Working Meditation in the EIABWorking Meditation in the EIAB
Friday, 13 May 2011 18:38 | 
Written by dharmaputra | 
| Sangha - Activity |
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In the Institute´s offices many brothers and sisters are answering phone calls, responding to e-mails, completing registrations, making signs, notices, pictures, CDs, DVDs, and carrying out the multitudes of tasks involved in organizing the upcoming retreats and Day of Mindfulness.
As I walk around and see all of this I wonder: Are we ants building a nest? Bees in the hive? An army operation? None of the images seem adequate to describe the way the brothers, sisters and lay friends "work". The atmosphere seems to be one of joyful anticipation, of one big happy family on a mission…. or even on holiday! Joyful hands, smiling faces, relaxed and unhurried movements, everything made so much easier because there are so many of us working together and because we are, after all, in working “meditation”. We try to work the way we try to do everything else: in mindfulness. We don´t hurry, we don´t get carried away, we don´t let ourselves get stressed. We stay with our breathing, with our steps. We enjoy ourselves. We enjoy being together. We enjoy cleaning or sweeping or cooking or folding sheets. We know that the most important thing is not the work, but the enjoyment of being together. We appreciate and savour this wonderful opportunity to build brotherhood and sisterhood, to work together in a spirit of peace, joy and harmony. It is extremely nourishing. Mid-morning and afternoon we all stop for a break and dotted about the campus are little groups of brothers, sisters and lay friends enjoying a drink and ice-cream, biscuits or fruit together. Not rushing, not hurrying. Just enjoying. Enjoying being a part of this large and wonderfully diverse family of people from many different parts of the world, come together to enjoy a few weeks of practicing and truly living the Dharma in this small German town of Waldbrol, Germany. (Sr. Trì Nghiêm)
In the last few weeks over 100 Plum Village brothers and sisters arrived in Waldbrol, Germany by bus, by van, by car, by train and even by plane to help the 55 brothers and sisters of the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) prepare for the upcoming German and Dutch retreats from May 16 - 29. Most of them came from Plum Village in France, some from the Maison de L´Inspir in Paris and the rest flew in direct from Hong Kong after finishing the South-East Asia tour with Thay.
Every morning the entire Sangha, some 150 of us including lay friends, gather outside the Temple of Great Compassion to sing songs and practice chanting in German and Dutch before dividing up into work teams for the period of Working Meditation. The atmosphere is light and joyful. The singing unites us and nourishes our joy. We enjoy the feeling of togetherness, of being a big, happy family reunited: meeting brothers, sisters or lay friends we hadn´t met before or meeting up again with those we haven´t seen in a long time.
After singing and chanting practice, the work coordinator outlines the jobs to be done for the day.
There are still many things to do to prepare for the retreats. Brothers, sisters and lay friends check the white board for our names to see where we can help: with setting up marquees and serving tables on the green lawns of the Institute´s gardens, setting up tea and refreshments tables, sweeping paths, mowing lawns, planting flowers, transporting food and cooking utensils from the storage building to the kitchen, moving chairs, cleaning rooms, windows, bathrooms, washing sheets, making beds, cutting vegetables, cooking, transforming the dining hall into an enormous larder filled with stocks of tinned goods, dry foods, tea, pasta, olives- all the necessities for cooking for hundreds of people every day.
Throughout all the buildings, on each floor, from the basement to the attic and outside in the enormous grounds, people are busy doing something: the white sails of the marquees unfurl as many hands glide them over the white supporting posts already in place and visions of countless Olympic Games opening ceremonies arise, conveying a sense of ”the united family of humanity”. Further off, a troop of sisters are sweeping paths. On the parking area between the two main buildings some brothers are taking down the volleyball net to make way for the enormous tent that has been hired for meals outside. The guest team are preparing the bedrooms for the guests who will be arriving shortly- vacuuming carpets, checking plumbing, changing light bulbs, counting beds and blankets, assigning rooms. A lay friend is pushing a typical German cleaning trolley, (a “Putzwagen”) fitted out with every imaginable product to clean with: rubber gloves, cleaning cloths, sponges, spray window cleaner, detergents of all sorts, garbage bags. In the laundry sisters are busy washing and drying sheets, towels and tea towels- for the second time. It seems that a certain sense of German order, thoroughness and cleanliness is rubbing off on our community!
