Last Friday night, for the Full Moon, the monastics were able to host their Uposatha gathering in the town of Wendell, where they will be spending the three month Vassa season. This is a time of stability, where wandering is reduced and monastics commit to staying in a particular community for the duration.
Whether at a hermitage by themselves or in the thick of a bustling monastery community, monks are often assessing whether or not their situation is conducive to spiritual progress. How do we assess? What factors are most important? Is it our level of comfort, our enjoyment, or the quality of our peers? Access to spiritual texts? Popularity with the townsfolk?
As always, the Buddha’s encouragement is direct and unambiguous. Are we surviving, and are we attaining insight and freedom not previously attained? This simple formula is applicable to a wide variety of situations we face in life, whether in our jobs, our relationships, our living situations. When we focus on spiritual growth, even difficult situations can be seen as edifying.