Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

The Golden Stateposes. What if it turns out that there is a lot there that’s still of use? It would be sucha waste just to sling it out.People seem to be looking at traditional monastic practice with a fresh eye; itsrelegation as a culturally antiquated, worn-out form is being revised. At the end ofthe Joys of Monastic Life conference, when Jack Kornfield asked “How many of youwould consider entering a Monastery, say for a period of at least a year?” 70-80%of the assembly raised their hands.Certainly, some aspects of Buddhist custom are redundant and inapplicable toWestern society. But, as our experience in Europe has shown, these elements arenot related intrinsically to the Dhamma-Vinaya as described by the Buddha. And,as many eminent teachers in Asia point out, it might be good if such aspects ofBuddhist custom were discarded in Asia as well.This visit to the West Coast was arranged in order to provide access to theSangha and to see if the traditional unit of Monastery and lay supporters had auseful place in American society. The impression that has lingered is not one offriction with people, or of materialistic and violent horrors – even though theseperceptions were plentiful enough. These impressions fade, and what fills the heartis a quiet delight, echoing with endless highways of space and light, thick with oleanders…or islands rising in the early morning, out of miles of opal fog.This is a rich land, there is goodness here – goodness in the land and in thehearts of the people – and it has been a joy to help the sincere find that which istruly golden.Part IIA Still LifeThis is the second of two pieces which describe the visit made by members of theSangha from Amaravati to the United States in the spring of 1990. This latter partof the account dwells more specifically on seclusion and monastic practice in theUSA.•It is an oft-recognized fact that, once a religion is established in a society, over thecenturies its original values tend to be obscured. Cultural overlay, empty intellectualism,assumed importance and conceit all contribute to a process of corruption.When a religion enters a new country, however, there is an opportunity for areclarification of values – particularly if it has not arrived through missionary zealbut through the interest of the local population. Against the background of newculture, whatever does not relate to the basic spiritual paradigm becomes illuminated– and can be questioned.Most religious traditions employ similar tools – self discipline, kindness, devotion,contentment with little, contemplation, meditation – which historically haveoften been formulated into monastic institutions. As Buddhism enters Western13