International Order Office Team Annual Report 2018
This report was compiled before Bhante’s death. Rather than rewrite as appropriate, we have left it as it is. One thing that his death has made clear is the value of his emphasis on communication and friendship. The period leading up to and around his death has shown how valuable it is for us to be so well connected as an Order. This can only become more important in the absence of Bhante, and as the Order grows. our Sangha. I am aware of 8 Sangha situations where the process has been completed, and several that are ongoing.
Summary of 2018 by
Vajrapriya, Co-ordinator, International Order Office Team
“We help the Order talk to itself”. This is how Achara, (one of the trustees) describes the work of the International Order Office Team. It is the only overall co-ordinating body the Order has, and it is funded solely by your Order dana. One of its main functions is to support the work of the International Order Convenors (IOCs). And this year we saw Parami stepping down and handing over the Aryajaya, with the final hand-over ritual occurring at Adhisthana at a combined Area Order weekend in August. Parami has served in the role for 10 years, and is one of those people who just seems to embody the Order. Between them, Aryajaya and Lokeshvara feel like they represent the next generation stepping up into positions of significant Order responsibility. One stand-out feature for the team this year was the International Order Convention at Bodhgaya, led by Parami, Lokeshvara and Aryajaya together. As before, the Indian Order Office team made a magnificent job of organising the practicalities, and we had possibly the largest convention
yet, with over 600 OMs attending, 180 from outside India. th
2018 was of course also the 50 anniversary of the founding of the Order. This was celebrated on the Convention, but also throughout the world at the local level, linked up through thebuddhistcentre online (TBCO). It was also marked by the 50 Years 50 Voices project undertaken by Satyalila, and funded by the Order Office and Adhisthana. A diverse group of OMs were invited to reflect on the often messy, vibrant reality of living a Dharma-life and co-creating a new Buddhist tradition. The results can be heard online. The work of learning and healing from past mistakes continues. We have been recommending, training and using the restorative process as a way of doing this, both for individuals and groups. So far 131 OMs have attended a one day introduction, and 34 have completed the full 3 day training, with more courses still in the pipeline. There have been trainings for Presidents, Chairs, Order Convenors as well as OMs without “hats”. We have a network of 28 OMs who are trained and willing to undertake restorative processes within
All this work can happen only due to the generosity of Order members' giving: we have no other source of income. In the Order Dana report you can see the interesting patterns of giving across the Order. A summary of how your dana is spent, and our finances in general, can be seen our 2017 financial report. The work of the Order Office is varied and detailed, but revolves around connecting the Order: sending out Order Information Service emails, maintaining the Order register and distributing the Order Address List, and, of course, producing Shabda. We have noticed a slight downturn in the number of e-Shabda downloads, and as always, wish for the effective connection of OMs. So, if you find that electronic Shabda doesn’t work for you, we encourage you to request a paper copy, which is now digitally printed and much crisper-looking! While having to attend to the minutiae of the work, all the team have a strong desire to serve the Order and help it thrive, each in our own sphere of work. As the Order grows, the need to connect it all together becomes ever more important, and that is the task of the International Order Office Team.