[Buddha-l] Retreats, and fundraising for retreat centres etc

[jkirk]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sally McAra" <s.mcara at auckland.ac.nz>
To: "Buddhist discussion forum" <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 4:07 PM
Subject: [Buddha-l] Retreats, and fundraising for retreat centres etc


> curt wrote:
>
> > Small is beautiful. Power corrupts. Money is the root of all evil.
> > But seriously - I know from my own experience that having a
> > retreat center on a big chunk of land way out in the middle of
> > nowhere can be a great thing. It isn't inevitable that it will get
> > messed up -  but it does seem to be quite likely - unfortunately.
> > - Curt
>
> The development of Buddhist retreat centres is something I'm fascinated
> by, especially as I'm working on a book manuscript about one in NZ, and
> my PhD thesis also relates to that indirectly...
> I have certainly noticed that here in NZ, as well as in Australia,
> Buddhist centres are really struggling, and the fees they charge for
> accommodation etc don't do anything more than cover costs. the ones I'm
> aware of do not make a profit. However, there are some centres that have
> very ambitious projects for which they engage in elaborate fundraising
> schemes. I've heard the complaint made of various tibetan buddhist
> dharma centres around the world, that one gets bombarded with leaflets
> etc requesting money for this or that statue, stupa,  temple etc. It is
> amazing to see on the internet, elaborate places like Odiyan in
> California. Incredibly elaborate and expensive buildings! But also
> beautiful, at least according to some tastes.
>
> This reminds me, a follower of Tibetan Buddhism told me that if one
> understands Emptiness one will understand why the lamas want so many
> holy objects built. He related a story about the diversion of a large
> donation (originally intended to support monks' education and health)
> that ended up being used to build stupas at the monastery. The moral of
> the story was, according to the guy who told me, that we mere
> unenlightened ones don't understand, but the lamas understand Emptiness
> and that this really was, wiht this realisation, the most beneficial
> thing to do with the money, for all sentient beings (elsewhere I am
> familiar with the argument that holy objects make a "beneficial imprint"
> on one's mindstream).
>
> Big buildings and monuments rather than supporting the studies of monks
> and nuns. Hmmm. With my limited view, I find it hard to understand why
> the support of students (potential teachers) of buddhism was less
> important than these stupas. But that is the thing that really interests
> me, too. I'm sure my own cultural conditionings affect how I see this!
> I'm trying to be open to things that I might not understand, rather than
> just writing it off. This is something I wrote about in an earlier post
> about being "ambivalent" about big temples etc... trying, at least for a
> moment or two, to be shed my own biases, and see it in terms of the
> people who are carrying out these projects. This may be futile, seeing
> as there's not a lot of hope of my realising Emptiness in the course of
> my research.
> Can anyone familiar with this school of thought explain this concept of
> why "emptiness" justifies the construction of stupas, mega prayer wheels
> etc (whether or not they agree)?
>
> Cheers
> Sally McAra
> PhD candidate
> Department of Anthropology
> The University of Auckland
> Private Bag 92019
> Auckland 1001
> New Zealand
>
http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/ant/Student%20Details/StudentPages/SallyMcara
.htm
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> buddha-l mailing list
> buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
>