INTERNATIONAL MAHAYANA INSITUTE: SANGHA OF THE FPMT

By Lama Yeshe

First Enlightened Experience Celebration, Dharamsala, April 1982

I’d like to recount a little of the history of the International Mahayana Institute. Some people had doubts when I called this organization the “International Mahayana Institute”: they didn’t like the name. I don’t care! Who cares whether some like it and some don’t – that’s just the dualistic mind at work. But I came up with this name because the words mean something. The members of our sangha come from all over the world, so we are truly international; the Buddhism we practice is Mahayana; and since we’re an educational phenomenon, I called it an institute: International Mahayana Institute.

Why form such an institute? Well, take this Dharma celebration for example: how many people did it take to organize it? Even two people living together as a couple need to organize their lives. We do need organization. Some hippies reject organization – that is stupid; they don’t understand. They can’t organize even their own lives, let alone do something that benefits so many others.

So why did I create this institute? Because I felt that according to the vinaya rules, it was my responsibility to do so. Our Sangha members started their studies with lam-rim; this gave them some understanding of the nature of samsara, the benefits of renunciation, and the best way to practice. Through their own experience they were enthusiastic about getting ordained. So I said yes. But, you know, for me to say yes is easy; I can ordain anybody just by reciting the words of the ordination ceremony, “blah, blah, blah.” But Lord Buddha said that you have to take care of your Sangha. But how do you take care of the Sangha? When I checked out what needed to be done, it appeared difficult for me to take responsibility for what has now become almost 100 monks and nuns. This process led me to conclude that if I created a Sangha community organization, its members would help each other. We need security. As far as society is concerned, we’re outcasts. So I felt that we needed the security of creating our own category so that we could exercise our own reality. Therefore, about eight years ago I started this organization.

It took a long time to establish Nalanda, our first Western monastery [in France]. It wasn’t easy. In the West you have to get involved with dollars. Without money, you can’t buy land. Fortunately one devoted student offered us the property in Lavaur, so finally now we have a place that offers us the opportunity to lead a monastic life and take care of each other.

We have renounced comfort to a certain extent, but we still have our problems. We’re not buddhas. We need to take care of each other emotionally. It’s difficult for lay people to do this for us. If monks cry, lay people don’t understand: “This monk is supposed to have renounced samsara, now he’s crying for it?” But other monks and nuns do understand and can comfort each other, can be warm to each other: “Oh, don’t cry. Yes, today’s a little cloudy, but it will clear up tomorrow.”

There are many differences between lay people and those who are ordained. Their lifestyles, their thinking, their responsibilities are different. But up until now, just a few of the older monks and nuns have been dedicated to organizing food, clothing, shelter, transport between Nepal and India, and retreat and teaching facilities in order to keep our Sangha community together. Newer monks and nuns can’t appreciate how hard we have worked; the old ones know. We have tried our best; we have a long history.

I cannot organize all this myself. I have a vision of what needs to be done, but I can’t take a needle and thread and sew all your robes myself. I cannot do all these everyday tasks. You people need to get organized to help each other. This is very necessary. You see, monks and nuns need education. How can we offer them a good education if we don’t get organized? You can see how difficult it will be.

Edited by Nicholas Ribush.