Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

The Golden State•At the close of the conference, Jack Kornfield asked the assembly how many wouldnow consider entering a Monastery, say, for at least a year. It was a testimony to theinsight in convening such a conference, and to the capacity of the speakers to puttheir lives into words, that 70-80% of the people raised their hands.A Monastery’s purpose is to provide opportunities for such interest to bearfruit. Even though, as some suggest, the future of Buddhism in the US might liewith lay groups, the Monastery remains a unique and invaluable environment forthe development of the spiritual life – not only for those within the enclosure, asit were, but also for those for whom it is a reminding and encouraging presencein the world.So how will things develop? Who knows? What can be seen for definite,however, is that there is already a tremendous fellowship among Buddhist peoplein the West. During this visit I experienced only warmth, hospitality and respectfrom those I met. What we are experiencing here is a cooperative effort towards acommon goal, rather than a contest to see who is right and best. Traditional formsand the spirit of the present can work together like an old, well-used tool in a skillfulhand. The tool and the hand on their own cannot achieve very much, but inconcord we can bring great beauty into the world.21