ZEN GROUP SANGHA MEETING
11 present, at least 7 of them Dharma Hall members
Topic: Our Feelings About the Dharma Hall Moving To a New Building
The group was asked to individually comment on several questions.
(1) How does your group benefit from the Hall?
---- It is a good facility for having sesshins. Nice kitchen and restrooms.
---- The building is centrally located.
---- The facility suit’s the size of our group.
---- We are crowded during retreats.
(2) Are there ways that being part of the Dharma Hall is problematic for your group? If so, what could make it better?
---- Our group could use more storage space.
---- Heating system is antiquated, too noisy, and clanks loudly at times disrupting meditation.
---- The stairs are difficult for our senior members, small children, and handicapped members.
---- A morning group that has more of a Zen tradition in the form.
---- No sound proofing, our neighbors downstairs are very noisy.
(3) What as a group are you doing to support the Dharma Hall?
---- Dhana for retreats brings in money.
---- We clean the building once a month and clean it daily during retreats.
---- Maintain the altar.
(4) Has your group been involved with current or past Dharma Hall programs? Would you like to see these type of things increased? (Ie. Family Dharma, A.M. sitting group, Maha Sangha, Peace Fellowship)
---- I definitely like being involved.
---- We should have more community outreach. A larger space would facilitate this.
---- It would be nice to have a space especially designated for community outreach.
---- We could be doing a better job out in the community for the homeless, etc.
---- Norman’s talks are popular with members of the other groups.
---- It was nice to see some members of the other groups at the Memorial Service. ---- We are organizing a Peace Fellowship. We hope other sangha members will come.
(4b) How do you imagine these programs will be organized?
---- PARTICIPATION!!!
(5) What if the Dharma Hall said groups need to pay?
Make a five year commitment. For example: Three people from the Zen Group to serve on the board or members would commit to doing more physical work.
---- I would be willing to do more if there was more of a commitment to community outreach.
---- How much money would the commitment be? Should the
contributions be equal to group size?
---- I’d be willing to pay more for a better space.
---- I’d be willing to do more if it involved more people -- serve the community.
---- If we were actually buying the space I’d be more committed monetarily, but I’d be more hesitant to commit more money for another rental space.
---- What is it we are wanting to do here? We need to be more specific. We should keep doing things now and see if our current space works.
---- Rental space is much more expensive elsewhere.
(6) If the Dharma Hall moved and we shared a space with other groups (business or yoga), what would be the worst case scenario for that type of situation?
---- Maybe we could better finance the Dharma Hall by renting out spaces in our new facility to businesses.
---- Have people that share our values be tenants or co-owners.
---- How would we manage all this? Get a manager? What happens if they don’t pay their rent?
---- We would need to make sure that we don’t get in a situation where money becomes the goal of the organization.
---- Just buy what we need.
(7) Consider our current space. What does your group need now that the Dharma Hall currently does not provide?
---- Easy access to meditation room.
---- Dokusan room.
---- Separate kitchen.
---- Quiet heating system.
---- Keep things simple! A two level building sounds complicated. Being driven by money could complicate things quickly - BUT - more accessible space is good. More community outreach space would be a good thing too.
---- Simplicity! Split level space management could get out of control. Chaos could detract from our practice - BUT - Lecture series rooms would be nice and could draw more people, if growth is what we want.
---- I would feel better about our groups commitment if our relationships with the other groups was more solidified. Especially if we are going to buy a more expensive place.
---- I am happy with the current location, though there are some disadvantages. Going into debt could be damaging if we don’t get to know the other groups better. Let’s see how we can come to know each other better in the coming year. Let’s discover our common vision before we commit.
---- I’m not so sure how the other groups feel. Maybe speakers from the other groups could come and talk to us and let us know how they feel. When a place is found we need to have a tour, figure out each group’s contribution, and then assess whether each group is willing to pay. Maybe our new place would be an open mission. Coming to hear the Dharma should be free! Maybe any excess money not being spent on the current building should be saved for the new one.
---- Nothing is permanent. Lower rent now is nice, but how long will it last? Whether we find a building to buy or rent or stay here, it is very important not to attach with one. A Zen garden would be beautiful, but does it benefit us? I’m okay with any outcome.
---- In a new place we could share our practice with handicapped people who can’t access our current building. We should be careful, though, to not get in over our heads. We’re not the San Francisco Zen Center! We should move forward with wisdom.
---- We should identify the important needs of our group. Does this facility meet those needs? Buying a new place would take a lot of money. If we are to enter into a mortgage with these other groups, we need to get to know them better. If we need a bigger house, how many more kids could we have? What’s stopping us from doing this now? If we established a Day Care, then we could say kids can’t walk up the stairs.
---- I don’t have the head for this stuff - not enough energy to deal with all this. I’ll go along with whatever the group decides, but I can’t go an extra $200 a month or help clean every Saturday.
---- I think it would be more comfortable to stay here. The current situation, however, can’t go on much longer. Are we stuck? If we needed to raise money, it would be easy to have a lecture series. We could do community service. The Dharma Hall could have a Make A Difference Day. A lot of people would support us by attending lectures, ceremonies, rituals. Tap in to that group of people to raise more money. The bottom line is we’ll contribute if other groups are willing to contribute. We should have Saturday get-togethers and do concrete things to solidify our Dharma Hall groups.
Group summary from John Wiley:
most important points of zen group feedback about dharma
hall space---1. it’s important to connect more with other groups so we
know our partners better--before we plan a move to another space.
2. a bigger space would help with community activities but we should try
some collective activities in this space to see how well we work together and
how much energy there is among dharma hall members to provide more community
events. 3. be careful about how much money we need to support a
dharma hall so money pressure doesn't become a problem for groups and dharma
hall members. 4. an outreach coordinator board position would be
helpful to organize 4 group activities. 5. we are fine most of the
time (space wise) crowded during sesshin and know we eventually need a bigger
space that is more accessible to all--handicapped and older members. 6. if
these steps are successful we would like it to lead to buying a building but
the steps have to be successful