An address given by the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche to the monastic Sangha at Gampo Abbey in October 1989.
From the Profound Path of Peace, No. 8, November 1989
In general, monks and nuns are not the same as a family because a 'regular' lay family comes together due to desire and attachment and because, within that cooperation or family, one gives up one's own individual freedom. You no longer have your own choice. In order to get away from that situation, which is based on desire and attachment, and to gain one's own freedom again, one becomes ordained as a monk or nun.
But having become ordained, one still needs within one's newly gained freedom something which encourages one to practice and facilitates dealing with obstacles, like sickness, disease, old age and death and others, which are so difficult to deal with if one is completely on one's own. Therefore the Buddha established the Sangha as a group of people who have basically given up any attachment and desire but yet live within a group in order to be able to deal more easily with difficulties and as a way to encourage general perseverance and diligence. If there is no one living with you to remind you about your aspiration, then you might easily do whatever you want and then maybe nothing would come out of your commitment and aspiration. In other words, after your initial choice for independence or freedom it is possible that there could be actually too much independence or freedom, and you could just get lost in your own appreciation of your independence and freedom. Just like a wild animal you could think: "I am so happy. No one can tell me what to do. There's nobody I have to answer to. I have no responsibilities and nothing to do. I can drink, smoke dope as much as I want and no one says anything. All I have to worry about is my own happiness, independence and freedom." That is not what's meant by this choice of giving up family life.
The tradition of relying on one another, of practicing within a group, was developed by the Buddha. In this way the discipline of the monks and nuns is more controlled and their practice improves that way.
There are many reasons why a monastic setting is good. In Tibet monks and nuns who are living in a monastery, gompa, have a great sense of identification with that monastery. If a monk or nun for some reason has to go out of the monastery there's always the thought "I'm a resident of this monastery, I'll definitely always come back and live here. I am of this monastery." If one is mindful and aware of one's adherence to one's monastery, one develops very conscientious behaviour and activity. Therefore this sense of identification has great benefit and there are good reasons and necessity for it. Generally the Buddha taught the Dharma by way of training in ethics or discipline, in samadhi, and in wisdom or knowledge. By identifying oneself with the group at the monastery, thinking "I am of this monastery, a place where shila, samadhi and prajna are trained in", then these three trainings become a part of oneself. One is constantly aware of them and so doesn't forget them. You think: "This is what is being learned in my monastery. These are my friends, the sangha, who are all practicing Dharma". You carry this notion with you wherever you go, whether inside or outside the monastery. If you don't have this sense of identification with the group and the whole support system of the monastery, if you just wander around because you don't have any sense of belonging or any sense of bearing, as far as where you are, you could easily forget these trainings and teachings.
In regards to shila, the discipline and moral conduct of the Buddhist training, in a monastery there is an agreement that everyone keeps the same shila. Therefore it is easy to keep, as one says: "They all keep it, so I'm going to keep it too." Or, "I'm keeping it, so they should keep it too."
If you go out of the monastery and spend a lot of time with people with no or different moral conduct, then after a while you will start to think: "All those people are doing something else. They are not keeping this kind of discipline and moral conduct. Why am I doing it? Why am I the only one who needs to do this? Why do I have to wear these clothes, nobody else is wearing these clothes.?" So you slowly forget why you were even supposed to do it. For example, if you would go into a bar where everyone is drinking, except yourself, and you would just sit there and do nothing, after a while you would start thinking: "What kind of weird person am I, that I am not joining in on these activities?" If you would stay in a monastery you wouldn't have such difficulties. Nobody is drinking, becoming drunk and every- body is keeping the same moral code. Therefore in a monastery you do not feel strange at all but in harmony with everybody. You can easily remember that there is a great necessity for keeping the shila, as there are real reasons and great benefits from doing so. It makes the whole life easier, more peaceful and less complicated. In this way you don't waste your life. It is important for monks and nuns to remember the need and the necessity of shila.
I go to Europe very often and I have ordained in the past many, many monks and nuns there. Every year I go and ordain a lot, but if I come back the next year, there are no monks and nuns. (Rinpoche laughs). Then I ordain more monks and nuns, but again when I come back, no monks, no nuns. Therefore when people ask me now for ordination I say: "No. You probably won'tbe able to keep it." But then they say: "Oh, I really want to become a monk or nun. I'm definitely going to keep this ordination." So I give it, but when I come back the next year, no monk, no nun. (Laughter). Sometimes I get letters four or five months later saying "I am sorry. I just couldn't keep it. I'mnot a monk any more." Sometimes it lasts a year. So I ask them: "Why? What's the matter? Why can't you keep your ordination?" And most of them say: "In the West it is impossible. In Europe, in the West, nobody can keep the vows."
Well, I don't think this is really true. Why? because there is a long monastic tradition in the West, the Catholic tradition. So I don't think that is the reason why people can't keep the ordination, especially as there is not such a big difference between a Buddhist monk and nun and a Christian monk and nun.
So what is the cause? I think it is because there are no Buddhist monasteries in the West. Therefore, years ago, I suggested to start the organization called the International Kagyu Sangha Association. This was done with the hope that by having the Association, then based on it one would eventually be able to establish a monastery. This is what I have been trying to say for quite a while because I think that the establishment of a monastery is crucial for the development of western monks and nuns. Once there is a monastery, then the monks and nuns can stay in it and manage to keep their vows for more than two or three months. They might even keep it for years (Rinpoche laughs).
Well, so far I was not able to establish this monastery as I was hoping to, but at least there's Gampo Abbey, which through the kindness of Trungpa Rinpoche has come about. So I think, because of this good luck of their being an Abbey, a monastery, that you monks and nuns will last longer than a few months. (Laughter) So, for monks and nuns , monasteries are very, very important. You should think "This is my monastery." And if you think in this way, "This is my monastery," obstacles will never come.
Photo credit: Thrangu Phende Clinic