Dharma Centre News Vol. 41/Issue 3/2007

Brian McLeod Letter On Renewal

The Dharma Centre of Canada is a group of people as well as a place. Since Namgyal Rinpoche's death in 2003 both the organization and the property have been drifting, and are now facing some significant structural challenges. In another year or two the name for this state of affairs may be 'crisis', but for now crisis is too strong a word. In any case I believe we are moving slowly towards the ephemeral line that divides viability from collapse, and must act now if the Centre is to avoid serious disruption.

This observation is in no way intended to denigrate the wonderful work that is being done at the Centre right now. The energy there is keeping the Centre moving ahead in very positive way. Instead this view is based on my work with volunteer and corporate boards over the past twenty years. It is my opinion that, despite the heroic efforts of the Board, by teachers, staff and active members, the Dharma Centre has not yet recreated itself in the absence of Rinpoche's dynamic and charismatic presence, and that it must find a way forward if the Centre is to survive as meaningful instrument of transformation. The rest of this note is a proposal to get started with the process of renewal.

ISSUES

The challenges facing the Dharma Centre are occurring across three of the main areas of activity: The property, governance (or to put it even more excitingly, administrative structures), and vision.

At the property level, the centre looks like it is getting by just fine, with a slight cash surplus presently on the books and energetic new management in place. Save for one fact, the buildings are falling apart. (See box for a facilities run-down, literally).

From a governance point of view the Centre has been operating on an ad hoc basis pretty much forever, certainly since I was working and living there twenty years ago. Teachers, the Board, and on-site management have often worked outside their designated functions, and sometimes at cross-purposes. To illustrate what I mean, here are some examples;

- Isolated from the city-based Board and membership property managers over the years have made decisions on their own that have had long-term effects regarding policy or the public face of the Centre,

- Without a clear governance model, or a firm membership presence, the Board has on occasion made far-reaching policy decisions without consulting the membership.

- Teachers have sometimes taken an active hand in management of the Centre, perhaps beyond their teaching function.

GOVERNANCE

The decision-making function is one area the Dharma Centre membership will have to come up with some new ideas. A workable model will have to be fairly flexible, and may have to be different from standard models for charitable organizations. A strong reason to come up with something new is that we have to include dharma teachers in the governance equation, first because they should have something to say about how the place is run, and second because they should not be relegated to an employee employer relationship with the Board.

At the VISION level the Centre has not really established a new identity for itself. I am not talking about hankerings for bureaucratic solidity - the kind of permanent self-ness frowned upon in Buddhist circles. I am referring to a sense of conscious direction and purpose - 'sankappa'. Who do we serve and how do we serve them best? Do we have an identifiable core of teachings? How can our community of teachers work best together? How do we reach consensus about such things?

PLANNING

In order to re-vision the Dharma Centre in the three crucial areas of the land, governance, and a shared vision of the Teaching, we will have to address the Dharma Centre's needs in the short, medium and long term. To do this, we will need an effective planning framework. To start we should pose some general questions, a sample of which is in the attached text box.

Out of optimism these particular questions relate to the Dharma Centre continuing in a more or less recognizable form. But the Dharma Centre membership may have to ask other questions as well, if among them they determine that they cannot practically sustain the property, or if the social/charitable/teaching entity does not attract enough interest

Beyond just posing questions, the Centre will require systematic way to hold a conversation about the future direction of the group and the place. A small group of us who have been discussing the planning process agree we should start modestly, using a number of different places and formats, rather than attempting a grand symposium at the beginning. From there the Centre can start to build anew

The first phase of the planning process could take the following form:

1) A facilitated session with the Dharma Centre Board of Directors. The Board bears fiduciary responsibility for the Centre. We now have a new Board, all of whom must be brought up to speed on issues of facility management, governance, and policy direction. With this session as a basis the Board will direct the planning process.

2) Local forums or round tables. In order to reach as many Dharma Centre members as possible, we recommend starting with a number of small group sessions in Toronto, Ottawa, Peterborough, and Kinmount. These discussions would use focused set of questions to stir thought and reflection.

3) A Teachers forum, supplemented with telephone interviews or written comments. The extended Dharma group has a well-developed body of teachers, most of whom have been involved with the Centre in various capacities over the past forty years. In addition to what they can contribute in terms of vision, many of these teachers have been operating their own centres for years, and have a tremendous amount to offer from their experience.

4) Synthesis - discussion paper.

5) A Special Meeting of the membership.
These steps represent only the first phase of the project. Once we hold the Special Meeting of the Dharma Centre membership, we enter the 'OK, what's next?' phase.

ORGANIZATIONAL DETAILS

In order to move the process ahead it will require a number of energized volunteers who can help coordinate meetings and interviews, synthesize the data gathered, and put it together in a package for use by participants in a larger meeting, as well as for distribution to interested current and former Dharma Centre supporters.

We are proposing to get started with a Board meeting in November and proceed with this draft schedule:

DC Board session - Nov 2007
Community meetings - Dec 2007 to Mar 31 2008
Teachers' forum & interviews - To be determined
Synthesis - By April 30 2008
Special Meeting of Membership - By May 15 2008

We also expect to post soon a couple of PDF documents on the Dharma Centre website <www.dharmacentre.org>, to give people more details about the challenges facing the Centre.

Any people who wish to get involved in this process should contact Tracy Sheridan, Chair of the Dharma Centre Board of Directors <sherlap@sympatico.ca> or 416 534-5726, to let them know how you want to participate.

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