by
Gil Fronsdal
Some years ago, early in IMC’s growth, I asked if anyone was interested in volunteering for our center. To my surprise, many people expressed a strong interest. While I was happy with the reply, I was troubled that we did not have enough volunteer roles to meet the big interest. I knew from personal experience that volunteering at a Buddhist center can be a significant form of Dharma practice and a means for a deeper connection to a Dharma community. I was sorry we could not provide the opportunity to all of those who were interested. Since then, IMC has grown in many ways and many directions. Today we have some 150 volunteers and an over-abundance of volunteering opportunities.
In the context of a Buddhist community, volunteering is a freely given gift of one’s time and labor that supports people’s ability to learn and practice the Dharma, and develop supportive practice relationships with others in the community. The Buddhist word for “volunteering” is seva, meaning “support,” “service,” and “assistance.” The English word, “volunteering” reminds us how we serve, i.e., freely from generosity. The Buddhist word, “seva” emphasizes that volunteering is for the sake of benefiting others selflessly.
There is a dynamic interplay between developing one’s wholesome qualities as a volunteer and volunteering in unselfish ways. This interaction makes volunteering an invaluable arena for Dharma practice. The selfless part of volunteering does not mean we can’t personally benefit; it means we learn to let go of unhealthy attachments and unwholesome motivations while growing in wholesome inner qualities and healthy forms of community kinship. Growing in joy, happiness, goodwill, wisdom, and freedom are some of the personal benefits of volunteering.
Often, wholesome and unwholesome motivations for volunteering coexist. Genuine goodwill, gratitude, and generosity can be entangled in perfectionism and performance anxiety, attachments to productivity, and the need to prove one’s worth. The joy of service can be eclipsed by concerns with praise or blame. Selfless service can be accompanied—almost invisibly—by expectations of rewards.
One reason mindfulness, while volunteering, brings great benefit, is revealing these mixed motivations. By seeing them clearly, we can appreciate and participate with what is wholesome and learn to understand, put aside, or let go of the unwholesome. It is unnecessary to dwell on shame or embarrassment for our unwholesome motivations; their presence can inspire us to be mindful with honesty, wisdom, and non-reactivity. Surprisingly, non-reactive mindfulness of what is unwholesome supports the growth of what is wholesome.
Mindfulness can also reveal when volunteering becomes stressful. Viewing stress with careful and caring mindfulness allows us to question its value. Is it necessary? What do we believe to be true that raises stress? Can volunteering tasks be done with ease?
It is best not to view stress as bad; it is much better to view it as an avenue for understanding ourselves better. What emotions underly stress? What fears fuel it? What shifts when we acknowledge and bring stress under the gaze of mindfulness? If the stress is strong enough, it can be invaluable to take time to meditate. Meditation might allow us to settle sufficiently to touch into a sense of ease, generosity, and kindness. To return to volunteering with this ease is an essential part of Buddhist practice.
Giving time and expression to our wholesome states of mind and heart is one way these states grow. Acting on wise generosity can spread the warmth of generosity throughout our being. Allowing goodwill to accompany volunteering is good for our own heart. Having the wisdom not to participate in stress strengthens our wisdom. When volunteering is seen as a form of Buddhist practice, volunteers might benefit more than those they serve.
Volunteering for a Dharma center can provide many opportunities to learn from the way other practitioners serve the community. Witnessing how others can be kind, compassionate, caring, and easeful in their volunteer work can teach us how we can do the same. Observing practitioners respond wisely and non-reactively to challenging situations can inspire us to see challenges as practice opportunities from which we should not shy away. Watching how more experienced practitioners communicate with respect, friendliness, and mindfulness can teach us to do the same. Being a volunteer provides many opportunities to learn from other community members.
A Buddhist community is not made up only of angels. Because those of us who are not angels need the Dharma, they should be welcomed into the community. This means that not all social interactions in the community will be easy or pleasant. Sometimes, these interactions can be challenging. However, they are invaluable for our practice. If we only volunteer when everyone is on their best behavior, we won’t learn about our reactivity and how to become free of our reactivity. We will be shortchanging ourselves in the practice. While challenging interactions will occur in a Buddhist center, hopefully, the center’s culture helps us feel safe enough to practice with the challenges.
Even if we make mistakes in these interpersonal challenges or with our volunteer tasks, mistakes are an occasion to learn; they are not for self-recrimination. We can learn what contributed to our mistakes and how to do better in the future. In a sense, Buddhism is forward-looking, so we are not weighed down by what was done in the past, whether an hour ago, a week ago, or years ago. We focus on past events just enough to learn from them so we can focus on moving forward with more wisdom and less reactivity.
By meditating every day, or at least before volunteering, we can learn how to start fresh with each volunteering occasion. If we volunteered poorly yesterday, that belongs to yesterday. Today can provide the delight of getting to try again. Approaching each volunteer task as another inspiring chance to grow in the Dharma can add meaning and purpose to every task. It can inspire us to discover how to find our inner freedom in whatever we do.
By offering seva, or “support,” in community with other practitioner-volunteers, we can experience the joy of being in the company of people who are doing their best to live the Dharma, i.e., to live with the values, purpose, and fruit of Dharma practice. Perhaps the greatest gift of a volunteer is their example of doing their best to practice with whatever circumstances bring; perfection is not needed.
Text to add to a separate box by the article (from Gil email):
Volunteering at IMC
Everyone is welcome to volunteer at IMC in any way they can, however small or large, for as long as it works for them. It is a rewarding way to become more deeply connected to the IMC community. If interested, you can fill out a volunteer form on the volunteer page of IMC’s website or by emailing IMC.VolunteerDirector@gmail.com