public

We are happy to let people know that we have had many volunteers, from both the monastic and lay communities, come forward with offers of help in putting together a new website for the OBC.  From those volunteers, the website development group has been formed, and consists of Rev. Leon Kackman, of Columbia SC, Mary Neinast from the San Francisco Bay area and Rev. Lambert Tuffrey of Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey. Elizabeth Bridges from Telford, UK, a professional website developer, has also agreed to act as technical consultant for the project. 

How the interim board got started, its purpose, how it works and what we have done so far

The Order can be seen as a practical expression of the sangha refuge. It exists to support, govern and bind us all together and generally works in the background to support us in our Buddhist practice. The interim board has been working together with Rev. Master Haryo to identify and start to work on those Order-wide areas that need attention. Once identified, working groups may be formed who examine the issues, consult with others and develop recommendations that can be considered by the wider sangha. By taking refuge in this way, the board and working groups help us all move towards commonly agreed-upon proposals.These go to the head of the Order for consideration. This process helps Rev. Master Haryo and the sangha to collectively address some heartfelt practical concerns.

How the interim board came to be

At the Order’s general meetings at Shasta Abbey in 2010 a number of important issues about our Order arose. During these meetings a group of monks and lay ministers got together and constructed a proposal to form a temporary group of Order members whose purpose is to create a process which allows issues to be addressed and also to provide a way for further contributions and concerns to be brought to the Order’s attention. This proposal was agreed to and over the next few weeks an interim board was formed and its creation publicly announced. The board's purpose was laid out in the following agreement:

At the rules conclave and general meeting of the Order held at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in September the interim board was requested by the head of the Order and the assembly to continue its work for another year. This is the first board meeting since the conclave.

Board member changes

A big thanks to all who responded to the OBC website working group report sent out in July. Responses have been very favorable. Also, we would like to thank the working group for all they have done to get us to this point. Rev. Master Haryo has given his OK to begin work on the new site, with the understanding that he will be reviewing it along the way. So, we are now ready to move on to the second step of this process, which is to form a website development group that will oversee the creation of the updated OBC website.

Over the last six weeks the following topics have been on our agenda:

OBC Website Development

This working group has completed their task of evaluating the current site, identifying clear needs for update and developing a site outline. Their proposal was sent out on 2nd August to monks, lay ministers and others who had responded to the initial survey, with a request for feedback by August 15th.

The week of June 13th to 17th 2011 saw the interim board meeting together at the farm in Cornwall where Andrew Taylor-Browne and his wife, Julie, breed alpacas and carry on a variety of other farming activities. Pam, Rev. Berthold and Rev. Master Meiko flew from the US and Rev. Master Jigen, Rev. Willard, Rev. Master Saido and Rev. Alicia traveled the length and breadth of England to get to West Cornwall.

Interim board website

The website has a new design on the home page. The photo of stepping stones was taken by one of the monks from Shasta Abbey when on a trip to China. We thought it an appropriate image for our work – taking it step by step, helping the Order to move forward.

Submissions

Lay Sangha Communication and Dialogue

We have had a very encouraging response, with wide representation from all parts of the lay sangha plus three monks - currently 40 people have committed to helping in some way, and we know of more who are willing and have indicated support but have not yet got round to working out how they can help at this stage.