MEMBERSHIP POLICY WORKING GROUP
Meeting #5, June 1, 2004Present: Fernando Allyon, Jane Ward, Corey Simpson, Mary Whetsell (chairperson)
Not Present: Susan Wagner, Francesca Nilo, Chris Tamdjidi, Candia Ludy, Wendy Layton
Next Meetings: Tuesdays, June 15, June 29
9am Mountain, 10am Central, 11am Eastern, noon Atlantic, 4pm BST, 5pm CEST
Call in: 1-831-600-1000, Access code: 1110811
1. Review Group report
The second membership review group meeting was held Saturday May 22nd. Minutes of this group were distributed to all on the Working Group. Mary reports low attendance at the review group meetings - 6 attended the 1st meeting, and 3 at the 2nd meeting. Hopefully we get more feedback from them once they have a work product to review.
2. WORK PRODUCTS DUE NOW!!
Fernando and Susan have completed their work projects; Jane and Corey state theirs can be done by the end of this week. Francesca is missing in action and has not been in contact for quite a few weeks - Mary will try to track her down via Simon Luna. Could Chris, Candia and Wendy please update Mary ASAP about when their written projects could be completed? Would it be possible to also receive yours by the end of this week (June 4)?
3. Timetable/ Plans for generating written document during June
- Our written product must be completed by the first of July. Copies of our work product
(as well as those of all the other Working Groups) will then be made & distributed to members of the Mandala Governing Council, so they will have time to review prior to their July 28 - 31 meeting at SMC. We agreed it might be good to follow the example of Richard’s Community Plan, in which he offered a one-page version as well as a longer, more in depth version.
- Mary will import everyone’s work into one document, and will write an introduction and/or other piece as a way to pull the various pieces together. A draft of this compilation will be sent to everyone for review at our next meeting on June 15.
- There are three main components to this document:
- History of membership practices and view in North America (Wendy) and Europe (Chris).
- Findings regarding membership practices around the Mandala based on the limited sampling surveys the rest of you have done.
- Description of the essential questions regarding membership, for discussion by the Mandala Governing Council. Richard has decided to set aside some time dedicated to the issue of “core identity” of our Mandala. We hope that this discussion will aid our attempts to answer the question “Membership in WHAT?”
Open discussion regarding “essential questions”.
Our working group is coming to consensus about what the core questions are. These are listed below, and should be liberally added to, edited, whatever each of you feels needs to be done. Please help us work on this list, get the correct wording, etc. Many of them are refinements of the many great discussion we’ve been having:
- Is shamatha-vipassana practice the core element that binds us all as a Mandala? Should it be a requirement for membership?
- Which activites should be required of a member, and which activities could be encouraged but not required? Should this be a local Center decision or should there be an attempt to unify the Mandala regarding this question?
- Relationship of local membership to membership in the International Mandala.
- Should the current membership oath be retained as is? Does it express what a member is committing to?
- How to include contemplative practices, Nalanda activities, in our membership definitions - is shamatha still the main practice?
- Are their points along the Shambhala and Buddhist Paths where membership should be required? (e.g.; in order to enter the Sacred Path program, or to go to seminary?)
- How to be welcoming and open at the same time that some level of true commitment is required to be a member.
- Are there cultural differences at play which make the European membership model not workable for North America? Or are we looking at differences in view about membership?