– Rev. Master Oswin Hollenbeck, OBC Executive Secretary (Originally published in the Winter 2017 Journal of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives)

The 2017 Rules Conclave convened at Shasta Abbey on 18th September. In attendance were most of the North American senior monks and over 25 visiting senior monks from Germany, Latvia, and the UK, a total of 44 monks.  Several lay ministers participated in the discussions as well.  The transmitted and novice monks at Shasta maintained the kitchen and offered a bountiful course of meals and other food to sustain the attendees in their deliberations. The weather began as cool, cloudy, and smoky (from nearby forest fires), but by meeting’s end we saw clear skies, a frosted mountain, and mild temperatures.

Our conclaves are now held every six years, alternating locations between the two abbeys, Shasta and Throssel Hole.  The rules provide a framework and guidelines for the conduct of our monastic life and practice (a separate section is devoted to lay minister rules and responsibilities). The rules are based in the Buddhist Precepts, compassion, and wise discernment, and they are applied with the intention of helping the person concerned. Like the original vinaya (monastic regulations) of Shakyamuni Buddha and His disciples, the rules are created as needs arise and are preventive, rather than punitive, in nature.

As Founder of our Order, Rev. Master Jiyu formulated many of our first rules. She once expressed the preventive spirit in an informal Dharma talk to her monks, “The rules in a monastery [or the Order] are there for those who, although they are truly centered, and trying to be truly centered, need… some simple guidelines when one falls slightly away from this.” Accordingly, the rules are composed in order to prevent others making the same mistake and also to point to the attitude of mind and intention behind the rule that we want to foster in our daily practice.  Rev. Master Jiyu quoted the Dhammapada in relation to this principle, “The end already blooms in the cause.” The rules also benefit others by fostering harmony in the sangha so that others can do their practice peacefully and productively.

Rev. Master Jiyu would also often tell her disciples that the rules were not ‘set in stone’. They are fluid, and they are modified as people mature and new issues arise. At the same time the rules require significant reason to change. Our conclaves provide the formal process by which the Order as a whole can consider carefully if a change is genuinely necessary. The meetings provide an opportunity to review the rules, delete rules which are no longer helpful, modify other rules as needed, and consider new ones. All senior monks are invited to attend, and we follow a modified form of consensus, again preserving a practice similar to one traced back to the early monastic sangha.

At this 2017 Conclave we had a large number of provisional rules to consider. Applying primarily to temples, the section on “Priories and Parish Priests” was revised by the previous Head of the Order in order to bring those rules up to date and to make them applicable to all the temples of the Order, from the smallest hermitage to the larger abbeys. The collection of provisional rules had been made between conclaves and due to various circumstances had not yet been ratified by a conclave. This ratification is a necessary step for a rule to become a permanent addition to our guidelines.  The Head of the Order may make provisional rules between conclaves, which provides us time to live with a rule and assess its effectiveness before finalizing its adoption.

Having functioned under these provisional rules for some time, there were no surprises regarding the various issues we considered. Some rules were adopted ‘as is,’ others dropped completely, while others required extensive revision. On occasion a rule would be sent to a committee of several people to revise and bring back to the assembly later on. I detail here some of the subjects and individual rules we addressed in order to illustrate the breadth of the various issues considered. (Since most of these rules are in our Temple rules section, similar rules for individual monks already existed in other sections.)

• Some rules dealt with our sitting practice, such as the maximum length of time for meditation periods so that no one sits crossed legged to the detriment of their physical health; and clarifying how meditation instruction by lay trainees is done when a monk or lay minister is not available.
• Other rules concerned monks’ lives, including the “correct ordering of daily life” (to quote Great Master Dōgen) in order to keep one’s vocation a priority; guidelines for attire and appearance; measures to prevent the appearance of impropriety when giving private instruction and spiritual guidance; and the necessity of complying with work and residence requirements of particular countries or jurisdictions.
• Another area concerned temples directly: assuring that there is faithfulness to the tradition in regard to schedules and offerings; maintaining standards for a temple’s finances, liability insurance, real estate purchases, and the health and safety of residents and guests; updating and rewording our policy on non-discrimination; clarifying the position of temples’ involvement in political or social actions; not undermining monks in other temples; and outlining procedures for establishing or dissolving a temple or meditation group.
• A small group met informally to discuss gender parity in our liturgy.

Our proceedings were marked by co-operation, harmony, goodwill, and careful listening to and consideration of all perspectives (our lay friends made significant contributions). Although we had our differences, we usually eventually found our way to consensus. Of particular note was the warm trust and open willingness of participants to share their personal experience of practice effected by the various rules we deliberated on. The Conclave was also a rare opportunity to work together directly with Rev. Master Haryo as Head of the Order, and we were grateful for his patient and kind leadership.

We had the good fortune to finish all the rules several days before the end of the Conclave period, so we had several days to spend with each other renewing old friendships and making new ones. For some monks this Conclave was likely to be the last time they would be able to visit Shasta, and for others it was their first time. This relaxed time together is an important aspect of our conclaves and biennial gatherings, for the future of the Order depends to a large extent on our shared practice and development as a Sangha, and our ability to work together as friends toward shared goals.

We wish to express our thanks to Rev. Master Haryo, Shasta Abbey, the monks and lay ministers who attended the Conclave, and everyone else who provided support in the  myriad other ways involved in hosting such a large event.