Conflicting views and Gaia House

The message below was a general email about Gaia House from Simon Thompson. I don't know Simon.

As we are a Gaia House Sitting group I thought we could either discuss Simon's email or what we think about Gaia House or just more generally what how we handle conflict.

Dear Dharma friends,

I am writing to encourage your support in developing and maintaining a Dharma-centred vision for Gaia House. I am sending this e-mail to all sitting groups affiliated to Gaia House and also to Dharma friends and contacts. I encourage you to visit a website I have set up to promote a Dharma-centred vision for Gaia House at www.gaiahouseforall.moonfruit.com.

I feel a great sense of gratitude for the opportunities Gaia House has provided for myself and others. I have spent over a year in total on retreat in Gaia House, as well as serving as a volunteer manager and a trustee. For over 25 years Gaia House has been a resource for thousands of people to practice insight meditation. It has enabled people to have a brief initial experience of retreat and then progressively deepen their practice by attending longer retreats. Gaia House has also provided the chance for about 200 people to work as volunteer managers/coordinators, to live in a spiritual community, and to integrate work and formal practice.

Significant changes are occurring in Gaia House and I have many concerns about this:

There has been a reduction in opportunities for people to practice in depth this year, as the number of group retreats of a week or more has been reduced.
There are changes in the quality of the retreat environment. During a recent retreat in the Hermitage Wing, I experienced very high noise levels as loud and non-essential maintenance work was carried out daily in rooms above the meditation hall. This marks a shift away from maintaining silence in the house when people are on retreat.
Prices increased this year by 10%, although this was not publicly acknowledged. This is at a time of increasing unemployment and wage freezes. Gaia House is ever more comfortable and beautiful for a decreasing proportion of people in our society who can afford to go there. Prices have almost doubled in real terms since Gaia House moved to its current location. It can be difficult for meditators to continue to practice, and for insight to deepen, for those of us who cannot afford to keep up with these price rises.

In a recent e-mail to those who now run the organisation I expressed my concern about the impact of price increases on the community of insight meditators who go to Gaia House. The response stated, “An overall return rate of 33% does tend to illustrate that 67% of people find something lacking in their experience here. This latter percentage also harms the notion of a community existing around Gaia House: I think you may have mistaken your personal social network for it. I have seen no evidence of any such community apart from occasional narrative gossip.” I feel disappointment with this response. The concept of an insight meditation community is complex but in my sixteen years of going on retreat at Gaia House I see the same faces time and time again when I go on retreat. Many sitting groups have been established which are linked to Gaia House. I think the fact that one-third of people return is also evidence of a core community of regular retreatants. The development of a culture of awakening is dependent on this core of people being able to continue to afford to practice. If prices were kept in line with inflation, a higher proportion of people would be able to return and this community would be larger.

The changes outlined above have occurred alongside significant shifts in the way the organisation is run. Teachers who set up Gaia House no longer have decision-making powers. These have been taken on completely by the trustees and Director. Teachers are not permitted to attend key meetings of the trust. The trustees and Director who now run Gaia House have little retreat experience and some do not go on retreat at all. The trustees/Director have considerable commercial and administrative expertise gained in corporate and military organisations. Aspects of this expertise may be of value to Gaia House when used with discernment. However, there is a need to restore input from people with a depth of meditation experience.

This loss of all experienced meditators and teachers from decision making positions is a consequence of considerable conflict in recent years. Differences in perspectives have been expressed as personal conflicts in the absence of any ethical guidelines on communication and transparency. There is a need to develop a code of conduct based on the principle of right speech. This will help to to ensure that, in future, different perspectives can be a source of creative discussion.

Although I have many concerns about Gaia House currently, I continue to feel that a positive vision for the organisation is a possibility. Please have a look at look at www.gaiahouseforall.moonfruit.com and consider the suggestions given on the 'What to do' page to promote this vision.

I may from time to time send further thoughts to sitting groups and Dharma friends and contacts. Please let me know if you do not want to receive any further communication. I will fully respect this wish. I apologise if you have received this as an unwanted e-mail.

Despite the changes discussed here, Gaia House continues to provide many opportunities for progressive awakening and the cultivation of insight and compassion. I urge everyone reading this e-mail to go on retreat at Gaia House, and to spend as much time on retreat as possible for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings.

Best wishes,

Simon