Sangha Building Retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery

By Jack Lawlor

Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh has encouraged mindfulness practitioners to form local practice communities known as Sanghas, calling Sangha building the noblest form of practice. When we come together to practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, and Dharma discussion, we nourish each other’s efforts to transform suffering and water what’s best in everyone: our bodhicitta, the heart and mind of love.

Approximately ninety mindfulness practitioners from twenty states, Mexico, and several provinces in Canada attended the first Sangha Building Retreat, from Thursday, October 20 through Sunday, October 23, 2016, at Blue Cliff Monastery in New York. Participants came from as far as Alaska, California, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, as well as along the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Maryland. Almost 75% of the participants were Sangha facilitators who aren’t members of the Order of Interbeing.

From the outset on Thursday evening, deep thanks were offered to the assembled Sangha builders for their mindful attention, over so many years, to the hundreds of details necessary to make local Sanghas possible in selfless ways that don’t draw attention to their efforts. Our first full day, Friday, was devoted to exploring a wide range of Sangha practices, including a one-hour session providing suggestions on how to instruct Sangha newcomers in sitting meditation (see sidebar). A wide variety of other practices were reviewed and a small group break-out session provided participants with opportunities to practice welcoming newcomers, offering instruction in sitting meditation, leading Dharma discussions, and more.

The second full day, Saturday, was first devoted to soliciting input from participants on the major challenges of Sangha facilitation, followed by an afternoon panel discussion led by the event’s participating lay Dharma teachers. Existing Sangha resources were shared and identified, including Fourteen Nourishing Guidelines on Sangha Facilitation developed by local Sanghas, Dharma discussion guidelines, my 1996 volume titled Sangha Building: Creating the Buddhist Practice Community, and its successor volume requested by Thay, Friends on the Path, published by Parallax Press. Sunday morning included monastic and lay Dharma talks on Sangha building, followed by farewells and dance.

The retreat was organized over a two-year period by the Local Sangha Building Committee of the North American Dharma Teachers Council, consisting of John Bell, Dennis Bohn, Jack Lawlor, and Tony Silvestre, who was unable to attend. The Committee is deeply grateful to Dharma teachers Joanne Friday of Rhode Island and Mihaela Andronic of Ottawa for attending and co-facilitating. Dharma teacher Marjorie Markus of New York also assisted in the planning but couldn’t join us. We were fortunate that Wake Up representatives from Canada and the US were able to participate and present as a team their insights into how to achieve greater diversity in our Sanghas. Of course, deep gratitude is extended to the host monastic community, the monks and nuns of Blue Cliff, for graciously welcoming the Sangha to enjoy their lovely home for this pioneering effort in Sangha facilitation, particularly Brother Phap Khong, Sister Ocean, and Brother Phap Man.

There was widespread sentiment that sharing our insights on the role of Sangha facilitators and the skills necessary to practice together, in familial harmony, as friends on the path, was long overdue. The Committee aspires to offer similar retreats at the Deer Park and Magnolia Grove practice centers and to share the resource materials developed.