Karma

Last month, I wrote about a disharmonious incident in the Atlanta sangha. Following that episode, our Sensei wrote a letter of apology, stating "Recently, we have witnessed an egregious disruption in the harmony of the sangha. It resulted in an unfortunate outburst and chaotic dissolution of the first meeting welcoming the new executive committee of the Board of Directors. This was a time of urgency where we should have been pulling the sangha together rather than pulling it apart, and has precipitated a crisis of confidence."

The incident was most unfortunate. The fomenting of disharmony in the sangha is a direct violation of the final of the Ten Grave Precepts, in that it necessarily defames the Three Treasures. "My deep apologies to all who were in attendance and disturbed by the discord," Sensei wrote, "and to the sangha at large for any untold consequences."

Those untold consequences manifested themselves today. A letter signed by the members of the executive committee was emailed to the rest of the Board and to the disciples, stating, "By this letter, we collectively submit our resignations from the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center, as well as our respective officer and committee positions, effective immediately.

"Although we are taking this action collectively, we have each reached this difficult decision independently and only after considerable reflection.

"We thank you for your practice and wish you and the Atlanta center all the best in the future."

The letter was signed by the President, Treasurer, and Secretary of the Board of Directors, as well as the Center's Practice Leader and the Chairman of the Governance Committee. No explanation as to the reasons for the mass resignation was provided, and email requests for more information were not answered, until a separate resignation email from the Treasurer explained, "I have lost confidence in the Roshi as teacher and administrator and must therefore leave the Zen Center. I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to practice with each of you. I hope that perhaps one day we may practice again together. I wish you all the best."

Zen Master Dogen noted that people of property inevitably have two kinds of troubles, namely anger and dishonor. In trying to protect their property, anger immediately arises, and in talking about some matter, argument and negotiation eventually escalate to conflict and fighting. Proceeding in this way, anger arises and results in dishonor. The business of administering the Center appears to have escalated into argument and conflict, and the "unfortunate outburst and chaotic dissolution" of that prior Board meeting resulted in the crisis of confidence and dissolution in the harmony of the sangha seen today.

Today's messages, in their collective timing, brief content, and blunt manner, seem to have been intended to inflict maximum damage on the harmony and confidence of the sangha. Our past and harmful karma is born from our speech, actions, and thoughts, and the waves of discord that have been created seem likely to ripple through the community for quite some time.

We need, at this moment in this place, to manifest unity, harmony, and kindness, and practice the minimization of divisiveness. The Four Exemplary Acts of a Bodhisattva are generosity, kind speech, helpful conduct, and cooperation. Buddhism puts great value on our actual conduct. For this reason, our conduct in relating to each other is a very important part of our life, and these four ways of behaving in our social interactions are the very essence of Buddhism.