Rugged Interdependency - Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

Golden Highways Revisited: 1998said it) was not a very helpful comment considering there’s: a) people b) sufferingc) intelligence d) leisure time in great abundance and these are generally the elementsrequired to make Dhamma practice a useful tool.It was 10:00 before we said our final goodbyes and nearly 12:00 by the time wegot back to Bedford. Being revved for the evening it was 2:00ish by the time theengine cooled.April 23 rdI woke after a long dream about Richard Gere being on a retreat with me. We celebratedthis phantasmic visitation by John taking me for a tour of the area (small oldhouses, village greens, rocky outcrops, big gorges, huge new houses, trees everywhere)and passing by Mr. Gere’s residence on Pound Ridge – apparently, at onepoint, they had been considering moving next door to him. Along the way Johnand I had an interesting chat about Dharma teachers and dāna and their constantcomplaints – he quoted one of them as saying: “You just don’t get it, it’s not a tip!*!”My reply to this, addressed in abstract to these good people, was: “Instead of complainingabout the supposed shortfall, why not try to: a) be more worthy and b)cut your overheads – what you need will come. But if you choose to own and drivea Lexus, how can you expect people to take a dāna rap seriously?” (Maybe askRajneesh…)It might well sound as if one is blowing one’s own trumpet to assert that thingsare done much more easefully and graciously in the Monastery but, being as objectiveas possible, it still seems to be true: no one is ever charged for anything, eitherovertly or covertly; if money comes in it gets used for the welfare of the community,wherever it is needed; no one has personal stashes; we have no dependents;we don’t go into debt; and if there’s not enough money to build or pay the bills,we just sit and meditate until things come around again – it’s a very spacious wayto live.Furthermore, when the friends and supporters of the place receive zerocoercion to show that support financially, it is a pure joy for them to offer whateverthey wish; there is no pressure of obligation anywhere in the mix.Prior to this Gina and I had had an in-depth discussion on her role in theNew York Insight group. When the question of a location for my talk had come upshe had been shocked that some folks preferred the Union Theological Seminary,a venue with an aura of a Victorian gentleman’s club, à la Buddhist Society ofLondon, to Shambhala, as the latter was “too Buddhist.” She found it amazing thata Christian institution should be preferable simply because of the fear of puttingpeople off.As we talked we re-ran comments that some other leading Vipassanā teachershad made, such as: “Many people have been hurt by religion; we want to avoid recreatingthat pain for them and therefore we shy away from using overtly religiousforms within Buddhism when presenting Buddhist teachings.” Both Gina and I feltthat maybe some of the Pentecostalists who came to listen to the talk might havebeen put off but most people are aware that, if it’s a Buddhist monk speaking, it’s51