Since I haven't had any sponsors step up to totally pay for my robes or provide for all my travel expenses, I have the choice between not going forward with my aspiration for ordination or redoubling my own efforts. Toward the latter end, I believe that I need to not give up on sewing my own robes. I have encountered difficulties because these items are the product of a different culture and therefore do not adhere to the practices of European and American clothing construction. Nevertheless, I have the items in hand to copy and have more time than money to apply to meet this need.
I need to remember the common Theravadan practice of a householder providing his first set of robes. Not being dependent on his family anymore he takes the responsibility on himself. Although in Tibetan culture it had become rarer for a man to enter the monastery after years as a householder, it has become much more common in the West. However, we do not have a culture that sees any value in supporting monasticism whether Christian or Buddhist. There was a time when there were rulers, although at all times few in number, who believed that they gained more safety for their land by having monastics praying than by having soldiers armed.
Is one of the lessons that I am to learn from these preparations that, notwithstanding the financial rules for monks in the Vinaya and the principles that underly them, I shall be solely responsible for my own support? Although there is merit in the support of monastics, have such sponsors virtually vanished? I am indeed very grateful for those who have provided support although their own means are limited. They gain such great merit far beyond the size of the gift, because they are practicing compassion and generosity. Furthermore, those small gifts are not insignificant, because they do add together, beyond simple arithmetic, to meet needs.
In my own circumstances, this is more an inconvenience than an impediment, but it represents a more substantial obstacle to the growth of Buddhist monasticism outside a few ethnic communities. Even among the traditionally Buddhist immigrants the support of their monastics has taken new forms. In what cities of this country can you find monks making “alms rounds”? The only one about which I have read is one out West whose monastery is made up of mostly Westerners who are teaching the local community about this form of practicing generosity.
Could we even see in the nation's economic disaster a material event having a spiritual cause? I have read too many articles from too many different authors with diverse points of view who agree that greed was a major component of the conditions that resulted in the crisis. Nevertheless, I do take hope in the growth of essentially secular institutions like “Food Not Bombs” and “Bike Not Bombs” that want to act on a different basis. From such roots we need to grow the understanding that material conditions have their origin in spiritual conditions. Whether “good karma” or “bad karma,” it begins with the intention and the decision behind the action.
If we seek true happiness and success, rather than adopt the purely materialistic philosophies that have dominated in the West, we need to listen to what His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, “From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquillity comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Cultivating a close, warm,hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. This helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the ultimate source of success in life.”
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