Every morning the entire Sangha, some 150 of us including lay friends, gather outside the Temple of Great Compassion to sing songs and practice chanting in German and Dutch before dividing up into work teams for the period of Working Meditation. The atmosphere is light and joyful. The singing unites us and nourishes our joy. We enjoy the feeling of togetherness, of being a big, happy family reunited: meeting brothers, sisters or lay friends we hadn´t met before or meeting up again with those we haven´t seen in a long time.
After singing and chanting practice, the work coordinator outlines the jobs to be done for the day.
There are still many things to do to prepare for the retreats. Brothers, sisters and lay friends check the white board for our names to see where we can help: with setting up marquees and serving tables on the green lawns of the Institute´s gardens, setting up tea and refreshments tables, sweeping paths, mowing lawns, planting flowers, transporting food and cooking utensils from the storage building to the kitchen, moving chairs, cleaning rooms, windows, bathrooms, washing sheets, making beds, cutting vegetables, cooking, transforming the dining hall into an enormous larder filled with stocks of tinned goods, dry foods, tea, pasta, olives- all the necessities for cooking for hundreds of people every day.
Throughout all the buildings, on each floor, from the basement to the attic and outside in the enormous grounds, people are busy doing something: the white sails of the marquees unfurl as many hands glide them over the white supporting posts already in place and visions of countless Olympic Games opening ceremonies arise, conveying a sense of ”the united family of humanity”. Further off, a troop of sisters are sweeping paths. On the parking area between the two main buildings some brothers are taking down the volleyball net to make way for the enormous tent that has been hired for meals outside. The guest team are preparing the bedrooms for the guests who will be arriving shortly- vacuuming carpets, checking plumbing, changing light bulbs, counting beds and blankets, assigning rooms. A lay friend is pushing a typical German cleaning trolley, (a “Putzwagen”) fitted out with every imaginable product to clean with: rubber gloves, cleaning cloths, sponges, spray window cleaner, detergents of all sorts, garbage bags. In the laundry sisters are busy washing and drying sheets, towels and tea towels- for the second time. It seems that a certain sense of German order, thoroughness and cleanliness is rubbing off on our community!
In the Institute´s offices many brothers and sisters are answering phone calls, responding to e-mails, completing registrations, making signs, notices, pictures, CDs, DVDs, and carrying out the multitudes of tasks involved in organizing the upcoming retreats and Day of Mindfulness.
As I walk around and see all of this I wonder: Are we ants building a nest? Bees in the hive? An army operation? None of the images seem adequate to describe the way the brothers, sisters and lay friends "work". The atmosphere seems to be one of joyful anticipation, of one big happy family on a mission…. or even on holiday! Joyful hands, smiling faces, relaxed and unhurried movements, everything made so much easier because there are so many of us working together and because we are, after all, in working “meditation”. We try to work the way we try to do everything else: in mindfulness. We don´t hurry, we don´t get carried away, we don´t let ourselves get stressed. We stay with our breathing, with our steps. We enjoy ourselves. We enjoy being together. We enjoy cleaning or sweeping or cooking or folding sheets. We know that the most important thing is not the work, but the enjoyment of being together. We appreciate and savour this wonderful opportunity to build brotherhood and sisterhood, to work together in a spirit of peace, joy and harmony. It is extremely nourishing. Mid-morning and afternoon we all stop for a break and dotted about the campus are little groups of brothers, sisters and lay friends enjoying a drink and ice-cream, biscuits or fruit together. Not rushing, not hurrying. Just enjoying. Enjoying being a part of this large and wonderfully diverse family of people from many different parts of the world, come together to enjoy a few weeks of practicing and truly living the Dharma in this small German town of Waldbrol, Germany. (Sr. Trì Nghiêm)
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Last Updated (Friday, 13 May 2011 19:47)
Much love to all.
Cindy