Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Part IINew York – Portland – Cloud Mountain – San Francisco – AbhayagiriApril 20 thTo my surprise the retreat was slated to begin this morning (I had thought wehad half a day’s grace) but, given that it is all due to happen here on site, it was noproblem.Gina had organized the whole affair down to the last detail – food preparedby others in the group, the florists arrived at 8:30 laden with choice bouquets andsprays. The house is already spotless and the gardens mani- and pedicured to a T– all flows along like a well-oiled machine. Despite the size of New York City therehas, amazingly, never been a Vipassanā center here and it was only last Septemberthat Gina, Tamara Engel and Sandra Weinberg drew such a project together. Theyhave been meeting three times a week in the City and hope to have regular daylongsittings and retreats. This was their first such event.By the end of the day everyone is glowing gently and folks seem highly pleasedwith the Dhamma offerings. It’s all just the same old stuff but, being so starved ofseasoned teachers to the area, they all lap it up with vigor. Apparently, althoughthere have been a large number of small, isolated meditation groups in the area,there had never been the pull for the big-name teachers to visit: not worth going toa group of only six people, apparently.This issue has been a constant refrain in recent times, both from members ofsmall local groups as well as at the meetings of Spirit Rock teachers that I have beenattending of late. The heart is pulled in two directions: there is a genuine naturalgladness to speak to whomsoever asks for Dhamma teachings, however, there isalso the specter of economic need. People hate to say it, and things have got ugly onoccasion when trying to encourage “sufficient” dāna, but the fact is that if there isa choice between going a long distance to a small group or to a large one, the likelihoodthat the latter will bring in more dollars usually wins the day.The same is true around teaching unpopular subjects: if a teacher knowsthat Sex and the Dharma is going to attract five times the number of people thatMindfulness of Breathing is likely to, which subject are they going to talk on? Nocontest.To some extent it is a question of the lack of seasoned teachers – and newerfolks are often happy to take on these small and remote groups – but the majorityof the issue seems to hinge around the commitment to a comfortable middle-classlifestyle and the consequent need to sustain an income from teaching that feedsthat cash-hungry maw. Mortgages, car payments, college fees for children – allthese and more pile up into a substantial mountain of obligation. Gotta keep those$$$ coming in…47