I'm a bit frustrated.
In the West, unless you live in a largely populated region, it's not very likely that you'll have access to a Sangha, a Temple, or even a Monastery or Abbey.
This problem is especially prevalent in my province and in my city where we have two temples in the Therevada Tradition, but neither of them are English-speaking, nor publicly visible.
If someone from here wants to experience monastic life, however temporarily, we're forced to move to one end of the country or the other, and have about $30 000 to support ourselves (if on a three-year retreat). There are a couple problems with that - the first being that very few people have that kind of money to spare, and the second is that it takes a very long time to save up that kind of money (which is a problem because it's silly to make people wait and wait and wait in order to experience something as beneficial as monastic life).
It's difficult because our culture is so driven by money, so even if something were to arise here (if a monk or nun came here to begin an abbey or monastery or dharma center), raising the funds would be enormously difficult. So it's simply not practical to have someone from a proper lineage come here to do that.
So there's this need, but not much of a way to meet the need. It's very problematic. A friend of mine, who is not Buddhist, suggested that I just "do it" myself. He understands enough about Buddhism to know that the most important parts of the dharma rely on the practice of mindfulness - something that you do not need a proper lineage for. Anyone can do it. I'm part of "anyone," so why not me?
What I'm getting at is I want to try to establish a new kind of monastic order here. It would not have a lineage of teachers that could be traced back to the Buddha, and that could cause problems because we would run the risk of having people who are not qualified to teach the dharma (not because they don't have some paper or blessing, but because of lack of proper experience or understanding). We would also probably not be recognized by any other Buddhist tradition (which isn't so much a problem, because we wouldn't be in it for recognition from others).
What this would do is free us up from a lot of the requirements of a lineage and monastic setting, and allow us to better adapt to Western culture. We
could afford to have monks who also held day-jobs. We
could allow nuns to handle money. We would have the freedom to better adapt the dharma to the West. Something which would be crucial to the development of the dharma here.
Of course, this could all fail or never get off the ground, but I think it's absolutely worth it to try.
The friend I mentioned before told me a story about an important monk who came to the West to teach. He noticed that his students seemed more interested in his robes and his religious objects than what he had to say. So he got rid of his robes and started wearing a suit and tie. Of course people disapproved of this and he simply pointed out their attachment to their appearance. (Which is the very reason why the Buddha put on robes and shaved his head in the first place!)
So why not have a monastic order that wore trousers and collared-shirts? They're unobtrusive, they're ordinary, and they're not anything special. So Western monastics would not be more concerned with their dress than their practice. When visiting a temple in the West, it's often advised that visitors wear black pants and a black shirt with no logo on it. It's simple, clean, and it's not something that stands out. Which means that you could go shopping or out in public and not have everyone stare at you or ask a thousand questions. The emphasis would be removed from one's appearance.
Then, of course, there's the issue of what tradition would such a community learn from and practice? What school? Well, that would be something for a group of aspiring Western monastics to discuss among themselves. My personal feeling is that no single tradition should be decided upon. They're all valid, they're all useful, and I think it's important to look at them all and practice what we can, to practice what is directly conducive to the goal of attaining liberation (for the benefit of others, if that's your thing - I know it's mine).
You
could have an Abbey in a city or town, where monks and/or nuns live together in a house or apartment building. There could be morning prayers, chants, and/or offerings. Then an offering of service where they go out and work (or go to school if they're post-secondary students). In the evening, there could be additional teachings, practices, and offerings, then observed silence until the next morning. (These are just ideas I'm throwing out there.)
I'm thinking locally, as in where I am right now, but that's not where the focus of this thread in particular could be. Because as Western practitioners, these are issues that we all can consider and discuss. I think it's important and potentially crucial to Buddha-Dharma in the West.
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