Connection, Community, Commitment

May 22, 2011 • 1Connection, community, commitmentConnection is where we begin, in practice and as a sangha. We make aconnection with some aspect of practice, the teachings, the teachers, or other sanghamembers. Maybe that early connection comes simply from curiosity about meditation orZen. Or we read something that seems to fit our experience or our life. Lots of peoplecome to a place like Appamada just to check things out, but unless some connection isformed, most of them will not stay.Now, a place like this is not for everyone, even though everyone is welcome, andeven though the connections we offer are deep and profound. It takes pretty maturepeople even to recognize what is being offered, and to allow themselves to connect withit. We don’t offer a lot of familiar structures to comfort people or exotic rituals tofascinate them. It’s a very simple but heartfelt practice here, and the environment iscreated by you and Flint and I, not by some institutional structure.So it is inevitably the warmth of your welcome, the sincerity of your practice, andthe simplicity and vitality of this container that will appeal to those who are able toappreciate it. Probably each of you can point to someone who has helped you on yourpath, or something that helped you make a connection with Appamada. Even though Ipracticed for many years, it was Joko’s deep care and strength that connected me withthis practice path in a genuine way. In my desolation and complete confusion about mylife and the loss of Bill, she was like an unshakable mountain.And much later, in my devastation about 9/11, it was Flint’s extraordinary kindnessthat restored my faith in this path. Each of you has a different story about how yourconnection has been forged, but the truth is that without that connection—with thesangha, with the teachers, with the teachings of Zen, your practice is only a hobby or asuperficial pastime.That’s not to say that we all begin with a profound sense of our connection to thispath! Most of us—I could almost say all of us—start with some pretty confused ideasabout practice and about Zen. My students in their book candidly reveal some of thatconfusion. It is impossible to realize the depths of this profound practice before youhave actually plunged into it. And it continues to unfold its richness and vastness overyour entire lifetime, if you practice with some sincerity and some intelligence. Using therich materials of each life, we discover invitations to deeper and deeper experiences ofconnection: with our own selves, with each other and the people we encounter in ourlives, with the world and the entire universe.So this connectedness, or relationality, as Mu Soeng calls it, is the foundation ofour practice and our sangha. It is based on what Hershock called unprecedentedvirtuosity, which means it is not bound by conventions or forms or familiar structures, but---May 22, 2011 • 2is spontaneously created by the participants in every single activity: in sitting together insilence and stillness, in walking together, in study and myriad interactions. It is infinitelydeepened in our work with our teachers and the rich experience of intensives. That term“virtuosity” means the skillful ways we are learning to manage our lives and ourinteractions. Like jazz musicians, we improvise with appreciation for our ensemble andour own capacities. We become what we create together, as we explore ourselves, andour world, in the light of the profound wisdom of the traditional and contemporaryteachings. That seems like the most engaging and joyful process I can even imagine.Please use this potential for connection well.CommunityEventually, and this happens at a different pace for each person, we begin toparticipate in more activities, getting to know more people and learn more about howthe group functions. We enjoy coming together for classes, events, inquiry, and informaltimes. Our practice becomes regular and the sangha becomes part of our family. Wemight encounter some challenges in our practice or in our everyday lives, and discoverthat we don’t have to struggle with them alone: our connectedness provides a net ofcare that supports and nourishes us. Community is connection sustained over time.Many people come to Appamada because they are seeking community. Wegenerally have a warm and fuzzy sense of community as “a group of supportive peoplethat will take care of me.” And so over and over again people become disenchanted withcommunities because what community really means is effort in support of others,without expectation of any return. What? This does not compute in our economicallyminded brains. Why would anyone do that? In fact, the rewards are beyond exchangeand beyond value, sometimes even beyond language, in the cultivation of our heartsand minds as abundant, rich, resources that are not diminished by sharing them withothers. When we are operating from this sense of abundance, rather than lack, we areboundless.Moving beyond our personal interest in practice, we begin to be a resource thathelps create a generous, wholehearted community, the kind of community we want tobe, rather than the kind of community we hope to find. Instead of waiting for somethingto be provided (which of course may or may not happen), we begin to offer what weourselves are able to provide in support of our shared enterprise. This is truly waking upand growing up. At this stage, we have begun to recognize that this is not a selfinvolved practice of personal improvement, or a heroic journey toward someenlightenment experience, or a place to settle for personal pain relief, or a big stage forour personal drama.