24 August 2009
Annual Retreat began this week and the 20 plus residents of Lotus Garden, along with five Samten Tse nuns, two lamas from Mindrolling Monastery and a handful of volunteers have been preparing around the clock for many weeks to welcome the sangha.
Planning, preparation, and implementation of the vision of Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche and Jetsün Dechen Paldrön continues year round but greatly intensifies as resident responsibilities shift into high gear for the larger summer programs such as Shedra and the Annual Retreat.
The ongoing and day-to-day functioning of Lotus Garden rests mainly with the residents. Residents observe a daily schedule similar to the monastic communities of Mindrolling Monastery and Samten Tse nunnery. Each day they attend morning and evening prayers as a community and are responsible for performing ritual practices on auspicious days, as well as offering butterlamps and prayers for the ill or dying upon request.
Residents work six days a week with one free day. On a typical day, residents attend to rotas for the community spaces and then set to work on their team assignments for at least five hours per day. Work briefings for the community and teams are held each morning after breakfast. A number of residents’ work assignments also directly support the international vision and activities of Rinpoche and Jetsünla.
Although work is an ongoing and important activity for everyone at Lotus Garden, it is not the only focus in the life of service. Learning to live together harmoniously is a commitment that all who live as residents at Lotus Garden have to make. Residents practice, study, eat and play together as a community. They also take turns cooking meals and everyone helps with kitchen clean-up. Entertainment may include such activities as watching films, playing sports and games, going to local festivals and events, picnics at the local parks, bicycling, walking and other activities.
Twice a week, the residents study together, which has strengthened their bond as vajra brothers and sisters and continuously reminds them of the importance of service to the Dharma and seeing the sangha as a field of merit. This summer, at Rinpoche's request, Lopön Helen Berliner led a 4-week class on ‘Elegance in Our Daily Lives’ as seen from a dharma perspective. Lopön Barbara Ryan also led reviews on the Uttaratantra-Shastra and the nine yanas to help residents prepare for Rinpoche’s summer teachings.
The residents have also been learning to chant the Damchen Chitor liturgy in Tibetan and attend review sessions three times a week. Since the arrival of the nuns at Lotus Garden, Ani Karma Wozer, head umdze (chant master) of Samten Tse, has guided the residents in the correct manner of recitation and inflection of the chants.
All residents agree that studying and practicing together has been an essential element in helping the community grow closer and more harmonious.
En route to the office after her lunch clean-up shift, one resident confessed that before getting involved in Lotus Garden she had become bored with a job she once liked. She had a comfortable life but realized she was living only for herself and not doing anything meaningful for either herself or others. "I didn’t plan it," she says about her life as a resident, "but it happened. I am always thinking that if I die now, these few years as a resident will have made more sense than any that came before."
Working together with the many contractors and local workers who come to Lotus Garden strengthens the connection of the residents to the neighborhood of Stanley and Page County. Some residents are volunteering as consultants to the local government and giving volunteer service at the local animal shelter. Lotus Garden is also honored to be lending support and assistance to the Preservation of Tibetan Art and Culture (PTAC), one of the organizations sponsoring the visit of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to Washington, DC in October.
Each summer Lotus Garden is delighted to welcome the Samten Tse nuns. While on the land the nuns attend Rinpoche, support the functioning of the household and also play a crucial role in the practice and study of the Lotus Garden sangha. While in Lotus Garden, the nuns teach a number of classes on rituals, recitation, ritual instruments and chöpön responsibilities. Most importantly, their very presence is an inspiring example of a life of service to the entire sangha.
For the past few weeks, the residents have also been pleased and honored to be working alongside Lama Riga and Lama Phuntsok, two senior monks from Mindrolling Monastery, who arrived at Lotus Garden to direct the installation of the Buddha statue. Their exemplary discipline, flexibility, good humor and harmony are a great inspiration to all who have been fortunate enough to work with them.
In the Lotus Garden office there are two clocks on the wall—one set to Lotus Garden time and the other to India time. These clocks, side by side, are a reminder of how interwoven are the activities of the residents, both in the East and West. Each winter a group of residents travel to the Samten Tse Retreat Center in India to continue their training while another group remains at Lotus Garden to care for the land and buildings and coordinate the smaller programs.
Although a vast ocean lies between India and the US, the day-to-day management remains the same year round with Rinpoche and Jetsünla skillfully guiding the activities of Lotus Garden from the Mindrolling Ladrang or from wherever they happen to be travelling. Resident responsibilities continue throughout the year and when they cannot communicate face-to-face, telephone calls and emails ensure uninterrupted communication.
"The sangha must know of the immense kindness and devotion of all the people who live and work on the land, as well as understand the benefit and merit of living Dharma both on and off the cushion with seamless ease and flexibility," says Rinpoche. With a laugh she adds, "Well, almost always."
Lotus News thanks the monks, nuns, and residents for their patience and unfailing sense of humor as we prepared this story. Thanks also to Lopön Barbara Ryan, Resident Manager, who generously shared her thoughts.
Text and Photos: ©2009 Mindrolling International
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