with laughter and power. Golden talesof our Venerable Father and his children.April 5 thSnow! Falling endlessly in gentle white stellations of the grey air; it falls and fallsand falls and never settles – like the ceaseless barrage of perception and thought,sañña and sankhārā, landing in the mind of the Arahant, or rather not landing but dissolvinginto completion upon contact. Upasika Kee’s mind and diamond-swordedmanner fill the morning hours: let go and let go and let go and realize the infiniteemptiness of within. There is no other task in life worth doing.It has been announced that the afternoon session will conclude at 4:00 – afterAjahn Mahā Boowa and some midrashic sharings. To my amazement – despite thefull, bright and zealous energy of the session so far, less than half the folks reappearat 1:30… are they all busy writing?… Another two or three trickle in as the finalhours go by but they eventually have no words to offer. After Luang Dah Boowahas said his piece, (complete with the world-stopping, all-dissolving: “If there is apoint or center of the knower anywhere, that is the essence of a level of being”) –we take a breather and then cluster (the last 15 or so) for our final sharing. A fewsweet jewels come forth – especially Katherine’s Sixty Holy Women, Sandra’s Letterto the Ajahns and Dorothea’s tea party for all six great ones.Joseph has more to say and offers useful encouragement to the notion ofmonasticism in general. Over and over again the theme comes up of introduction32
Golden Highways Revisited: 1998of this tradition and method of training to the USA. People are more and moreaware that it has been lacking and yet it can’t be introduced into the Americanpsyche overnight. Joseph bemoans the lack of interest and support there has beenfor monasticism in the US Buddhist scene, but for 95% of the people this is becausethey have scarcely cognized the existence of it. So I applauded Joseph’s commentsbut added that, “It takes a long time for such principles to really percolate throughsociety – the 30 years that Buddhism has been in the US public eye is a very shorttime historically.”The gathering ends with an enthusiastic taking of the Refuges and Precepts –only the monastic junkies remain – and we’re down to about 12 by now. So it wasa radiant and heartful time, luxuriating in the divine presence of the Ajahns, but itwas also telling how – even in the face of repeated exhortations on the uncertaintyof life and the priority of Dhamma practice, from the voices of those who boom thesound of the Dhamma across the valleys – that so many ignored the exortations tostay and even left earlier than planned. “People are busy, Ajahn...”“I know, but is the Dhamma something that you tack on to your life or somethingthat your life is surrendered to? It seems so reasonable: family, work,schedules, driving long distances… but when is King Yāma going to call?”We had long talk with Joseph, his lady Katherine and the good John Massey.A brief tea break and then the Monastery Development Circle met at 7:00 p.m.Taraniya, Perrin, Dorothea, Dona, Sandra, Jaya, Katherine 1, John, Mark Hart,Buzz, Joseph and Katherine 2. A rich meeting, which I was very glad to be at, andout of which came a few clear notes:— Firstly, there is considerable energy withinthis circle for helping a Monastery to be founded here; secondly – Jack havingcatalyzed the process, there was no inclination toward, even an explicit avoidanceof, an even remotely on-campus Monastery at IMS (the hermit in the folly isnot a desired option); notably there were no IMS folks there (excluding Taraniya)and little interest had been generally shown by the IMS community in the monasticteachers; thirdly – people were happy with the idea of annual visits of a fewweeks/months and saw that the main aspect of the venture was unifying themselvesin vision and energy first, then perhaps creating an invitation, should it seemappropriate. Joseph offered to go to England and invite Luang Por to come, teacha retreat and leave someone in 2000; fourthly – Abhayagiri offered to help supportthe effort with occasional monks here and there but it was made clear that we arenot going to assume responsibility for the project.It was also made clear that 1) it should all be worked in small increments (e.g.“you don’t have to decide on a location now”); 2) the money will appear when it’sneeded, if the energy is right; 3) the purpose of the venture is to end suffering, notto create it.We were all done by 8:45 – finally the words ran out.These are great, good-hearted people, wise and skillful, and it felt an honor tobe sitting amongst them. Jack had catalyzed this discussion, with his suggestionthat we found a Monastery near IMS, but no one was going to let blind enthusiasmand wishful thinking rule the day. It was impressive to hear and feel how everyone33
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Golden Highways Revisited: 1998of this tradition and method of training to the USA. People are more and moreaware that it has been lacking and yet it can’t be introduced into the Americanpsyche overnight. Joseph bemoans the lack of interest and support there has beenfor monasticism in the US <strong>Buddhist</strong> scene, but for 95% of the people this is becausethey have scarcely cognized the existence of it. So I applauded Joseph’s commentsbut added that, “It takes a long time for such principles to really percolate throughsociety – the 30 years that Buddhism has been in the US public eye is a very shorttime historically.”The gathering ends with an enthusiastic taking of the Refuges and Precepts –only the monastic junkies remain – and we’re down to about 12 by now. So it wasa radiant and heartful time, luxuriating in the divine presence of the Ajahns, but itwas also telling how – even in the face of repeated exhortations on the uncertaintyof life and the priority of Dhamma practice, from the voices of those who boom thesound of the Dhamma across the valleys – that so many ignored the exortations tostay and even left earlier than planned. “People are busy, Ajahn...”“I know, but is the Dhamma something that you tack on to your life or somethingthat your life is surrendered to? It seems so reasonable: family, work,schedules, driving long distances… but when is King Yāma going to call?”We had long talk with Joseph, his lady Katherine and the good John Massey.A brief tea break and then the <strong>Monastery</strong> Development Circle met at 7:00 p.m.Taraniya, Perrin, Dorothea, Dona, Sandra, Jaya, Katherine 1, John, Mark Hart,Buzz, Joseph and Katherine 2. A rich meeting, which I was very glad to be at, andout of which came a few clear notes:— Firstly, there is considerable energy withinthis circle for helping a <strong>Monastery</strong> to be founded here; secondly – Jack havingcatalyzed the process, there was no inclination toward, even an explicit avoidanceof, an even remotely on-campus <strong>Monastery</strong> at IMS (the hermit in the folly isnot a desired option); notably there were no IMS folks there (excluding Taraniya)and little interest had been generally shown by the IMS community in the monasticteachers; thirdly – people were happy with the idea of annual visits of a fewweeks/months and saw that the main aspect of the venture was unifying themselvesin vision and energy first, then perhaps creating an invitation, should it seemappropriate. Joseph offered to go to England and invite Luang Por to come, teacha retreat and leave someone in 2000; fourthly – Abhayagiri offered to help supportthe effort with occasional monks here and there but it was made clear that we arenot going to assume responsibility for the project.It was also made clear that 1) it should all be worked in small increments (e.g.“you don’t have to decide on a location now”); 2) the money will appear when it’sneeded, if the energy is right; 3) the purpose of the venture is to end suffering, notto create it.We were all done by 8:45 – finally the words ran out.These are great, good-hearted people, wise and skillful, and it felt an honor tobe sitting amongst them. Jack had catalyzed this discussion, with his suggestionthat we found a <strong>Monastery</strong> near IMS, but no one was going to let blind enthusiasmand wishful thinking rule the day. It was impressive to hear and feel how everyone33