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The Vinaya and the Regulations of Other Schools
February 6th, 2004, at the Pacific Meditation Hall, Deer Park Monastery, the Northern California Gathering takes place over three or four days each year, with the participation of six Vietnamese monks and nuns from Deer Park and Maple Forest Monastery. Most of the attendees are practitioners who have been ordained for 30–40 years, living alone, without a sangha, yet have not fallen away, creating confidence that the monastic life can be sustained even while working and having to struggle alone with the difficulties of body and mind. Sister Chau Nghiem wishes for the Plum Village and Deer Park practitioners to meet these venerable ones to strengthen their faith.
In the Rule of Saint Benedict, there are four types of monastics:
- Cenobite: living in a monastery, practicing according to a rule and under the authority of an abbot.
- Anchorite or hermit: having been trained for a long time in the monastery, now living alone and struggling with the weaknesses of the flesh and wandering thoughts, relying on the grace of God.
- Sarabaite: self-practicing monastics, without rules, whose nature is soft like lead, indulging in desires, calling what they like holy and what they dislike unwholesome.
- Gyrovague: wandering monks, roaming from province to province, staying three or four days in each place, slaves to their own will and desires, worse than the Sarabaite.
The Christian and Buddhist experience both affirm the essential importance of the sangha: the support, illumination, and great joy that comes from participating in the Prajnaparamita career of the World-Honored One. The Vietnamese elder monks and nuns who have practiced for many years and now live together with Plum Village are a precious support for the Western sangha, especially for young people who are still uncertain about their ability to remain steadfast throughout a lifetime of monastic practice. Sharing experiences, Dharma discussions, and lessons from the Rule of Saint Benedict help everyone recognize their place in the sangha and find the faith and strength not to abandon the path of the Dharma.
