Inappropriate Items (a) Luxurious Belongings In general, it is inappropriate for a samana to accept any luxurious items. This is because they may stimulate attachment in the samana and may excite envy in others, possibly even the intention to steal. It also seems inappropriate for an alms mendicant, living on charity as a source of inspiration to others, to have opulent belongings. (b) Money The Vinaya specifies a prohibition for monks to receive money (‘gold and silver’), to instruct others to receive it or to consent to money being kept on one’s behalf. Thus the use of and control over personal funds, whether these are in the form of coins, bank notes or credit cards, is forbidden to samanas. Financial donations made to the Sangha are looked after by trusted lay supporters : In practical terms, monasteries are administered financially by lay stewards, who then make open invitation for the Sangha to ask for what they need, under the direction of the senior incumbent of each monastery. The stewards are the Trustees (or other lay people acting on their behalf) of the charitable Trusts which oversee the financial affairs of each of the monasteries. (For a list of the stewards of the monasteries, please see appendix ). Generally, individual Sangha members have to consult with a senior member of the community before they may take up the stewards’ offer, for example to pay for dental treatment, obtain footwear or necessary medicines. This is to ensure that the donations that are given to support the Sangha are used responsibly and according to the intention of the donors. The following is an outline of the suitable way to make offerings of financial support to samanas: If lay people wish to give something to a particular samana, but are uncertain what that individual might need, they should approach the samana in order to make invitation (pavarana). Financial donations should not be made directly to an individual samana, but placed in a donation box, given to one of the anagarikas (dressed in white) or to one the lay stewards of the monastery, making it clear if such a offering is intended for a particular item or for the needs of a certain samana. If inviting a member of the Sangha to visit, for example for a teaching engagement, money to cover travelling expenses can be given to an accompanying anagarika or accompanying lay person, who can then buy tickets, drinks for a journey or anything else that the samana may need at that time. It is quite a good training for a lay person to actually consider what items are necessary, and offer those rather than money.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 03:23:00 +0000
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