Over the last weeks, I have met many people in person and on Zoom. Those from the Ipswich Sangha and those from other parts of Triratna, which is quite a large organisation these days. They have all asked me one question;
What are you going to do now?
They are asking about my stopping being Chair of the Buddhist Centre, an event that will happen at the end of the year.
In many ways, it is a strange question to ask. As I think it is fairly obvious, to me at least, that I will keep on doing what I have always done for the last 50 years, and that is live an engaged Dharma life. I suppose it is the context that will change; I will take on a new way of expressing the Bodhisattva ideal as Sangharakshita would term it. Maybe a new way of spreading Buddhism in a difficult and fast-changing modern world. There are already many ways within Triratna that Order Members go about transmitting the Dharma to those around them. To those that need to hear this Truth, and those that don’t yet realise that the Dharma is what they have been seeking. Following the Buddha’s analogy of the lotus pond, there are those buds still down at the bottom of the pond and those that have risen up through the murk of the pond towards the light. As they get closer to that light, the desire to bloom becomes stronger. We are all somewhere on that trajectory, moving, however slowly, towards our goal, in Buddhist terms, that is Nirvana or Enlightenment.
So I don’t really have a clear answer to my interlocutors. I can’t give a simple answer because even I don’t have my future mapped out in such a way. A long while ago now, I gave up the notion that one can predict the future with any accuracy. The conditions around one are continually changing. We have some agency in that swirling pot of conditions, but others do too, and also there are inanimate objects to consider, such as the world events and even the weather. I know the difference a sunny day can make to my abilities to do almost anything. As regards me, I cannot even be sure that my health and wellness will stay the same. No matter how many vitamins and miracle cures I may try, this body continues to age and decay, a process that can be viewed with fear and dread or with the knowledge and vision that recognises the beauty of all change.
Sangharakshita talks about Collective Karma. This is where all the positive karma from a collection of people can work together to change the outcomes in a good direction, for those people and for those around them, thus a weight of merit is created that affects the world. This is Sangha at its best and most effective. I see the Ipswich Buddhist Centre like this. Over the last ten years, the Centre has grown; you could even say it has grown up. And by Centre, I really mean just the people. You who make up the sangha. Although a nice spacious building does help. This is the legacy that a Chair strives to leave behind them, to hand on to the next generation. A legacy of those who are effectively going for Refuge to the three jewels, who are making spiritual progress, getting closer to Enlightenment. At the core of our Sangha is the Order. Those who have fully dedicated themselves to being part of that collective karma for the good of all beings.
In Ipswich, we now have over 20 Order members with more that will be Ordained over the next six months. That is not bad for a small town, and there is still more growth to come as many are training to be ordained. Having the whole of any Sangha as all Order Members would be an interesting sight. It is always a possibility but is unlikely to happen. You never know, as it is just down to conditions. The more positive collective karma that we create, the more our ability to create positive karma. A virtuous circle, or you could view it as an upward-moving spiral, the escape path from the Wheel of Life and Death.
It might be difficult for you to see yourself in a position to be an Order Member. You may look at the wonderful Order Members we have in Ipswich, and think that you could not be that person. But if you ask them, I think they will tell you that only a few years ago they felt the same. It only requires being more in control of your conditions, not being bound by those conditions, taking responsibility for your own karma. That means taking the opportunities for spiritual growth when they present themselves to you. Have no doubt about it, those opportunities will come along; they are the result of that collective karma I talked about. Placed in your way, but we don’t always see it, we may not recognise it, or we may even be frightened of going down a new path and breaking with the rutted path we (or those around us) have created during our lifetime.
As regards my future…
I have been interested in an analogy that the Buddha gave of flowers and string, to explain the importance of Dharma-vinaya or the practical and organised part of a Buddhist tradition. The Buddha said that if the flowers are left loose on a bench, then they can be blown away, but if the flowers are tied together in a bunch, then they will not be blown away. He was referring to how long a spiritual tradition would last. The flowers are the direct spiritual Teachings and the string is the rules, rituals and institutions that keep a spiritual movement going through time. Because of the importance placed on the ‘string’ by the Buddha, Buddhism has managed to last for thousands of years.
Likewise, each individual Buddhist school or movement needs to have a good organisational structure if it is to survive for any length of time. Urgyen Sangharakshita has left us good structures, based on Kalyana-Mitrata, so that we can communicate positively within the sangha, keeping all in spiritual contact with the most inspired. But however good those structures they still need fine-tuning to match the changing society in which we all live. For example, the Three C’s that I have mentioned in previous writings, that is Centres, Communities (residential) and Co-ops need bringing up to date. Then they can provide a full Dharma life for our Sangha and give enough resources to meet the needs of our fast-growing movement. An example of rethinking communities for the current time is the co-housing project in Cambridge.
So that whole area of Triratna Dharma-vinaya is an area that I have always explored, but I will now be able to give it some more of my attention.
However, those who have asked me that big question, that is not really the right question. It needs to be turned around. The real question is not what am I going to do, but what are YOU going to do now?
The future is yours to make.
This is my last homily, the last of these writings that I have undertaken as Chair of the Ipswich Buddhist Centre. I hope you have found them useful.
See you around
Bodhivamsa