---May 22, 2011 • 3There is, rather, an enormous arena here for the expression of our connectednessand care, and in that expression we ourselves become vast. So this sense ofcommunity is an invitation to discover how we can, together, cultivate the whole field ofenlightenment, which is simply our ongoing enlightening activity in every wakingmoment of our day. We need a community to foster that intention and support thataspiration. You might have noticed that there is not much in our modern culture thateven recognizes this possibility, much less supports and encourages it. it can onlyhappen through your sincere, wholehearted dedication. And another word for that iscommitment.CommitmentCommitment begins to grow as we gain trust and appreciation for the communityand our role in it. That role probably doesn’t carry a title or a set of prescribed functions,which is the strength and also the difficulty in a center such as Appamada. How do you“rise to the top?” What are you supposed to do?The truth is that no one can specify that for you. Each person makes a uniquecontribution as a function of his or her commitment. Each person serves as a valuablereflection and support for everyone else in the sangha. Your own unfolding path, andyour engagement with the community deepens not only your own commitment, but thetrust and commitment of others.We need a lot of help around here, but part of the challenge is that it is not obviouswhat is needed, and sometimes even I can’t see it, or if I see it, I can’t address it. Incommitment, we step forward to discover what and how we can offer ourselves in waysthat support the whole center.If you are new, your questions are valuable! They help folks with some experiencearticulate what they know, and in the process learn that they know more than theythought they did. If you have been around a while, your genuine participation inactivities such as inquiry, classes, intensives, one-day sittings, and practice discussionnot only helps you, but also supports others. Your engagement with others begins todevelop the very fabric of this sangha.We do not have priests, but we do have experienced practitioners who offer muchmore in their steadiness and capacity for practice. On a practical level, things arebeginning to expand beyond what two people, even two pretty capable people as Flintand I are, can manage alone. In developing the sangha further, we will all depend onthe commitment and willingness of you all to create that widening circle, a circle thatnow includes groups in Louisiana, Madison, Sheffield, England, and Switzerland. Wehave a new television channel on Vimeo!---May 22, 2011 • 4So commitment is what determines just how Appamada will be defined and alsoconfined. Our dedication and care for the community are essential for the aliveness weexperience here to find its full expression in the world, just as our dedication and carefor our own practice enable us to find our individual expression in the world, not assincere students, but as Buddha.Thich Nhat Hanh once said that the next Buddha will be a sangha; I believe that istrue, but perhaps not even a single sangha. The next Buddha will be what we create inthe world together. The fabric of the dharma is being woven by many different kinds ofgroups: this one is ours. It is really up to us; it can’t be accomplished by one personalone.We have seen that the problems that beset us now are not the kind of problemsthat can be solved by a hero. We are all implicated in the problems and it will requirecoming together to meet them and all of the many challenges that lie ahead, includinghow to help the next generations take on their challenges and responsibilities.Commitment is our vital contribution to this life that we have been given. For eachperson there is a different potential: some people are able to offer financial support,others find time to help out in various ways, and some provide support through theirparticipation and attention. Those who are new can offer their curiosity and willingnessto learn.Appamada will need strong commitment from those who want to engage in thisunfolding mystery and to help create the future we share together. It is a creativeengagement, not a defined role or set of tasks, and that of course makes this particularpath that much more challenging. I have complete confidence in each of you. I know wecan do great things together, if we share our dedicated effort and care, and if wecontinue to foster connection, community, and commitment.So I want to leave plenty of time for discussion and questions about any of theseaspects of our practice together.