Connected and Creative

Yesterday afternoon we had a Boundless Way Temple community meeting. The plan had been to have a spring garden work day before the meeting and share deserts and conversation after the meeting. But the virus revised our plans so we met on the Hollywood Squares of Zoom. The focus of the meeting was twofold: 1) organizational – to share with the community some of the legal (bylaws) and procedural process that we have all agreed to – and 2) relational – to be with and to listen to each other.

Our form of organizational structure here at Boundless Way Zen is deeply influenced by the American Congregational/Unitarian-Universalist model of organization. This model seeks to honor the authority of each member at the same time as empowering spiritual leaders to guide the community. At the Temple, as in Boundless Way at large, the final authority rests with the members. The members elect the Temple Leadership Council (TLC) and the TLC elects the Resident Teachers (me and Melissa). The Resident Teachers have sole authority for all spiritual matters of the community and collaborate with the TLC to lead the community. The TLC is legally responsible for the finances, the mission and the ‘actions’ of the Temple as a whole. The TLC and the Resident Teachers collaborate to fulfill the mission of the Temple ‘to support and sustain a place of vibrant Zen practice for ourselves, for those around us and for those who come after us.’

Having served for many years as the head of a private school and been involved in the non-profit and church worlds of leadership and governing boards (think TLC), I know how delicate the relations of power can be. Though many organizations have wonderful mission statements and good intentions, being able to live out what we believe is the work of a lifetime.

One teacher put it this way: ‘The teachings are so simple even an eight year old can understand them, but so difficult that even an eighty-year-old cannot practice them.’

While Sangha (community) is held up in Buddhism as one of the Three Refuges – one of the places we can find rest and connection – it requires work. The practice of community, religious or secular, is a fierce and rich practice of ongoing relationship.

The work of community requires energy and intention. As human beings, we don’t get along smoothly. One image of community is of rough stones rubbing up against each other to smooth each other out. As all of us who have been in any kind of relationship know, the rubbing against each other can range from mildly irritating to wildly painful.

AND – to be part of a group of humans heading in the same direction is a deep blessing. We humans are hard-wired to work together. To share a vision with others is to create the possibility of building something new in the world and the possibility of giving our life to something we love. We humans are like sled dogs, when we are in the harness of something that deeply resonates with us, we love to give our full energy to pulling the sled.

At the end of the Temple gathering yesterday, we were asked to briefly share our vision for the future of the Temple. Many wonderful answers emerged, but the one that caught me the most was ‘Stay connected and creative.’ What a wonderful vision for Boundless Way Temple and for each one of us in our daily lives.

Stay connected and creative.