Joyfully Together by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh [Hanh, Thich Nhat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-935209-16-4
Publisher: Parallax Press
Published: 2005-08-09T16:00:00+00:00

The Right to Vote and the Right to Veto

Traditionally, the head of the community has the right to veto. He or she will be a master of the monastic discipline and understand the teachings very deeply. When the head of the community sees that the Sangha is making a decision that is not in accord with the teachings, he can block the decision. In the past, when I have seen that the decision of the Sangha is not in accord with the spirit of the tradition, I have sometimes said: “Venerable bhikshus and bhikhsunis, although you have reached consensus on this matter, there are certain aspects which have not been seen clearly. Let us postpone making any decision today. Once I have had an opportunity to help the Sangha see more clearly, you will be in a much better position to come to the right decision.”

The head of a community should use the right to veto only in very serious matters. If we operated on our bodies every time they were a little sick, we would be in a great deal of pain and would not have very much strength. The best thing for an abbot or an abbess to do is to ask the Sangha to adjourn for a day so that he or she has a chance to share his or her point of view and the long experience of the Buddhist monastic tradition. When she has more time to present her insight, her sisters may see that their decision was not appropriate.

There are also some limits to the right to veto. A novice does not have the right to veto a matter being decided by bhikshus or bhikshunis unless that novice has already been accepted as an ordinee for the next full ordination ceremony. Similarly, any bhikshu or bhikshuni who is away from the monastery when a meeting is happening—even a member of the Sangha who is practicing the mindfulness trainings purely—does not have the right to vote or to veto. Nor does he or she have the right to use the telephone, postal correspondence, e-mail, or other means of communication to express opposition to any proposal in a meeting. For example, even a bhikshuni whose train is late returning to the monastery in time for a meeting, no matter how important her opinion might be, does not have the right to veto. This is laid down in the text on monastic discipline of the Buddha.

Similarly, when we have sanghakarman proceedings, all members of the Sangha in the meeting must sit near enough to be able to reach out and touch the other members. If someone is sitting even five or seven meters away, that person does not have the right to vote or to veto. This is the custom as laid down in the monastic discipline of the Buddha. Perhaps this is so that everyone is near enough to hear each other clearly and to contribute their physical support and presence to the Sangha meeting. When

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