Number of Interview : 1-FRTAI-RC Interviewer : Researcher
Today’s date : July 24th, 2019 (16.41 Indonesia Time Zone) Receiving’s date : July 25th, 2019 (10.49 Indonesia Time Zone) Place : Internet - By sending an email
Informant (Interviewee) : Mentor of Long-term Program in IABS-UH Code of Informant : 11-FRTI-RC-MLTP-IABS-UH-NYS
Note: this informant is additional to reconfirm towards the interviews result from the interviewee 1-FRTI-MCTC-IABS-UH-TDK who gave some statements needed to be more elaborated and explored. So the interviewer contacted with this informant to ask those questions by using the e-mail..
Interviewer : That the abbot is to connect and to deal with others and community always bringing the "community building" approach. So could you share about this topic? Especially the term of "community building"
related to the abbot?
Interviewee : In the Plum Village tradition, the role of the abbot is not as a leader in a sense of highest authority, but rather a leader in a sense of community building from the grassroots. The abbot sees himself as a part of the community. One of the many roles he has in the community is to consolidate different information pertaining to different issues and decision making in the community. Upon gathering all the information needed, the abbot usually would call for a community meeting also known as Sangha Meeting to gather more inputs and views from all the members of the community, including the novices who are not fully ordained yet.
The highest power in the community is the Bhikshu Council which consists of all the fully ordained monks. Every fully ordained monk (bhikshu) has the same power to agree upon or object to an issue which is being discussed. The decision is often made based on the consensus of all the fully ordained monks present in the meeting. The abbot is there to facilitate the meeting in the spirit of harmony of the community. When there are differences in opinion, the abbot will find different ways to help facilitate the meeting to flow and to make a proposal that consolidates all the opinions and inputs he has heard. That is why the abbot needs to have the capacity to listen deeply with mindfulness to what has been shared and what has been left not shared in the meeting in order to make such proposal in order to reach consensus in the meeting.
Another role of the abbot is to help reconcile and mediate whenever there is a conflict between different members of the community. The abbot will sit together with the elders in the community to find the best
way to resolve the conflict in the spirit of the harmony of the community. The harmony of the community is a very crucial element in community building. Every member of the community needs to be aware that every one is a cell in the Sangha (community) body, that we inter-are, the peace and harmony of the individual is the peace and harmony of the community as a collective, and vice versa. We all have the responsibility to create true harmony in the community by actively taking part in different communal activities such as happiness meeting, beginning anew, day of mindfulness, lazy day, etc.
Interviewer : In IABS, there are some informal practices which are practiced by the abbot and the community there, such as Happiness Meeting, Day of Mindfulness, Beginning Anew, Lazy Day or (the Day without any planning or agenda). Could you please help me to share by explaining those topics concretely related to the abbot?
Interviewee : a. Happiness Meeting is a chance for the whole community to sit together and reflect on all the good conditions that each member has in order to be happy. We are aware that true happiness depends on our mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that we can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that we already have more than enough conditions to be happy. In the Happiness Meeting, the members of the community have the opportunity to share all the good conditions they have to feel the joy and happiness living in the community. This is very important so that in time of difficulties we do not lose sight of all the good conditions and qualities of the community and not blame each other for the mistakes we make as a community. In that way, we are able to go through those difficult moments together as a community. At the same time, by sharing out our happiness we also inspire each other to practice more joyfully and harmoniously together. The Happiness Meeting enables the community to give rise to a sense of gratitude, joy, and happiness for the individual and collective.
b. Similar to the Happiness Meeting, the Beginning Anew session is also very important to build the solidity and harmony of the community, especially in resolving conflicts and misunderstanding within the community. There are four steps to follow in the Beginning Anew session:
1. To recognize and acknowledge the qualities in the other person or community as a whole also known as "Watering Flowers"
2. To express our regret of the unskillful speech, action or thought that we might have in contributing to the conflict.
3. To express any hurt we might have experienced due to the unskillful speech or action of the other person without blaming or judging 4. To make a request or proposal in order to resolve the conflict and to
avoid similar misunderstanding to happen again. In a Beginning Anew session, the role of the abbot and the elders in the community as the mediators are very important. The abbot and the elders together with the whole community will sit in silence and in
mindfulness to listen deeply to what needed to be shared. When people felt being listened to, usually their suffering or dissatisfaction would lessen greatly. Hence the Beginning Anew session needs to happen regularly to maintain the harmony of the community. (SSF2-2MMPLakom)
c. Day of Mindfulness is a day where the larger community practice together, including the community of nuns and lay friends. In Plum Village, every Thursday and Sunday the whole community has a chance to practice together from morning until late afternoon. The activities include listening to the teaching (lecture) in the morning, followed by mindful walking, mindful lunch together, deep relaxation and sharing groups in the afternoon. The Day of Mindfulness provides the larger community to come together and interact with each other in a mindful and intimate manner, to deepen the practice as a collective body. And everybody has a chance to contribute to the Day of Mindfulness, whether someone is giving the lecture, or leading the walk, recording video, offering chanting, preparing the meal in the kitchen, they are all of the same importance, because we are aware of the nature of interbeing, You are therefore I am. Without the contribution of one person or group, the other won't be able to be.
d. The community has a chance to rest and unwind after the activities in the Day of Mindfulness. Usually in the evening after the Day of Mindfulness, we have a non-activity evening (Lazy Evening) and the next day will be a non-activity day (Lazy Day). The concept of Lazy Day doesn't mean that we are lazy or not productive. In fact, on Lazy Day we are all encouraged to have our personal practice without a scheduled program. It is also a chance for the whole community to refresh, rejuvenate and rest. Resting is a very important element of the practice so that we don't burnt-out in our pursuit of serving the community (SSF1-2LBNuh).