Gesar

In January, 2011, Rinpoche invited a group of 18 students to participate in a series of meetings held at Ratna Ling. He asked the gathered assembly to take responsibility to form a new organization that would take over many administrative responsibilities that he had been supervising for more than four decades. Just as important, the new organization would be responsible for assuring that the vision of the founding Head Lama of TNMC would be safeguarded and faithfully implemented in the future. A group of eleven persons was formed to draft a Constitution for the new organization.

A series of intensive meetings was held over the next several months. After considerable discussion, we agreed to call the new organization the Nyingma Association of Mandala Organizations, or NAMO (The word “namo” in Sanskrit means “homage” or “salutation.”). Following Rinpoche’s guidance, we looked to the American Constitution, and especially to its system of checks and balances, for guidance on drafting the document. Small groups met with Rinpoche on several occasions to receive further guidance and clarification, especially as the July 4 deadline drew near. A finished draft was completed in time for the celebration, and signing ceremonies were held.

Following the Independence Day signings (actually held on July 5), further discussion led to the conclusion that it would be wise to make further changes to address specific concerns. We also consulted with outside attorneys on several key points. A new version of the Constitution was ready by March 2012, and Rinpoche gave it his special ratification in April. A new corporation was formed on April 5, and NAMO received tax-exempt status in 2013, following further minor amendments requested by the government.

Under the Constitution, there are three principal decision-making authorities: the Leadership Council, the Assembly, and the Judicial Guardians. The Leadership Council, whose first members were chosen by Rinpoche, began to hold informal monthly meetings even before NAMO formally came into existence, starting in October 2011. Provisional officers were chosen, and the challenging task of deciding how NAMO would function was initiated. The Leadership Council has continued to meet monthly since that time.

NAMO is definitely a work in progress. We are navigating uncharted waters, and many questions will be answered only as we act on our mandate. The role of the Assembly is fundamentally to give advice and consultation, and we have not yet found the best structures for doing this. Our conception was that much of the work of NAMO would be done by task forces in which Assembly members and members of the Leadership Council, as well as other members of the community, would serve. With the exception of the Legal Guardians Task Force, which has been active from the beginning, this structure has been only moderately effective.

NAMO’s working relationship with the Head Lama also remains to be clarified. While we are committed to following the vision of the founding Head Lama, and to consulting with the Head Lama on all major decisions, we still need to work out in practice how we can be responsible for actively addressing the issues that the community faces. As a gesture of appreciation to the Head Lama and our commitment to following his vision, NAMO has made a commitment to meet the healthcare costs of the lama and his family.

Another issue is finding the best way to make use of the talented individuals who serve as the five Judicial Guardians. It is important for them to be independent from the two other branches of NAMO, but at present they have no function until disputes arise, which we naturally hope will happen only rarely.

Over the past year, the Head Lama has advised senior members of the community repeatedly that what matters most is that we be friends with each other, working out issues among those who are directly involved on the basis of mutual respect and appreciation. This vision is a valuable counter to the tendency, natural in any administrative body, to approach problems in a bureaucratic way, and we are agreed that we will make it the basis of our conduct.

In the past year, NAMO took primary responsibility for preparing the community to transition many of its members and full-time volunteers to health-care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This change has had a strong positive financial impact on the community and also means improved coverage for many of us. Making the transition work, however, required intensive efforts to clarify how to proceed, determine the scope of coverage, and offer advice to those affected.

Another initiative during the past year was drafting a model Code of Conduct for Nyingma Teachers. Addressing this issue raised a key issue: should NAMO establish a Code for all member organizations to follow, or should it develop a model that the organizations could adapt to their own circumstance? In the end we settled on the second option.

NAMO has identified several areas where it needs to take an active role: reliable support for the needs of long-term members of the community, reliable sources of income, the sustained success of our organizations and projects, continued support for the spiritual growth of individual members and our extended community, and more effective outreach. Toward this end, we have heard reports from most of the key NAMO organizations. At a Leadership Council retreat in June, we adopted a provisional plan for providing for long-term needs of older community members, and we continue to engage the many complex issues  before us. We have begun to understand that if we trust in the sacred purpose that NAMO serves, and if we pledge to treat each other with indestructible Vajra respect, we can meet our goals.